Day of destiny

•As Essien eyes first European glory

There must have been huge odds on a Chelsea – Bayern final when the quarter-final and semi-final Champions league draw was made in Nyon, Switerzerland on Friday, 16th March, 2012. Not necessarily because both teams did not have what it took to make it to the final; no, far from that. To get to that final, a tie against Barcelona and Real Madrid was apparently unavoidable and victory for either seemingly implausible.

The Bavarians for example were giving Dortmund a reasonably good run for their money in the Bundesliga; in Europe they easily topped a group whose members included Napoli, Manchester City and Villarreal. Besides, as recently as 22nd May, 2010, Louis Van Gaal’s - Bayern – a side not that different from the current lot – lined up at the Estadio Bernabeu to face Inter Milan in Europe’s showpiece grand finale. They have apparently gotten stronger since.

Chelsea were the more unlikely of the two to make it to this year’s final. Fact is, it would have been hard to come across fans ( including die-hard Blues’ followers) - willing to wager anything of even remote significance on Abramovich’s battle hard and weary men going all the way; men who at the time of the draw appeared to have lost their way.

Chelsea’s veterans in Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, John Terry and Ashley Cole seemed largely unimpressed with their contemporary manager Andre Villas - Boas and showed as much, churning in one lacklustre performance after another, ultimately costing the young manager his job and pride in the process.

Here, the fault – for the most part anyway – could be laid squarely at the doorstep of the smiling Russian owner who appears to pander to the whims of his radical leaders despite paradoxically tasking poor Andre to overhauling an aging Chelsea team by integrating young talent into the side at the expense of the older ones – a fact they (older players) did not like.

Villas-Boas’ last act on the European stage at the time appeared fatal to Chelsea. They lost 3-1 in Italy to Napoli and appeared all but out of the Champions League – a competition that had seen them visit the semi-final stage on at least 5 previous occasions, making the one final they would eventually lose in the most painful of circumstances.

Anelka subsequently hopped on a plane to China, Alex made the move to France, Villas-Boas was sacked and up stepped Roberto Di Matteo, then assistant to Andre to try his hands at what must be one of the most difficult jobs in club football.

And the Italian has not done badly, actually. Of the 15 games he’s handled to date, Di Matteo has won 10, drawn 4 and lost just one. More importantly, he learnt from Andre’s grave mistake of reducing Chelsea’s senior citizens to benchwarmers, instantly restoring Lampard, Terry, Cole and Drogba to the first team. And his faith in them has been rewarded.

Chelsea now have two cup finals to look forward to, a position they could not have imagined themselves in after enduring what had been the worst tenure of any manager under Roman Abramovich.

It’s the manner of their progression to the final, however, that makes one wonder if the hands of fate have not conspired to ensure the Blues finally annex the one trophy they have longed for and failed to get.

They miraculously overturned the 3-1 deficit against a good Napoli side at Stamford Bridge against all odds and subsequently dispatched in-form Benfica, crucially winning in Portugal despite being dominated thoroughly enroute to the semis.

It was their semi-final draw that many felt would end Chelsea’s dream. They would have to contend with a team described as the best in the world; a team that had gotten the better of a very good United team twice in three years; a team that boasted the world’s best player for the last three years; a team whose Spanish nucleus had conquered first Europe (2008), and then the world (2010); a team widely regarded to be at the top of their game, and indeed on top of the world. Surely, this group of also-rans could not best team Barca over two legs, especially not with the second leg at the dreaded Camp Nou.

Perhaps it’s been written, and when it’s been written, as usually pertains to matters of a divine nature, then certainly, it must be done. How else did the ‘greatest team ever assembled’ conspire to hit the Blues’ post 4 times without finding the net? How else did the team that possessed the ball 80% of the time over two legs fare worse than the team with a miserable 20%? How else did Sanchez and Fabregas miss at the Bridge from all of two yards out? How else did Chelsea generate ONE shot on target all night at the Bridge and yet win? 3 shots on target were produced at the Camp Nou, two found the net.

Remarkable! How else did Chelsea’s first choice defensive pairing of Cahill and Terry fail to complete even the first half at Camp Nou and Barca fail to ultimately beat them? How else did the great Lionel Messi, by his high standards, play three consecutive average games culminating in him missing from the spot? How dare Ramires score with that outrageous chip at that stage of the first half? And from where on earth did the generally misfiring Torres’ surface to score a priceless equalizer at Camp Nou?

The answer may lie in Drogba’s upward gesticulations at some unseen forces as the game approached its improbable, unimaginable end. The football gods, if indeed they do exist, may have played their part. Chelsea controversially lost out to Barca at the same stage of the competition in 2009. Many felt that defeat signaled the end of a great era for Chelsea and the start of an even greater one at Barca, and so it has proved, until this strange turn of events some three years later. Chelsea will look forward to winning that May 19th final against Bayern where they will miss key men Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meirles Ramires and club legend and captain Terry, but alas, they may feel they may not need them, and justifiably so.

The hands of fate and Lady Luck may entirely be on their side; especially since the ‘Special One’ who created this Chelsea side will now not be granted an opportunity to spoil the party.

Bayern may disagree with any proclamations of a Blues victory however, and may also feel some allegiance to the carousel of fate, destiny and luck: Mourinho was the man in charge when an efficient Inter Milan side smothered the ‘pretty to watch’ Bavarians in the Champions League final two years ago. Revenge must have been sweet. Victory was sweeter still for Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes. Remember him? He won the Champions League with Madrid in 1998 and was fired thereafter.

The Munich giants have also become the first team in Champions League history to play the final on their home ground. A good omen? Perhaps! It’s set up rather nicely then for that showpiece event in Munich at the Allianz Arena. It’s not the El-Clasico that the world wanted to see. Neither is it a reunion of the self-named ‘Special One’ and his former employers. It’s certainly not a clash of the game’s greatest showmen, nor an almighty battle involving the most tactically adept men in either dugout.

What it is, though, is a final for the purists; a triumph of sheer determination, grit and self-will on the one hand and a hungry ambition to literally bring Europe’s most coveted cup home on the other.

One of these two sides will complete what has been a remarkable journey. Either conclusion will provide a story fit for the ages. Whose story shall it be? Football, alone will surely provide the answer for even the ‘gods’ watching yonder, the very ones Didier prayed incessantly to, may find it hard to deal one hand over the other.

May the best team win!

Written by: Joseph Hanson(@josephkbhanson on twitter; email– hanson.baah.joseph@gmail.com)