Most of the past few days have been dominated by jibes between two of the biggest coaches in the English Premier League, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, but the tacticians can take the battle to the pitch when they lead their sides out in the 93rd Community Shield tomorrow (Sunday).
The two coaches have exchanged hot taunts since Mourinho fired the first salvo, claiming Wenger had attempted to buy the EPL title with massive spending in the past few seasons. Wenger hit back at the Portuguese saying that in the final analysis the Blues have spent far more than the Gunners.
The altercations have prepared the ground for the sumptuous season curtain raiser on Sunday and pundits will be keen to see how things pan out at the Wembley Stadium. Wenger has never defeated any team Mourinho has superintended over; the two coaches have met 12 times with Mourinho running away with victory on six occasions. The six others ended in draws including the last one which ended goalless this April at the Emirates Stadium. Mounrinho’s sides have scored 19 times against Arsenal while Wenger’s side have managed just six against a team managed by his rival. Once again, Wenger has the opportunity to get one over his old adversary tomorrow and he is of course buoyed by the arrival of goalkeeper Petr Cech whose capture by the Gunners has been described as a major coup.
The 33-year-old swapped west London for north London this summer in a £10 million deal after playing second fiddle to 23-year-old Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea last season. It is safe to describe Cech as one of the most successful goalies in Chelsea’s history after helping the team to four EPL titles, UEFA Champions League, three FA Cup and Europa Cup.
He is also a winner of two Community Shield titles. He is a three-time Premier League Golden Glove winner. He also once held the record for most minutes (1,025) without conceding a goal in the Premier League which he set during the 2004-05 season.
The Czech Republic international arrived Emirates with plenty of experience and is capable of saving the Gunners in the days of their trouble. He has reasons to be fired up for this tie. He will be desperate to prove to his former boss that he was wrong to dump him for a younger keeper and to show Courtois he is the master of the trade. Above all, winning his first silverware for his new side can also be an impetus and with is excellent awareness, distribution accuracy, good timing, commanding presence and deep understanding of Chelsea’s movement and direction he can land Wenger his first win over Mourinho.
No comments:
Post a Comment