Not Everyone Can Do A Chelsea!

"England attempted to do a Chelsea"

If you have been surfing through the web, exploring football news (especially about Euro 2012) you would have probably come across phrases like “doing a Chelsea”, “pulling a Chelsea” or even “trying a Chelsea”. If a team tried their best not to concede goals, then they are being accused of “doing a Chelsea”. Well, if doing a Chelsea means fighting till the end, against all the odds, commitment, courage then its fine by me. But let me remind you one thing. Not everyone can do a Chelsea.

Chelsea rule at the Camp Nou

It wasn’t a piece of cake for Chelsea to become the European Champions. We beat Valencia, Napoli, Benfica, Barcelona and Bayern Munich to be finally called as European champions. We overturned a 3-1 deficit against Napoli. John Terry played with broken ribs. Two of our center backs (Luiz and Cahill) got injured, had to use right backs as centers; but still we scored two goals with 10 men at Camp Nou in front of 90+ thousand fans. Everything was against us. But still, our manager, players and fans wouldn’t just give up so easily. Because, we are Chelsea. Not everyone can fight like we do.

Yes, we defended a lot. But no, it wasn’t boring and it definitely wasn’t anti-football. We took our chances, moved forward and took our shots. Considering the main objective of a football game is to score goals; then passing passing passing in the midfield looks more boring and anti-football to me. In the case of Chelsea, it was a well-organized plan by our manager and flawlessly actuated protocols by our players. This is isn’t as easy as it sounds. I mean over turning a 3-1 deficit, leveling with Barcelona at their magnificent Camp Nou and beating Bayern Munich at their own Allianz Arena isn’t a weak man’s job. It requires legends. Legends like Frank Lampard, John Terry and Didier Drogba who have an unbelievable fighting spirit.

Neuer unable to react to Drogba's bullet

After beating Chelsea 3-1 in the first leg, Napoli thought they won it. But then stepped Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Ivanovic to prove them wrong. In the semifinal first leg at Stamford Bridge, Barcelona were bossing around. But Lampard, Ramires and Drogba didn’t like it. They stepped up and shut the mouths of all the haters. In the second leg John Terry was sent off (rightly so), Barcelona scored two goals and they thought they won it. But Lampard, Ramires and Torres didn’t agree with them. In the final when Bayern Munich took the lead in the 82^nd minute. They took Muller off, thinking that these defending Chelsea players cannot do anything now. But then stepped up a legend with a newsflash: WE SCORE WHEN WE WANT. Didier Drogba came with a thunderous bullet and that over confident Neuer didn’t even know when the ball hit the net. Shortly after that, we were called the European champions.

Well not everyone has legends like Drogba, Terry and Lampard etc. Not every team has a Roberto Di Matteo. That’s why not everyone can pull a Chelsea. So people should stop comparing Chelsea with teams who just parks the bus. Because at Chelsea, we park the bus and then score when we want to.

By #LimCFC

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Our Best Champions League Matches of the Season

Today we recap some of the most amazing matches of last season as the BLUES marched on and became European Champions....

No one except Chelsea fans believed it was possible. That is why, when we finally won the Champions League on May 19th 2012, Chelsea fans were beyond jubilant. Our tireless faith had paid off, & we became Champions of Europe for the 1st time in our history.The win wasn't a "fluke", by any means. The team worked extremely hard to win the trophy. We may not have had the best team in the tournament, but our desire & never-say-die attitude eventually came through. Let us now take a look at the 5 best matches we played in the Champions League:-

Chelsea celebrating the 3rd goal vs. Valencia

1) Chelsea vs. Valencia, December 6th 2011- I believe this match was the turning point for us in our Champions League campaign. Chelsea had to win this match in order to qualify for the knock-out stages, but that was easier said than done. Results weren't exactly going our way, & there were rumours of dressing-room unrest between the players & the manager. The performance that we saw was nothing less than magnificent. The team played mostly on the counter, allowing Valencia to play their game. The tactic worked wonders. Didier Drogba chose that night to show Chelsea that he still had it, producing a fine performance that included 2 goals & 1 assist. Chelsea won the game 3-0, & that match was the moment that Chelsea fans realized that this could be our year.

Ivanovic (right) after scoring the winner

2) Chelsea vs. Napoli, March 14th 2012- 3-1 down after the first leg. Andre Villas-Boas sacked. Club in total disarray. No one expected us to make the quarter-finals. The match started, & Didier Drogba proved his love for the big stage once again by putting Chelsea ahead. Later, John Terry scored from a corner to make it 2-0. This scoreline was enough to see us through. But Napoli pulled one back. 2-1. Now Chelsea needed 2 goals to go through. When fans were beginning to lose hope, a penalty was awarded to Chelsea for handball. Frank Lampard stepped up, & showed us all exactly why we call him Super Frank. Into extra-time, & Fernando Torres, who had come on as a sub, missed a chance to put us ahead. But it didn't prove too costly as Ivanovic scored what was to be the winner. Chelsea won 5-4 on aggregate & were through to the quarters, against all odds.

