Rafael Benitez’s Redemption Song

Ball Harambee by Bagga Wilks



Raphael Benitez has no chance of being appointed anything but Chelsea’s interim manager. Nonetheless, if the Chelsea team continues to click, then Rafael will be able to end the season in a bit of glory. He would have silenced the hooligans who have been harassing him shamelessly since the billionaire owner appointed him to replace Di Matteo.

Under Benitez’s tutelage Chelsea played initially unimpressively. No one questioned the abundance of talent but there was no chemistry or leadership and Chelsea lost games that under different circumstances, they should have won.

With eight matches to play and other cup games, Chelsea is in fine form and even the most critical Chelsea fans are now gratified by the team’s recent success. One of the issues that plagued Chelsea at the beginning of the season was who should play where and what should be the starting eleven. Chelsea was and is a strange blend of the old and the new and for the first half of the season, the chemistry remained elusive.

Benitez seemed to have gotten it together and has settled on a starting eleven. The experiment of playing David Luiz in mid-field has been abandoned and he and Cahill have become the two starting central defenders. John Terry, the former England skipper, has been relegated to the bench.



There has been much indecision regarding Frank Lampard. The aging Lampard has returned to being a main stay in mid-field and as is typical throughout his illustrious career, Lampard keeps popping up in the right places.

This weekend against West Ham, he scored his 200th goal in the EPL. The team now starts without a defensive mid-fielder and Ramirez is the box to box mid-fielder. Mikel is brought in during the closing minutes of the game to seal the victory.

Chelsea’s offensive players have begun to play like a symphony. Ba has replaced Torres as the sole striker and behind him is a trio that may be the most creative in English football. Hazard, Mata and Oscar constitute an ever present danger to full backs and central defenders. Against West Ham this weekend, Hazard and Mata were spectacular. They break down defenses with ease and grace. And all three kick with uncanny accuracy.



Unfortunately, Rafael will not be around next season to enjoy the three ring circus but based on the job he has done at Chelsea, he will have no difficulty obtaining work at a top tier club and wherever he turns up in his post-Chelsea career, the new fans will appreciate his knowledge of the game.

Up and Down the Aging Staircase

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

Chelsea disposed Brentford in the F.A. Cup and will go on to the quarterfinals. Brentford gave it their all and held Chelsea to a scoreless draw in the first forty-five minutes. In the second half, Juan Mata opened the scoring and then came the floodgates. Chelsea triumphed 4-0 and since they are out of the league title and the Champion’s League, the F.A. Cup might be their sole opportunity at silverware for the 2012-2013 season.

Chelsea has had a puzzling year. They began the season like gangbusters, and looked poised to be a serious contender for the title race. Then under Di Matteo, Chelsea went into a slump that caused the firing of Di Matteo.

His replacement, Rafael Benitez, who will, unlikely, be the permanent manager, if there is such a thing at Chelsea, has been struggling to find the right mix, the right chemistry on the field. Chelsea has a challenging mix of the old and the new. John Terry, their central defender, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard have entered their third decade and that is a precarious age for ball players. Their star striker for the previous year, Didier Drogba turned 34 and had to seek his soccer fortunes elsewhere, initially in China and now at Galatasaray, Turkey. Ashley Cole, still a starter at left back for England, was only given a one year extension on his contract. John Terry’s future at Chelsea is still undetermined and it appeared that Frank Lampard was definitely on his way to sign with Los Angeles team in the MLS in the United States.

The Lampard situation is exceedingly curious. Lampard is still a starting member of the English team who scored the decisive goal against Brazil at Wembley a few weeks ago in a friendly. For Chelsea, his work rate is not what it used to be but he has scored decisive goals for the club since his return from an injury. Does the club treat Lampard like a wounded thoroughbred and simply put him out of his misery by sending him to the MLS? Chelsea must find a better way to blend the old with the new.

One of the reasons for the optimism at the beginning of the season was Chelsea’s richness of youth. Juan Mata, Ramires, David Luiz, Demba Ba and Mikel are all players in their prime. Victor Moses, Hazard and Oscar are playing with great potential and if that talent is realized in the near future, then Chelsea should be a powerhouse in the E.P.L. and in UEFA in the years to come. One can see the development of Oscar in his first season playing in the EPL. He will finish the last third of the season very strong. Hazard is hazardous to defenders and his improvement throughout the season is readily discernable. Moses has just returned from the Africa Cup triumphantly as his team, Nigeria, defeated Farkina Faso in the final.

It will be interesting to see how Chelsea performs for the remainder of the season. All three tiers of the team have to blend, the aging, those at peak age and those in the making. The Chelsea owner is busy searching for a new manager. Obviously, Rafael Benitez is a mere interim manager but the new manager will have to blend the assortment of talents. Failure for the owner, Abramovic is not an option but whoever is chosen will have an uphill task synchronizing the abundance of talent that has been assembled at Chelsea.