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Ancelotti's Interesting Challenge
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is understandably in very high spirits and no one should begrudge him for that elusive double he has achieved in his very first season at Stamford Bridge. He is so excited that he wants to stay with the team for the next decade and promises to make the Blues the strongest team in England. That’s quite refreshing.
These are fine sentiments from the Italian tactician and it is obvious he wants to take a cue from great achievers like Manchester United‘s Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger of Arsenal who have made Old Trafford and Emirates their permanent homes. Ancellotti certainly has the bragging rights at the moment because neither Ferguson nor Wenger had such a flying start with their respective teams like Ancellotti has had.
The Italian has so much confidence in his team that he says he doesn’t even know what areas he needs to strengthen next season. As a devout supporter of United, I can assure him that it won’t be that easy for him next season. The rich array of youngsters in waiting will explode in the new season. This time round, the tough problem of filling the yawning gap left by Cristiano Ronaldo would be absent and the cup would definitely return to its natural habitat.
Hear Ancellotti, “If every season is like this, I’d like to stay for 10 years.” Sorry sir, every season won’t be like this. Ask Arsene Wenger and Benitez and they will tell you that when Manchester United are in their elements, the trophy is presented to them weeks before the season officially ends and that explains why the only ship that has not yet docked in Liverpool is the Premiership.
It is quite admirable that Abramovich’s millions have been able to turn the hitherto colourless Chelsea into a formidable force able to send the league to the wire and win the double normally reserved for the red shirted connoisseurs of the game.
My strong belief is that it would be one of the wonders of the world if Ancellotti’s ageing squad is able to break records again next season. Well, let’s wait and see what happens after the World Cup.
By the way my consolation goes to Chelsea’s German skipper Ballack who will definitely miss the World Cup following injury he sustained in tackle during the FA cup final against Portsmouth. Unfortunately, the culprit was my countryman Kevin Boateng who hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in that Cup final. Boateng’s poorly- taken penalty robbed Portsmouth of a possible victory as they would have taken the lead before Didier Drogba got the winning goal from a free kick.
It is hoped this incident won’t haunt the young man when Ghana meets Germany in the World Cup in South Africa. It is also my hope that Ghana’s midfield dynamo Michael Essien will also be able to overcome the bad publicity concerning the feud with his estranged father and maintain his mental toughness to lead Ghana to a successful World Cup in South Africa
Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.