About Chelsea

 At last after 8 years Roman Abramovic has the championship trophy that he wanted so badly. This Champions League title ratifies his investment and gives Chelsea a tangible reason to claim a spot among the “big clubs” of Europe. Just like the Europa League, the winner of this Champions League was the club that not many would have guessed back in December. An impeccable defensive order and a sublime Drogba carried them throughout the tournament allowing them to defeat every team that, on paper at least, was better than Chelsea.

Is there merit in what they did? Absolutely. I won’t be the one to say that they don’t deserve the title. This team walked on the tight rope at all phases of this championship and yet they never gave up. They capitalized in the very few chances they created. There is merit in that. However, I can never support anti-football: the art of not wanting to go for the victory. Inter did it two years ago, Greece did it in the Eurocup 2004 and now Chelsea has done it too. They all have won without attempting to win but rather focusing in not losing.

Chelsea display in the final was horrible in my opinion. It feels more like Bayern lost rather than Chelsea won.  Compare their display to Barcelona last year or compare them to the Real Madrid team that won the 9^th Champions League 10 years ago. It almost a sin to play like Chelsea did. In fact, the real sin is that Chelsea, until the 1-0, did not want to play. Two defensive lines of 4 and 5 players respectively at the grandest stage in European football is something I don’t expect from a team that wants to be crowned “the best”.

Listen to what Mata, Torres, Di Matteo, and other players were saying at the end of the game about how Bayern played better and you can see even they know luck was a huge element in their title win. Again, I think that “never give up” attitude is fantastic but to renounce any effort to go an win the game is not a good thing for a club that wants to enter into that “best clubs of Europe” category.

That football philosophy is valid sure but 8/10 times you will be eliminated by a team that wants to play for the win. If you want proof of this just look where Chelsea ended in the Premier League: in a Europa League place where their game belongs. I’m not saying that defensive football is a bad thing or that it isn’t valid. But being a defensive team doesn’t mean that you have to forget about attacking.

I doubt any good midfielder or striker who’s looking to play in another club would dream about playing for Chelsea, at least Di Matteo’s Chelsea. How could they? No striker wants to spend the whole game alone waiting for a long pass, a bad defense, and luck to score a goal. No midfielder wants to be constantly playing in a center-back role just to get the ball and have nobody to make a pass. Even as a fan, I would rather pay to see Arsenal or Tottenham play before paying to see Chelsea.

The funny thing is that Chelsea deserved this title long ago but won it when they least played for it. However, I will give credit where credit is due. Both, Drogba and Cech, were out of this world. That header from Didier was one of the best headers I’ve seen. They alone won this cup for Chelsea.  The years will pass and this final will be remembered for the wrong reasons. It will be the final that Bayern Munich couldn’t win, or lost to Chelsea.