Manchester City
Judging by his plea for Manchester City fans to turn up in their thousands for the Champion’s League game against Shakhtar Donetsk, Pep Guardiola is taking the competition very seriously. He has also asked that the Etihad crowd stop booing the Champion’s League music, an act which goes back to when City were fined for contravening FFP regulations, and a plea which may very well fall on deaf ears.
The fans thought the punishment was excessive and a clear case of victimisation which, considering that only City and PSG were fined, and that they were only fined once, is probably true. Here’s the full story if you’re interested.
It looks as though Pep has been told by the hierarchy that winning the Champion’s League would be much appreciated as they have already won all the domestic trophies and would like to be regarded as a major player in European competition.
They haven’t got off to a bad start either, having thrashed Feyenoord 4-0 and now having beaten Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0, they sit top of the group and are strong favourites to go through to the knockout stages.
Now if only he could get his players to believe that the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Münich can be beaten, he would stand a very decent chance of going all the way in this year’s competition.
Manchester United
Having won all there is to win in club football, Manchester United don’t really need to prioritise anything so, conversely, they prioritise everything.
Having said that, Sir Alex Ferguson has said that they should have won the Champion’s League more often under his management and three wins from five final appearances is not a great return when one considers that United have qualified for the competition on no less than 28 occasions since their first entry in 1956/57.
They have also won the Premier League and the FA Cup numerous times and have even added the Europa League to their list of credits. So what does José want now? The simple answer is; everything!
He fielded a very strong team against Burton Albion in a cup he thinks should not exist. He will go all out to get a result in Russia when United play CSKA Moscow on Wednesday. He will fight all the way for the Premiership title and will give it everything in the FA Cup.
So does he have a priority? Yes, he does. Whisper it quietly around Old Trafford but Mourinho would love to win the Champion’s League. It would be his fourth success in the competition, with his fourth different club, in the fourth different country and would be an achievement unlikely to ever be matched, never mind beaten.
The Premier League would be nice too, but is a trophy he has already won in England. He would love to win it again just to prove that he can, but he sees the quality of the opposition and the long season as very large obstacles to his ambition.
Then there are the domestic cups and he will always try and win those because that just happens to be the nature of the man. He hates losing!
Chelsea
Antonio Conte wants to return to Italy. Giving an interview to an ITALIAN radio station, in ITALIAN, the ITALIAN manager of Chelsea stated that he would like to return to ITALY at some stage in the future. Hardly surprising as it is where he was born and where he grew up. So it is the place of his childhood, his friends, his language and his suits.
Why has this revelation come as such a shock to Chelsea fans?
He is not managing United or City and there is nothing remotely appealing for the English, let alone a foreigner, about living in London, so it is hardly surprising that he would like to return home in the future.
All that keeps him in England at present is the competition. The Premier League feeds his current hunger for success but, let’s be fair, there are bigger clubs than Chelsea in his native Italy and it is only natural that he should want to go and manage one of them eventually.
Just a quick mention for the stubborn old man. He is prioritising staying in his job for two years and doesn’t seem really bothered about much else.
Seventh in the Premier League and not participating in the Champion’s League, coincidentally at just the time it has become boring and “lost it’s sparkle“, Arséne Wenger seems content, yet again, to try for the top four and maybe, just maybe, win a cup. That will go down well with the fans, as usual!
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