Last update - 00:00 23/09/2007
Avram Grant tastes defeat in first match as Chelsea coach
By Haaretz Staff
Former Israel national team coach Avram Grant on Sunday saw his team lose 2-0 to Manchester United in his first match as Chelsea coach.
It's hard to imagine Grant having to fill bigger shoes than those belonging to Jose Mourinho as he did Friday at Chelsea. Mourinho was in a league of his own. Arsenal's Arsene Wenger and Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson could take your breath away, but no Premier League coach has Mourinho's charisma off the pitch.
Mourinho's departure is the most dramatic coaching change since legendary Bill Shankly quit Liverpool in 1974. All the world came to the press conference announcing the arrival of Grant, who goes officially by Avram in England.
Grant didn't have a chance of emerging victorious from the press conference last week. The rage of Chelsea fans, the decision-making process of the club's front office and Mourinho's eloquence placed the bar too high.
The mission was to get out with a respectable draw and engage in damage control, hoping that after the Manchester United match and a return to routine, the players would talk about playing, the results would come, and the storm would pass. These are the same fans who were angry when previous coach Claudio Ranieri was dismissed.
The tactic was to give Mourinho due respect and deflect criticism of Grant. It was hard to be jealous of him; it's doubtful he'll face just a stressful event again in his career. He looked in shock the first five minutes but slowly loosened up. He responded to fans' questions that implied he had stabbed the outgoing coach in the back by saying, "I came here to do another job, but one thing led to another. My relations with Mourinho these two months at Chelsea were good. He was and remains and excellent coach."
With the press conference behind him, Grant will use his expertise to create team unity, to raise morale and to prepare the team for battle.
Wenger certainly thinks he's up to the job. "It will take him time to learn but he's got soccer. He's an intelligent guy. Mourinho's departure is a loss to the English league. Grant is filling big shoes, but he can do it." Grant yesterday told Wenger that when he arrived "they also asked who was this person."
Opposing Grant on Sunday is a friend who won't disregard him as have most soccer fans and journalists in England. There has probably never been such an influential game at so early a stage in a career with such long-term implications that garnered interest both in England and around the world. Everybody was going to be watching Grant and Ferguson, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Grant could have settled for another respectable draw ("It's always hard to play at Old Trafford," he said repeatedly Friday), but a victory would have been a significant step in his attempt to emulate Bob Paisley, one of his favorite figures. In contrast, if there's something Sir Alex loves, it's to smash Liverpudlian heroes.