Mourinho makes his absence felt

Remember, it's all about the players. Every football manager says it and down the years probably a couple of them have actually meant it. For Chelsea last night it carried literal meaning because - breaking news - Jose Mourinho was not here for this game.

Banned by Uefa, Mourinho was forced from the dugout and chose to extend his geographical isolation by not even attending Stamford Bridge. Mourinho was here, in spirit if not in person. Mourinho's captain John Terry had told the players to "do it for the gaffer" and Terry urged Chelsea's fans to sing Mourinho's name long and loud.

They responded loudly if not continually, hailing Mourinho by name in the fifth minute after Joe Cole had given Chelsea a fortunate lead. Mourinho's name was then sung again just before the half-time interval.

Those 15 minutes were filled with the sort of intrigue Mourinho invites like a magnet. Was Chelsea's fitness coach Rui Faria wearing an earpiece under his hat? If so was he listening to BBC Five Live? Uefa wanted to know and an official scuttled off to find out.

There was another question as the second half developed. Who was that balding figure shouting to Steve Clarke and Baltemar Brito, Mourinho's assistants, just after returning from the tunnel on 59 minutes? The answer is Silvino Louro, Chelsea's goalkeeping coach. Four minutes later Robert Huth came on as a substitute. We were in grassy knoll territory.

Bayern Munich, meanwhile, were oblivious. They had serious business to pursue which, given their nickname in Germany, "FC Hollywood," provoked the odd guffaw in Bavaria. Bayern know all about showbiz and if Jose Dos Santos Mourinho really is unsettled at Chelsea then Bayern could offer him their stage.

Mourinho seems to need it.

So there were to be no tactical instructions ferried down the tunnel as was the case when Mourinho had been ordered from the bench in the League Cup final against Liverpool in Cardiff. Nor were there to be notes forwarded to men like Joe Cole: "Aim for deflections when shooting".

But there were notes from Mourinho, programme notes. These began politely - "Good evening." There was then a stab at humour regarding the Chelsea masseur Billy McCulloch. The Chelsea players, Mourinho revealed, wanted McCulloch to sit on the bench "with my coat and scarf on"!

But you knew something was coming, Mourinho could not mark such an occasion with pleasantries. And there it was: "If I say what I feel in my soul, I will attract more headlines and more trouble. It is strange in this industry, when you say what you feel and believe, you pay for it. My message to the press is this: please concentrate on the pitch tonight. You don't have to try and find me, you can't. Please don't spend your time doing that."

Greta Garbo was straightforward by comparison.