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| quote: | Abramovich to take over tactics?
/ Associated Press
Posted: 24 hours ago
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will reportedly take control of the team's tactics following the departure of manager Jose Mourinho this week.
Avram Grant, the former Israel coach who replaced Mourinho, will defer to the Russian businessman when it comes to coaching the side, British newspaper The Observer reported on Sunday.
The paper said Abramovich already started to give the team instructions before Mourinho left the club on Wednesday, while Grant had been undermining his predecessor this season by trying to curry favor with senior players.
Players reportedly complained to Mourinho about Grant's approaches, leading to a reduction in the number of team meetings.
Grant was initially brought to Chelsea as director of football by Abramovich, one of several appointments made against Mourinho's wishes.
He has never coached a club outside of Israel and has only been involved in six matches in the Champions League, a tournament that Mourinho won with FC Porto in 2004.
It was widely reported over the past year that Mourinho had little control over transfers and that Abramovich had foisted Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko and Germany midfielder Michael Ballack upon him in an attempt to make the team more entertaining.
The Observer said Sunday that Mourinho was turned down in January when he asked for a striker following Shevchenko's poor start to the season. The paper added that Shevchenko, a close friend of Abramovich, and Chelsea captain John Terry were the prime movers in ousting Mourinho.
Terry was upset that Mourinho asked the club's doctors if there was a medical reason for the defender's poor performances this season, and had to be cajoled by another member of the coaching staff to take part in a pre-match drill ahead of Tuesday's Champions League match against Rosenborg.
Following the match, Abramovich reportedly entered the locker room while Mourinho was attending a press conference and, using Shevchenko as a translator, told midfielder Michael Essien he should have played more wide passes.
Terry reportedly informed the club that Mourinho no longer had the backing of his players. That, combined with the 1-1 draw against the visiting Norwegian team, led to Chelsea asking Mourinho for his resignation.
The paper added that several players confronted Terry on Friday, with Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and Florent Malouda accusing him of not doing enough to try and keep Mourinho at the club.
When Mourinho said goodbye to the players, he reportedly embraced most of them, with Drogba and Frank Lampard reduced to tears.
He gave Shevchenko and Terry just a perfunctory handshake. |
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