Concerns about Chelsea’s ability to win a third straight Premiership title run to the very heart of Stamford Bridge, with fears expressed by Jose Mourinho about the strength of his team’s credentials being replicated in the boardroom after the 2-2 draw at home to Fulham and a goalless draw away to Aston Villa.
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A hearty rendition of O Sole Mio was booming out in Italy’s dressing room when Prime Minister Romano Prodi came to congratulate the team on beating Germany. ”Even he joined in,” Fabio Cannavaro said. ”It was great.” For Cannavaro, hearing that Neapolitan ditty being sung joyously was particularly special.
Philippe Senderos, the young Arsenal defender, has been thrown in the deep end this season, and he’s learned to swim the hard way, writes Jon Brodkin. As Senderos headed home with one of Zinedine Zidane’s shirts earlier this month, he knew it had been a special night.
Chelsea have been given until Friday by Tottenham to pay about £8-million in compensation for Frank Arnesen or face a Premier League inquiry, after Arnesen was photographed aboard Roman Abramovich’s yacht in the Mediterranean. Spurs believe the picture confirms that Arnesen held a secret meeting with the Chelsea owner in breach of league regulations.
Once the trophy had been hidden away, Arsenal’s euphoria subsided. ”We were second in the league and didn’t win the Champions League, so to win the FA Cup makes it an okay season, but not more than that,” said Freddie Ljungberg. Thoughts were already drifting to the future and the improvement needed.
Jose Mourinho believes John Terry is worth a world record transfer fee of at least £50-million, although he stressed that the Chelsea captain was not for sale at any price. Mourinho described Terry as the world’s best central defender and feels his value exceeds the record £47,2-million that Real Madrid paid for Zinédine Zidane in 2001.
There can be little doubt which of the FA Cup finalists is feeling more confident. Twenty-four hours after Manchester United lost at home to Chelsea, Arsenal gave an awesome reminder that they can play a brand of football unmatched by anyone. Everton — the fourth best team in the land, remember — were lucky to lose by seven.
Thierry Henry and Robert Pires have pledged their futures to Arsenal despite the almost certain sale of their French international teammate Patrick Vieira to Real Madrid. Vieira has told colleagues at Highbury that he will be leaving for the Bernabeu soon, but Henry and Pires have no intention of seeking a move in his wake.
Chelsea players would be well advised not to coast when they gather for pre-season training early next month. Jose Mourinho made clear on his first morning as manager at Stamford Bridge that he wants to cut the squad to 24 and feels he will need 15 days working with his team to decide whom he wants to keep.
Leon Knight and Sam Parkin were once united by a dream of playing for Chelsea. The strikers were making their way through the ranks at Stamford Bridge a couple of years apart and thoughts of the Premiership and Champions League abounded. Now Parkin will face Knight in a second division promotion tie.