SOCCER/CHAMPIONS LEAGUE/Chelsea v Inter Milan:INTERNAZIONALE NEED Jose Mourinho's sulky charisma even more than his tactical acumen. His personality can distract opponents from the fact his side, judged by the high standards of the Champions League elite, are unremarkable.
If Chelsea keep a clear head tonight, they ought to overturn the 2-1 deficit from a gripping first leg. Should anyone in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad need reassurance, they could get a chuckle out of reading Internazionale’s recent record in the tournament.
The most they have achieved in the previous half dozen campaigns is a couple of appearances in the quarter-finals.
Mourinho continued the mundane form in his first season with Inter, unable to make much of a fuss as Manchester United eased them aside.
Chelsea’s disappointments have been far more histrionic.
After the Portuguese had parted company with the club in the autumn of 2007, Avram Grant took them to a shootout loss against United in the final. A year later the side, under the caretaker leadership of Guus Hiddink, were beaten in the semi-final by the referee Tom Henning Ovrebo’s rejection of penalty appeals as well as Andres Iniesta’s goal for Barcelona in the third minute of stoppage time.
No one can call such experiences enviable, but they confirm Chelsea as a team who customarily play for high stakes.
It would be trite to believe Mourinho can cure Inter with an injection of his personality. The limitations of even his managerial skills were set out in the comedy of Inter’s loss at Catania last Friday.
The introduction of Sulley Muntari, with the score at 1-1, may have been one of the most hilariously disastrous decisions in the history of the game.
It would, in all justice, be absurd to suppose that even the far-sighted Mourinho could have envisaged the consequences.
Muntari was immediately booked for a foul and then, while inside the area, lifted his arm to block the resultant free-kick. The Ghanaian was shown a second yellow card and Catania scored from the penalty before claiming a third goal towards the end.
Inter, with a one-point lead over Milan, are still on course for a fifth consecutive title and it is scarcely their fault that the calciopoli scandal caused such helpful havoc, with Juventus, for instance, demoted to Serie B in 2006.
Nonetheless, Mourinho has benefited from entering the Italian game at time of disruption, when the means and relative stability at Inter have been great assets.
For a man with such a reputation as a pragmatist, he takes part of the credit for a first-leg encounter with Chelsea that was full of entertainment and admirable technique. It will be to the benefit of European football as a whole if Mourinho can inspire a revival by the renowned Serie A clubs.
Progress, all the same, ought not to be made on that front tonight. If there is disquiet about Chelsea it reflects their own flaws more than the prowess of Inter. The Premier League table lays bare a vulnerability seldom associated with them.
There are seven clubs whose defensive record at home is superior to Chelsea’s. It is not difficult to track the sources of deterioration in the post-Mourinho period.
Ricardo Carvalho is no longer the smooth yet powerful centre-back he once was and it is open to debate whether the Portuguese or Alex ought to be paired with John Terry.
The club captain has himself been affected by having the England captaincy taken from him.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech’s calf muscle problem has been unsettling, too, with neither Hilario nor Ross Turnbull convincing as deputies between the posts.
Resilience has been further undermined by the loss to injury of the left-back Ashley Cole and the powerful Michael Essien. It is as if the Fates have introduced a handicap system to ensure that Inter stay in contention.
Chelsea should keep self-pity at bay by remembering how today’s visitors toiled in their group.
Barcelona, naturally, won it, but it was still mediocre of Inter to register a mere pair of victories, over Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev. Mourinho’s side, with three draws in that phase, seemed to depend on being difficult to beat.
There was stylishness from Inter and, particularly, from Wesley Sneijder in the first leg with Chelsea. If Ancelotti’s team are not presently equipped for flawless work in defence, they will have to impose themselves in attack.
It would be of benefit if Nicolas Anelka, subdued since Didier Drogba’s return from the Africa Cup of Nations, rediscovered his form. Chelsea have their worries, but they also possess the means to ease them.
Head-to-Head Played: 1 (Win: Inter)
Feb 24th, 2010: Inter 2 Chelsea 1
Appearances in Last Eight
Champions League:Chelsea 6, Inter 4
European Cup:Inter 10, Chelsea 6
