Our Special Friday Video – CFC Road To Munich

We are literally on the road to Munich so here is our Friday video about the club’s road to Munich

Why Chelsea as Underdogs Suits Chelsea Fine

Being the underdog has served Chelsea well this season so far and it is a moniker that I am willing to embrace in the build up to Saturday’s final.

Underdog means less pressure from the media and fewer stories written to try and build us up to fail, it does not quell the hunger or desire but rather give another reason (as if really needed) for the players to go out there and bring the trophy back to Stamford Bridge.

So far this season we have had the underdog tag against Napoli in the second leg and both legs against Barcelona and despite the odds we came out victorious.

This underdog status seems to spur us on to overachieve this season and prove a point, the words of the media and Bayern will surely be pinned to the dressing room on Saturday next to the supportive tweets from our fans.

There has been a lot of talk coming out of the Bayern camp this week and this is encouraging, confident teams stick to their own game and stay out of the media.

Despite the underdog tag we seem quietly confident.

The Miracle Of The Nou Camp – A Fans Eye View

I am going to kick off our build up to the Champions League Final with an emotional fans view compilation of the Barcelona v Chelsea semi final.

I challenge you not to get emotional watching this

Champions League Final Tactical Preview

The biggest game of the football calendar is almost upon us and there is still an English team in Europe. Forget the domestic squabble in Manchester for the league title and the minor battle for third place in North London. Chelsea are in the final of the Champions League.

Having overcome the might of Barcelona over two dramatic legs, the Blues now enter the fray to face Bayern Munich at their home – the Allianz Arena. With suspensions and injuries casting doubts over the team selection on both sides, this promises to be a very interesting tactical battle for the tag of best team in Europe.

That memorable night in Catalonia was not without its casualties, with Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles all picking up bookings which rule them out of the final. Also, captain John Terry was sent off for a stupid nudge on Alexis Sanchez meaning that he will personally not be able to exorcise the ghosts of Moscow 2008.

Our opponents Bayern came through as victors against Real Madrid through a penalty shootout at the Bernabeu after both legs finished 2-1 to the respective home sides. They themselves will be without the services of defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo, left-back David Alaba and central defender Holger Badstuber who are also suspended for accumulated yellow cards.

Threat from the wings:

Bayern like to attack through the wide areas with the creative duo of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben – both very direct players with excellent movement who look to come in from the wings. Spearheading the attack will be Mario Gomez who feeds well of the wide men with his running into the channels and good physical ability.

Chelsea interim boss Roberto Di Matteo has been boosted by news this week that his remaining centre-backs (in the absence of Terry and Ivanovic), Gary Cahill and David Luiz, have returned to training. Unless they face a serious setback in their recovery, there is no doubt that both will start, even if they are not 100% fit.

It is of note that this pair struggled heavily against a similar attacking trio in Naples. In their defence, that was the first occasion they were playing together, they were left unprotected by a poor central midfield selection by Andre Villas-Boas and both have progressed under Di Matteo, but this will be an area Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes will look to exploit.

There is a choice for Di Matteo at right-back between Jose Bosingwa and Paulo Ferreira. After good recent performances, with the away game at Barcelona particularly sticking out, it is likely Bosingwa will be persisted with. However, he will require protection from whoever is chosen to play wide right to deal with the clever Ribery.

The Frenchman likes to drop deep and drag his marker out of position, so Chelsea’s midfield will have to be wary to cover whenever there is such an occurrence. On the right wing, Robben is more direct at taking on his opposing full-back. It will be interesting to see if and how often the two switch flanks with the possibility of the Dutchman getting frustrated against Ashley Cole.

There are few wingers these days that can take on their marker and beat them on the outside like Robben, which could pose a novel challenge for Bosingwa if the former Chelsea fan favourite does switch to the left. This would favour the inclusion of Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda (if fit) on the wings, with both being the most defensively aware forward players at Di Matteo’s disposal.

No Ramires = dearth of good options:

If Malouda is unable to make it, this will pose a quandary to the Italian. One option will be to switch Juan Mata to the flank, but he will be reluctant to do so (for reasons explained later). Another option would be Daniel Sturridge but again there is the problem of him lacking discipline.

It is unlikely that Di Matteo will change the system to accommodate both Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres so Chelsea’s best bet will be to have Malouda fit and ready. However, playing both Malouda and Kalou could significantly curtail Chelsea’s creativity so more of the burden will be on Mata and Frank Lampard.

