Celebration Time

It is really hard to imagine how the offloading of stake in Sibneft, gathered during the era of Soviet oligarchy, by one Mr. Roman Abramovich, and the managerial genius of a Portuguese, Mr. Jose Mourinho could just be the beginning of a club dynasty that the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United had earlier built.

Yesterday, Chelsea defeated ManU comprehensively, 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to seal off the EPL for the second season in a row. Its not so much as the winning that is important. But just looking at the meteoric rise of a middle-of-the-table team to an almost unbeatable bunch of players is truly great. A couple of seasons ago, when Abramovich spent big sums on buying players and Mourinho, ditching a bumbling Claudio Ranieri, he did cause a flutter in the dressing rooms across Europe. The big bet was not money anymore - but if money could make Chelsea the winners. And here is where Mourinho The Manager came in. Unlike the Galacticos of Madrid, who are all star players in their own right, but not clicking as a team, Jose built a team that is at worst methodical and ruthless at the best of times.

There are still doubts over Chelsea. Their failure at the Champions League being their biggest undoing. Their FA Cup loss last week to Liverpool did not help matters either. Jose Mourinho may be miles away from Sir Alex Ferguson or Gerrard Houllier (I do suspect nationalist sentiments here). Statistics are meant for those people who never realised their dream of playing. Chelsea has brokered a power change in EPL. The game is on.

Disclaimer: I am not a Chelsea fan.

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