Jose Mourinho is a very special coach - and a master of both Chelsea and Inter Milan
Jose Mourinho emerged victorious but he know the game is not even half-won
The ball hit the net and the Chelsea players, elated, ran past the dugout housing the management and staff of Inter Milan and directly to their coach, Carlo Ancelotti.
They should have at least tipped a grateful nod of acknowledgement towards the glowering figure on the touchline, though. So much of the energy in this match was his.
Jose Mourinho emerged victorious but he will know the game is not even half-won, although the absence of Petr Cech, the stricken Chelsea goalkeeper, strengthens Inter Milan’s hand considerably.
A 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in three weeks’ time would still send Chelsea through, thanks to that away goal by Salomon Kalou, but it was a testament to the resolve instilled in both teams by a very special coach that each will feel it is in a position of strength going into the second leg.
Both can make a case. Chelsea rode the loss of an early goal and will feel aggrieved not to have led at half-time, particularly as Kalou should have been awarded a penalty. Inter Milan showed great heart by taking the lead again within two minutes of Chelsea’s equaliser and there were less than five minutes in which Chelsea played on level terms, a point that will not have been lost on Mourinho.
The maestro: Mourinho conducts matters from the touchlines
Where in recent years, Inter have disappointed against Premier League opposition, there is no doubt Mourinho has constructed a team in his image. If Chelsea wondered what to expect they needed only to look in the mirror.
Mourinho stood, on the farthest corner of the technical area conducting proceedings like a man possessed. He gestured extravagantly, raged at minor failings, there was no doubt this was a defining match for him. When Chelsea got a corner in injury-time and Inter brought every man back to defend it, Mourinho sprinted to within screaming distance to tell two players to stay high up on the halfway line. Immediately, Chelsea had to withdraw players to cover. It was a small detail, but no manager does hands-on quite like Mourinho.
He said he was not out to prove a point to his former employers, but anyone who believes this does not know the man, or any man, for that matter. Yet there was more to it than mere revenge because Chelsea are also a side against which good teams are measured.
They have been a hair’s breadth from being champions of Europe in consecutive seasons, and if Inter are to go that step further they must be prepared to devour some of England’s elite on the way. They delivered the match we had hoped for the bruising, punishing, fearsome contest between teams at the pinnacle of two of the world’s strongest leagues. It was not always pretty, it was not always fair, there was perhaps nothing to match the divine interventions of Ronaldinho against United last week, but there was beauty for those that wished to find it. Not every painting has to be a watercolour; not every melody has to sound sweet.
So, for 90 minutes, Inter Milan and Chelsea mauled each other. The midfield, in particular, was a battlefield and scoring opportunities were limited but what shone through was how well one man had schooled both sides.
Ancelotti may speak for half of them now, but they remain Mourinho’s in so many ways. He was right, there were no secrets here, and there will be even less at Stamford Bridge, yet strangely that is what makes the contest so compelling.
Cech Inj