JOSÉ MOURINHO will jeopardise Chelsea’s chances of a clean sweep of trophies tomorrow when he fields a weakened team in the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Newcastle United. The Portuguese manager admits that he could be criticised for undermining the competition but claims that the move has been forced on him by English football’s refusal to assist teams who are competing in the European Cup.
As well as the absence of John Terry, who is suspended, Chelsea are likely to rest Petr Cech, Frank Lampard, Damien Duff, Claude Makelele and most of the regular first XI. “If we lose, they will say that I have no respect for the FA Cup but I do not have supermen,” Mourinho said. “I have to give to each competition the value I deem is right. We are a fantastic team but we will go to Newcastle, to play against a strong team, with my second team.”
It is, he claims, the only way he can give his players a chance of becoming only the second English team to reach the European Cup final in the 13 seasons since the introduction of the Champions League. Manchester United’s success in 1999 remains an isolated triumph.
Mourinho, the reigning European champion after his victory with FC Porto in May, said that English football had only itself to blame for the underachievement. He accused the game’s administrators of undermining the chances of Premiership teams, with Chelsea, obviously, given the least support of all.
“First, it is very, very difficult to win it [the European Cup],” Mourinho said. “You can perform well, have a great team, have a big ambition, but one mistake and you are out even if you don’t deserve to be.
Advertisement
“Second, we, that is English teams, must play differently in Europe compared to the Premiership. The English are more emotional. They play more with their hearts than with their brains. When they meet clever, cunning, treacherous opponents from Portugal, Italy and Spain they normally come out the worse.
“Third, other countries protect the teams playing in Europe. English football doesn’t help its teams, most of all Chelsea. For example, in Portugal, I would play on the Friday before a Champions League game. Someone from the league would ring me and say, ‘You are playing Real Madrid on Wednesday, when do you want to play your league games?’
“Here we play Sunday night. We seem to be a special case. When we need to play earlier, we play later and when we need to play late the game is early. Nobody gets help, but Chelsea least of all. I know the game must be on TV but why must we play on Sunday? We have to fly to Barcelona and we wll get there at two in the morning. But we can’t use this as excuses or prepare ourselves to go out. It’s the way things are.”
Chelsea’s quest for an unprecedented quadruple enters a critical week. They must face the Spanish league leaders in the Nou Camp on Wednesday and, next Sunday, meet Liverpool in the Carling Cup final.
There is a two-week gap until their next Barclays Premiership match but Mourinho continues to insist that the league title, which would be Chelsea’s first for 50 years, is the priority. “That is the highest ambition for me because when I win it I can say ‘I won it because I am the best’,” he said. “I’m saying this against myself but to win the Champions League, you need luck.
Advertisement
“I had it against Manchester United when we scored in the last minute [in the first knockout round last season]. I can tell you that the best English team wins the Premier League but it may not be the best team in Europe which wins the Champions League.”