Drogba scoring the only goal of the match

3) Chelsea vs. Barcelona, April 18th 2012- The first leg of what promised to be an interesting and intense semi-final. The match had special significance for Chelsea fans after what had happened the last time these 2 teams clashed at Stamford Bridge. As was expected, Barcelona had most of the possession, but that was exactly what Chelsea wanted. On what seemed to be our first chance to break, Didier Drogba (who else?) scored right before half-time. Barcelona came out all guns blazing in the 2nd half, but nothing they did seemed to break down a stubborn Chelsea defence. Chelsea went into the 2nd leg at the Camp Nou with a lead to protect, albeit a slender one.

Torres scoring in injury-time

4) Barcelona vs. Chelsea, April 24th 2012- The second leg of the semi-final. Chelsea had a 1-0 lead after the 1st leg, but that lead quickly disappeared when Sergio Busquets found the back of the net in the 35th minute. Minutes later, John Terry was given a straight red card for a foul on Alexis Sanchez. Iniesta then doubled their lead in the 43rd minute, & it appeared to be all but over for Chelsea. However, a delightful chip by Ramires made the score 2-1, & suddenly the tie was back in our favour. The next half was spent mostly trying to defend our slender advantage. There were some scary moments, like the penalty Drogba conceded. But Lionel Messi failed to convert the effort, & Chelsea kept digging deep, simply refusing to yield. Then, in injury time, a Barcelona attack was cleared down-field, & the ball found substitute striker Fernando Torres, who was clean through with only the keeper to beat. He went around Valdes & calmly slotted home, hence ending any hopes Barca may have had of beating us. Chelsea were through to the finals.

Drogba scoring the winning penalty

5) Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich, May 19th 2012- A day Chelsea fans will never forget for as long as we live (we'll even remember it in our afterlife). This was the day we'd all been waiting for; the finals. Bayern Munich had most of the chances throughout the game, but only scored in the 83rd minute through Thomas Muller. Normally that 1 goal would have sufficed, but Chelsea's stubbornness to let go of the Champions League shone through & Drogba managed to equalize in the 89th minute. Enter extra-time. Bayern had a penalty given to them after Drogba fouled Ribery inside the box, but Robben's kick was poor, & Cech saved. Extra-time finished, & it was down to penalties. Lahm scored Bayern's 1st kick, but Mata's penalty was saved. Cech was in sublime form though, & saved the penalty of Ivica Olic, before Schweinsteiger hit the post. The score was 3-3, & up stepped Didier Drogba. With amazing calm, he slotted home. Chelsea became Champions of Europe.  

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Do Chelsea Really Need a New Striker?

Torres will lead the Chelsea strike force from next season....

Here’s something to ponder about: should we or shouldn’t we sign a new striker? All eyes from fans to rivals to haters will be on Chelsea. And thank god it’s for the right reasons; we’re the reigning European Champions, we signed two amazing talented wingers, with one being a hot property all Europe elites tried to get their hands on (who could forget all the rubbish talk other team's supporters said after Hazard sign for Chelsea?), and finally, Roman is showing he means business this time around by trying to sign other talented and gifted players to perfect the club.

We have signed Hazard and Marin, two very talented wingers, which Chelsea desperately need as last season saw us possess our most least attacking team we’ve ever seen under Roman. As everyone believes, with Di Matteo signed as permanent manager, we will be playing under the classic 4-2-3-1 formation. We have the defense and midfield pretty much covered with a signing in the right back position to perfect our defense. The attacking half of midfield is also covered as we have players who can fit in these positions; but as many believe (and if I might add, so do I) we need one more signing to fill the right wing position, and if I might add again, I strongly believe Hulk will be a perfect addition for us.

Back to the point, the one position that caught my eye is the striker. Yes we have three players who can play there, but with the loss of king Didier, only one of the three is on par to the Drog. Fernando Torres. The Chelsea hierarchy has stated that he's in the club's long term plans and will lead the attacking line up as well,which in my opinion is great news. Torres hasn't been at his very best since he joined us from Mersyside, but since RDM  took charge, Torres has shown us the flashes of his old form and also that he can destroy defenses at will even today. Fact is, Torres was Chelsea's top scorer in the Premier league under Roberto Di Matteo on par with Drogba, both scored 4 goals each. Another fact is that Torres topped the assist chart with 6 one above fellow team mate and Spain international, Mata.  But then again, is Fernando enough? We will be competing in more competitions than we did in previous seasons, adding the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Club. So that means we’ll need other quality strikers to either replace Torres for rotation and to add more depth in our squad. But before that let’s take a look at the other strikers we currently have.

Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku has great potential and is gifted but that lad requitres playing time...

When bought from Anderlecht in 2011, Lukaku was dubbed the new Drogba. He scored 33 goals in his 73 appearances in 3 years with Anderlecht. Physic wise, he does resemble a young Drogba, whose main attribute was his sheer power, pace, technical abilities and goal scoring instinct. So far Lukaku has shown he got the power and pace, but still lack technical abilities and his scoring instinct. I’d blame that on the fact that he is still very young and lacks experience, whilst Drogba came to Chelsea when he was 26. So what’s the best way to quickly polish this young talent? My answer would be to loan him either to Ligue 1 or Bundesliga or any English club for a season or two. Let’s be honest, I personally don’t see Di Matteo giving him the nod to play anytime soon. It’d be great if he's loaned.

