ALL eyes will be on Jose Mourinho when he returns to Stamford Bridge with Manchester United tomorrow.
The Special One got stick for his side’s cagey goalless draw at Liverpool but there’s such a lot of football snobbery about.
Both Mourinho and Chelsea boss Antonio Conte view defending as an art form.
That is why they have been successful.
United chief Mourinho has won eight titles, three at Chelsea, two each at Porto and Inter and one with Real Madrid. Conte won Serie A three times with Juventus and Serie B with Bari.
In seven of those eight Mourinho titles, his team conceded the fewest goals. They only top-scored twice.
Conte’s winning teams conceded the fewest goals in three of the four seasons and only outscored the rest once.
It was Mourinho’s intention to build from that solid defensive platform.
When he has other weapons, he does things differently. Real Madrid won La Liga in 2012 scoring a record 121 goals.
And when Chelsea won the Premier League in 2014-15, he changed the way they played mid-season.
Up until Tottenham on New Year’s Day, they were about style. They lost 5-3 and were dead level with Manchester City, on points and goals scored. After that, they were about substance.
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They ended up scoring ten fewer than City, conceding six less, and winning the league by eight points.
And defending doesn’t just win titles, it can keep you up as well.
Last season Aston Villa conceded the most goals, Norwich the second most, Newcastle the fourth most. Five teams scored fewer goals than Newcastle, including Stoke, who finished ninth.
In 2014-15, QPR conceded the most and finished bottom — but four teams scored less than them, including West Brom who were 13th.
It is about winning matches, getting points. It’s not just about the ‘beautiful game’ — it has to be about defending, too.
You wouldn’t sign a centre-forward because of his assists — you want him scoring goals.
It’s the same at the back. I wouldn’t just want a defender because he hits a 50-yard pass, or someone who could be a sweeper-keeper. I’d want them to defend properly or save shots.
Mourinho won’t care what people say about his team because he knows what wins leagues. You need to grind out results at times.
He doesn’t just “park the bus” but there will be games where United are more conservative. That is the blueprint that has got him eight titles in four countries.
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