This just goes to show how big a miss Ramires is to the Chelsea set-up, especially under Di Matteo. His ability to play two or three positions at the same time and superb team ethic provide the manager with a host of options. In past years, Michael Essien would have easily slotted into that kind of role but he has been the shadow of his former self since his latest injury comeback. He still remains an option though.

In the middle:

This makes the proverbial midfield battle all the more crucial. The Bavarians would usually line up with Gustavo as the deepest midfielder with either Bastian Schweinsteiger or Toni Kroos alongside him. The latter is the more attacking minded and his ability with the ball is often used in a more attacking role ahead of Gustavo and Schweinsteiger.

However, with Gustavo suspended, Heynckes could be forced to play Kroos and Schweinsteiger alongside each other with Thomas Muller, naturally a striker, ahead of them. This is where Chelsea can really impose themselves on the game.

Blues fans will not need to be told the dire consequences that can result from playing two naturally box-to-box type midfielders as the double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 after Villas-Boas’s experiment with Meireles and Ramires in Naples which ended in a 3-1 defeat. Heynckes does have the option of playing defensive-minded Anatoliy Tymoshchuk in the holding role.

The lack of a designated holding player could open up spaces especially for Mata to play in, just like Borussia Dortmund player Shinji Kagawa did in the German Cup final a week ago (this was with Gustavo on the pitch). This, in addition to the fact that Di Matteo prefers Mata to have less defensive duties, will most likely dissuade the Italian from putting him on the wing.

If there is uncertainty in Bayern’s midfield positioning, this could be a perfect game for Lampard, scorer of the equaliser in Moscow, to make some of his well-timed runs and exploit these gaps. Having Ramires’s pace and energy would have been potentially decisive in this game but his suspension means the battle for midfield will be closer to call.

Lampard and Mata will be Chelsea’s most key players. They played well in tandem during the FA Cup semifinal against Sp*rs, Lampard orchestrating the game from a deeper position and Mata dropping into pockets of space between the defence and midfield to feed Drogba. If they are able to repeat that level of coordination, Chelsea will be well on their way to winning this game.

Fragile at the back:

In their 5-2 loss to Bundesliga winners Dortmund in their Cup final, Bayern showed a high level of susceptibility at the back. This was with their first choice squad. The suspensions to Badstuber and Alaba will require some rejigging in the backline.

One possible scenario will be to move Phillip Lahm to left-back with Rafinha coming in at right-back and Tymoshchuk or Daniel van Buyten in central defence. Another would be to keep Lahm in the right-back position and bring in Contento to replace Alaba at left-back.

In any case, this will be another chink in their armour that Di Matteo would have noticed watching that Cup final from the stands. Again he has the decision to make between Drogba and Torres. But despite the latter’s late heroics in Barcelona, it should most probably be Drogba to spearhead Chelsea’s attack in what could be his last game for the club.

Closing notes:

With both teams hit by suspensions due to UEFA’s ridiculous yellow card accumulation rules, the managers will be wary of an open game. Most experts predict a high-scoring encounter due to both sides not having some of their best defenders.

However, it often happens that such games fail to live up to that billing as both teams look to make up for defensive fragilities by overcompensating in terms of caution. It will probably take a moment of brilliance by one of the attacking players, or even a set piece, to decide this game.

Both teams have well-documented weaknesses. It will be upto the managers to ensure that they decide on a system that papers over the cracks while still allowing the world class quality at their disposal to shine.

Come on the Chels.

You can find me on Twitter @Celeryphile.

German For English Football Fans Heading To Munich

If like me you speak no German now may be a handy time to learn some German phrases, these could be helpful in your bar in New York, London or even dare I say it the beer halls in Munich.

So where are the phrases we think may come in useful in the next few days.

Do you speak English? – Sprechen sie Englisch?

A large Beer please sir – Ein großes Bier bitte sir

Which way to the stadium – Der Weg zum Stadion

How Much? – Wieviel? Was kostet das?

And the politically incorrect (it’s a joke relax)

Two World Wars and One World Cup  - swie welt krieg und ein fussball welt meister

We are on the road and we will see you in Munich and we will be tweeting @Famous_cfc #roadtomunich hashtag