Daniel Sturridge

Sturridge is a great talent with great dribbling ability and great pace. I doubt anyone would argue with that. But after Di Matteo started taking charge at the Bridge, Sturridge began to fade. He lost his starting position and was benched most of the times. Why is that? Because Di Matteo makes his players play as one, as a team. Whilst Sturridge has the tendency to shoot at will even with a teammate in a better position to shoot. One might argue that Sturridge is the answer to provide back up for Torres as our main striker, and yes I also think he’s got the ability and talent to do so. But the question remains, is Sturridge enough to back up Torres? In my opinion, yes he is. We could see that the only problem Sturridge had last season was his willingness to pass, besides that, I see a formidable striker in the making. Well there have been rumors that Danny could leave Chelsea but nothing concrete has been reported yet but still you never know.

So anyways, basically in my opinion, in the mean time we don’t need to sign a new striker as some have suggested.  We might as well focus on signing Hulk and a new right back. Hulk himself can also play as a striker so if we do sign him, it'll ease any injury or suspension problems we face later on. Torres and Sturridge are great strikers any club could have. With Lukaku seemingly getting a loan, the two will be our main strikers and with the three attacking midfielders behind them, we’d be a great attacking force.

What do you guys think? Please do comment, we love to hear from you guys....

Till then, Keep the Blue Flag Flying High!

#HWCFC(CFC360)

Old Lady Bids For El Niño

Juventus looking to capture Chelsea's number 9.

Exclusive reports from over 8 newspapers from around the world are reporting that Juventus have made a bid for our  number 9 Fernando Torres. The Spanish striker who after winning the Champions league said that he doesn’t know where his future lies got a backing from the CFC board and said he’s going nowhere. But speculations and rumors from the ever expanding rumor mill suggest something else.

A report from Crunchsports read as follows-

According to a report on Goal.com, the newly crowned Serie A champions have made an opening offer for the out-of-sorts hitman, after being priced out of a move for Napoli star Edinson Cavani.

Juventus are planning for a summer of strengthening as they aim to defend their title next season, with Juve chiefs looking to bring in a marquee signing.That was believed to be Cavani, but Napoli have since slapped a €70 million price-tag on the Uruguayan's head, forcing the Bianconeri to look elsewhere.After Fernando Torres showed flashes of his old form recently Euro 2012, it has been claimed that he is now firmly in the sights of Juve boss Antonio Conte.

As such, the club are believed to have made an opening bid of €30 million, with Juventus director Fabio Paratici having already made contact with Torres' representatives.

While it is unsure whether Chelsea would be willing to part with their £50 million striker, it is thought that blues' owner Roman Abramovich would consider allowing Torres to leave if he was able to secure a deal for Porto's star forward Hulk, who is rumoured to be a target for the Champions League winners.

"Torres is the second choice for Juventus, but the impression is that getting Cavani is going to be very difficult, so Torres could be the perfect solution. To be competitive in the Champions League, Juventus need a striker with international experience. Torres has that and he is slowly returning to his form of old."

- Vittorio Campanile, Goal.com Italy Chief Editor

Does it look like this lad could quit Chelsea?

Sportsmail’s Simon Jones thinks Torres is highly unlikely to part company with the reigning European Champions. This is what he had to say- 

Juventus are desperate to find a centre-forward to spearhead their revival and have been trying for Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain without much luck. Fernando Torres has long been on their radar and they will try again to see if Chelsea will part with the Spaniard. However, Roman Abramovich is determined to keep Torres and recruit a Barcelona-style squad around him which will see quick, fleet-footed players who are good in possession continue to arrive at Stamford Bridge. That is likely to force Juve to look elsewhere and Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie remains on their radar. Chelsea continue to admire Hatem Ben Arfa of Newcastle and hold interest in Lille right-back Mathieu Debuchy and Inter Milan’s Maicon.

The best is yet to come from the 50 miillion man....

Goal.com,Give me football,crunchsports,footballitalia,sportscamp and an ample of other newspaers are widely reporting Juventus have submitted a £24m bid for Torres.Well our Chief executive Ron Gourlay said that Torres is definitely in the club’s long term plans.

Its quite clear from the recent signings that the club is planning to set up a team around Fernando so that he could once again recapture his goal scoring form that once made him one of the most feared strikers around Europe.

Torres showed shades of his early days in the latter part of the season and he’s been fine scoring form for the Spanish National team in the Euros as well.

Torres has won 2 trophies with the Blues in the past 18 months and now with the old Drog gone its time for Torres to fill the void that king DD has left. And I’m sure he’s up for the challenge as well.

Well all of us at CFC360 hope that Nando stays at Chelsea as the best is yet to come from him and his confidence at the Euros and those sublime strikes against Ireland make you feel that the coming footballing season could be Torres’s.

Till then KTBFFH as always...

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