http://tinyurl.com/5jvsr http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Kezman shows how spirit is Chelsea's real strength
By Henry Winter (Filed: 06/12/2004)
After striking his first Premiership goal for Chelsea, a chipped penalty
down the middle carrying sweet echoes of Antonin Panenka, Paolo Di Canio
and Dwight Yorke, Mateja Kezman delivered a thank-you speech straight out
of Oscars night.
More supporting actor than leading man at the Bridge to date, the popular
Kezman has needed time, self-belief and encouragement to make his Premiership
mark. His gratitude for everyone's support, from his wife to manager and
colleagues, was long and heartfelt. It also embodied why Chelsea should
pick up a trophy this season.
Chelsea's hunger and team ethos imbued Kezman's words. Such qualities
shaped the revealing cameo when Frank Lampard, the designated penalty
expert, and manager Jose Mourinho insisted Kezman take a last-minute
penalty. Such intelligent, club-minded individuals knew how much it would
mean to Kezman, who craved a first Premiership goal after a career spent
destroying defences in the Yugoslav and Dutch leagues.
"I am born to score goals so without goals I have a difficult life," said
Kezman, who had been counting the minutes ("more than 1,000"). "When we
were given the penalty I went to Frank and asked him. He gave me the ball
because he knows how difficult it has been for me in the last couple of
months with no goals. Also the boss told them to give me the ball."
Smart move. Anticipating Shay Given's dive, Kezman calmly dinked the ball
down the middle with much of the grace of one of Panenka's "falling leaf"
specials for Czechoslovakia in the mid-Seventies. Kezman then disappeared
under a mound of jubilant team-mates. "You can see our spirit after I scored,"
said the ￡5 million recruit from PSV Eindhoven. "Every single player came
to me. That was fantastic. That's our strength this season. That's how we
can be champions." Whether regulars or reserves, Chelsea are united.
"The celebrations after Mateja's goal spoke volumes," said Mourinho's
assistant, Steve Clarke, whose club are being relentlessly linked with
Spurs' Jermain Defoe. "There is a great spirit. There are no cliques. Jose
is great at man-management. He goes round to every player individually. If
he sees they are a bit down he will put his arm round their shoulder and
have a chat.
"There are a lot of young players here who haven't got the trophies and
medals to go with the riches they have got. The manager brings that in
with him, after two unbelievable seasons [at Porto]. He has given that
belief and spirit to the players."
Kezman, who also thanked his wife, Emilia, for her support, agreed with
Clarke's assessment of Mourinho's impact. "The manager has made a fantastic
atmosphere," added Kezman. "He makes a great spirit. You can see it. You can
feel it. The boss is always behind us and behind me. He has a very positive
mentality - every day, every moment." The determined Lampard and John Terry,
"a real leader of men" in Clarke's words, have also accelerated Chelsea's
team bonding.
People talk of Mourinho's charisma, but the brilliance of the Portuguese
coach's management is in the planning and the detail. "You can't afford to
leave anything to chance," said Clarke of Mourinho's meticulous approach.
Little things have big significance. Like giving Kezman that penalty. Like
ordering Terry to stay back at a Chelsea corner with the score at 2-0; a
breakaway Newcastle goal could have ruined the afternoon.
Like Mourinho's inspired substitutions. The first came at the break, after
a period dominated by Newcastle's Jermaine Jenas, who is maturing into a
fine captain and midfielder, and the energetic Kieron Dyer. Mourinho replaced
Eidur Gudjohnsen with Didier Drogba and the big blue machine clicked into
gear. Chelsea had first to survive an alarm when Ricardo Carvalho, already
booked, surprisingly escaped a second caution for pushing Craig Bellamy.
Chelsea exploited the reprieve, scoring four times in 27 minutes. Lampard
was inevitably involved, striking left-footed after a quickfire build-up
between the classy Arjen Robben, Claude Makelele and Drogba.
Drogba then plundered a second after outmuscling Titus Bramble. "Titus is
meant to be the strongest man in English football," sighed Graeme Souness,
whose defence were then ripped apart by Robben and Damien Duff. The pair
set up Kezman, who hit a post. Duff sent through the terrific Robben for
a cool third. Given then felled Duff, Kezman did his party piece and the
Bridge rejoiced. "We are aware it's a long way from the prize-giving,"
cautioned Clarke.
Sympathy persisted for Jenas and Dyer, who strove hard, and Laurent Robert,
twice denied by the agile Petr Cech, but once again Newcastle were let
down by poor defensive concentration; of their 31 Premiership goals conceded,
27 have come in the second half. Newcastle's attention to detail is way, way
short of Chelsea's. The real test of Chelsea's ambitions comes next Sunday
at Arsenal - and they certainly look ready for it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
希望...他不要再中門柱了...kez現在應該是門柱射手榜的領頭猴 orz
--
RomanAbramovich。JoseMourinho。SteveClarke。PetrCech。LennyPidgeley。
CarloCudicini。RicardoCarvalho。ScottParker。RobertHuth。TiagoMendes。
FilipeOliveira。GlenJohnson。NjitapGeremi。ClaudeMakelele。DamienDuff。
FrankLampard。NunoMorais。DidierDrogba。YvesMakabaMakalamby。
MatejaKezman。AlexeiSmertin。JoeCole。EidurGudjohnsen。WilliamGallas。
ArjenRobben。WayneBridge。PauloFerreira。CelestineBabayaro。JohnTerry。
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 218.168.33.71
※ 編輯: anarchy 來自: 218.168.33.71 (12/06 11:40)