SPECIAL ONE HAS BLOWN IT FOR REAL
BOSS BURNS BRIDGES WITH ABRAMOVICH MOURINHO CUTS HIS THROAT
COURTING MADRID
HE THOUGHT he was being clever, thought he was the master of the
universe. But as Jose Mourinho went public on his Real Madrid job
application on Sunday night, the Chelsea boss made the move that
guaranteed he cannot win the final showdown with Roman
Abramovich.
Flying to Pamplona on one of Abramovich's private jets to watch
Champions League opponents Valencia was only to be expected from a
man who believes he can pre-plan every minute of every game,
second-guessing all his managerial rivals. Yet the instant Mourinho
opened his mouth to place himself in the frame for consideration by
the Real Madrid upper echelons, he frittered away the PR advantage
he had spent weeks and months stitching together.
Too late yesterday Mourinho attempted to back-track, aware he had
gone a step too far and speaking of his debt of gratitude to
Chelsea and the English game. But Abramovich and his coterie of
advisers have no further interest in entertaining the man with a
Messiah complex beyond the end of the season. And no matter what
extra silverware Mourinho delivers in the next two months, even if
he brings Abramovich the Holy Grail of the Champions League, there
can no longer be any hope of a lasting peace treaty being
brokered.
For Abramovich, winning is not enough. It is about winning with
style and elan, and watching the sort of ground-out wins that
Mourinho has made his stock-in-trade throughout his spell at the
club has lost its appeal for an owner who dreams of Barcelona in
blue shirts.
Yet until last week, Mourinho appeared to be playing his hand
brilliantly, making all the right calls as he manipulated the
Stamford Bridge fans into his corner. By claiming that he would not
voluntarily walk away from the club under any circumstances,
adding: "I would never do this to my players, I would never do this
to the Chelsea supporters", Mourinho knew exactly what strings he
was pulling.
It was a strategy that was working too, and every chant of "Stand
up for the Special One" was a verbal dagger thrust in the direction
of Abramovich (above) hands folded across his arms as he sat
perched high up in his West Stand eyrie. The more Abramovich kept
his distance, boycotting the Chelsea dressing room - even in the
aftermath of the dramatic Carling Cup triumph - the more he seemed
to be falling into Mourinho's carefully-laid trap.
Mourinho was aware that Claudio Ranieri had played the same game,
keeping the fans onside even when it was inevitable the Italian
would be made to walk the plank. That could not save him from the
gallows when Abramovich decided a change was necessary, and even
the compensation package Ranieri expected was not so easily
forthcoming.
The difference was that in contrast to the smiling, likeable
Italian loser, Mourinho is the most successful manager in the cub's
history. Resourceful and cunning, Mourinho knew that his status as
an heroic, almost mythical figure among the vast majority of
Chelsea supporters is set in stone for ever more, irrespective of
what happens between now and the end of May. Yet in Pamplona, home
of the famous bull run, Mourinho turned from skilful matador into
plodding beast. One Chelsea source said: "It's a strange way to act
towards your boss in any job.
"And going to Spain and speaking like that, when he could easily
have said nothing or told the interviewer he was just there as
Chelsea manager, seemed deliberately designed to cause more
problems."
Judging by his reaction on Sunday, his behaviour hours afterwards
suggested he has lost control of himself and certainly his destiny.
The powers that be have made their decision. He has just made it
easier for them.
