Chelsea should set Robben to work on Van Br …
http://football.guardian.co.uk/championsleague200506/story/0,,1725077,00.html
Chelsea should set Robben to work on Van Bronckhorst
David Pleat
Tuesday March 7, 2006
Jose Mourinho's strategy will be more important tonight than in any match
since he became Chelsea manager. He has to balance the need for his team to
score at least twice with the caution that is necessary to keep Barcelona out.
Looking at the game in that context, I think he should try to funnel as many
attacks as possible down the right flank.
There are two reasons for that. One is that the left side of defence appears
to be Barcelona's weakest point, with Giovanni Van Bronckhorst there, so it
makes sense to create a pressure point in that area. The other is that it
might force Ronaldinho to come back and help with defensive work, dragging him
away from the final third where he can cause damage.
Joe Cole and Arjen Robben are expected to play in the wide postions, with Cole
on the right and Robben on the left. But on this occasion I would get them to
swap sides to enable Robben to run at Van Bronckhorst and then have the right-
back, either Paulo Ferreira or William Gallas, coming up on the overlap.
Van Bronckhorst is very left-sided and that can be exploited by getting
another left-footed player such as Robben to cut inside from the wide area
with the ball and attack the full-fack's weaker right foot. Lionel Messi does
that very effectively for Barcelona and it's something Robben or Damien Duff
could manage.
Using Cole on the left would not be a concern because he showed for England
against Uruguay how effective he can be running the ball with his right foot
from that side. And there are advantages to allowing Robben to get at Van
Bronckhorst. The former Rangers and Arsenal man is more of a playmaker than a
decent defender and would be uncomfortable with someone forcing him on to his
weaker foot. Neither the tallest nor quickest, he does have a tidy left foot
with a good range of pass but that is not a asset required if he is force to
tackle, scrap, head and cover.
Getting Robben to run the ball infield will open several options for Chelsea.
He can open the space and look for a shot with his left foot; he can play the
ball into the front player, say Hernan Crespo, and get the return; or he can
reverse the ball to the overlappiing full-back.
This is where Chelsea's right-back needs to be brave and show running power.
There is always the nagging doubt that Ronaldinho would,under Frank Rijkaard's
instructions, call their bluff and stay upfield. But I think the right-back
should play as much as possible with bravado when good possession is gained.
John Terry and Richdo Carvalho are top central defenders, the other full-back
will be in place and Claude Makelele is there as the windscreen wiper. Chelsea
need to force the pace rather than sit back and be susceptible to the trickery
of Ronaldinho and Messie. They must get the first goal. If they do, it's game
on and then they have enough ammunition to cause an upset and comthrough this
tie.
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