Ex-Chelsea Star Becomes the Latest to Criticise Jose Mourinho’s Tactics

Former Chelsea star Arjen Robben has hit out at the tactics of his former club, after Jose Mourinho’s men defended their way through the last two matches. Chelsea successfully negotiated matches against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool with a draw and a victory, but their style was not necessarily pleasing on the eye. The blues had very little possession over 180 minutes of football.

Robben, who played for Chelsea for three years from 2004 to 2007, says that he will not be watching the second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. According to him, this match will have nothing related to football. He said:

“I don’t really care [who wins]. I watched the 90 minutes last week and I couldn’t watch it. The match had nothing to do with football.

“I respect the two managers [Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone] and everybody has their own way, but I think Real Madrid will win the Champions League and I wish them all the best.”

Jose Mourinho was understandably disappointed with the criticism he has been getting in the last few days for the defensive style of football. He backed his tactics by saying that it was important that the team did not play into the hands of the opposition. He said:

“It’s amazing. But the reality is always the reality: A team that doesn’t defend well or doesn’t score lots of goals, if they concede lots of goals, is completely in trouble. A team without balance is not a team.

“When they have the ball, we have to try and stop them scoring. When we have the ball, we want to try and score. This is football – the football that I know.”

Sadly, the memory of people is not long enough to remember the 6-0 against Arsenal and 4-0 against Tottenham. These were matches that showed Chelsea at their attacking best.