Wednesday 11th March: All was doom and gloom after Chelsea FC had been eliminated by Paris St. Germain from the EUFA Champions League.
37 and 1/2 hours later Jose Mourinho marched into pre match press conference for the Southampton match on Sunday 15th March.
In those intervening hours and days the initial gloom and despondency that had been evident in the Chelsea fans demeanor had been replaced with anger at certain pundits and the media in general.
On social media Jamie Carragher and Graham Souness had been called all the names under the sun (and a few new ones) for their hypocritical analysis of the PSG match and the fans started rounding up the wagons again against the media criticism once more. It was back to “us against the world” after an unfamiliar brief respite.
Then the biggest fan of Chelsea FC, Jose Mourinho, started to answer questions from the assembled vultures, I mean reporters in what turned out to be a classic press conference. The reporters thought they could press him on the defeat to PSG and what appears to be a slide in performance from the team. What actually happened was Jose went on the attack and mauled some reporters and the 2 so called pundits that it’s doubtful they will ever want to speak about him again!
JOSE IS BACK ON THE ATTACK!
When pushed about events during the defeat to PSG he slapped the reporter down by saying he doesn’t want to talk about the Champions League and if the reporter wants to speak about it then speak to Wenger (Arsene) or “Pellegrino”.
Manual Pellegrini doesn’t like being called Pellegrino, a fact not lost on Jose, was it deliberate? Was it meant to get into Manuel’s head and wind him up in the battle for the Premier League? You bet it was!
When pushed even further about the defeat Jose responded by pointing out that it’s the same people (players) that won the Carling Cup and that are top of the Premier League since day 1. Again the reporter asked how are you going to ensure that doesn’t affect the chances of winning the Premier League, to which Jose responded “Why are you so pessimistic?” and then gave the reporter a lesson in being optimistic before telling him to “move on man” with a shrug of his shoulders and a wry smile.
Jose 1 Press 0.
His next attack was subtle………..
He said he was not like the wind that blows from side to side, he likes his players, he supports his players, we win together we lose together. Heavy references to the way the press blow like the wind with their reporting of Chelsea FC, not consistent like he is!
Jose 2 Press 0.
Then came the coup de grace, He said the world was strange, maybe it’s a problem with the diet, because memories are short! I could just imagine Jamie Carragher and Graham Souness jumping behind a sofa at that point because they knew what would come next! Jamie Carragher stopped playing 2 years ago and must have forgotten everything he did on a pitch, and as for Graham Souness, well he stopped playing for longer but was manager at Benfica. As Jose reminded everyone he coached at Benfica after Graham Souness had been there and “I know a lot about him, I know so much about him”
He ended the annihilation with a Cantana-esque quote ” The envy is the biggest tribute that shadows do to the man”
The hypocrites had been outed and slam dunked in record breaking time!
Jose 3 The media 0.
In 16 minutes Jose Mourinho, Chelsea FC’s biggest fan wiped away the sad memories of 3 nights ago, and replaced them with renewed hope and optimism (unlike a certain reporter!) for the challenge of winning the Premier League and completing a memorable Double season for us all.
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Next: Chelsea FC's History Part 2