Last update - 00:00 24/02/2008
Chelsea's Israeli soccer coach eyes first trophy as gift for Dad
By Neil Silver
LONDON - Chelsea coach Avram Grant believes that the influence of his parents will help him land his first trophy in English soccer Sunday afternoon. Winning the League Cup could be the perfect birthday present for his father, Meir, who turned 80 on Thursday, and who has flown in to England especially for Sunday's final at Wembley Stadium.
"My father is a great man, the most optimistic person I have ever seen," Grant said. "He suffered a lot in his early days during the Holocaust. What impressed me was that he gave me a lot and always said positive things. I wish him all the best. I love him. Education in school is not enough, the university of life is the most important. I'm very fortunate to have parents like this. My mum was a perfectionist, for her 99 out of 100 was never good enough."
It has been a difficult week for Grant in the buildup to the final: a 0-0 draw at Olympiacos in the Champions League, receiving death threats and preparations for the League Cup final. According to Meir Grant, this will not affect the Chelsea coach.
"Avram didn't mention it when he called me from Greece," said Meir. "Perhaps he didn't know then, or he didn't want to upset me, but it did not affect him and it certainly did not affect my plans to fly to England. It sounds more like somebody who is crazy than dangerous; there are crazy people everywhere in the world."
After discussing at a press conference the fact that John Terry and Frank Lampard did not start against Olympiacos on Tuesday ("Such decisions are never easy. Terry is a great captain and a great defender but Alex and Ricardo Carvalho have been excellent during Terry's injury. I am the boss and I have to think beyond just the next game."), Grant spoke with Haaretz's sport correspondent in London.
Grant did not hesitate to comment on the style of former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho. "People said that last season's FA Cup final was very boring," Grant said. "This time, we plan to play good football."
Nonetheless, Mourinho brought accomplishments; does this make it difficult for you?
"Jose's success does make my job harder. Since [owner Roman Abramovich] came to Chelsea, the club has won a lot of trophies and spent a lot of money, more than anyone else. At big clubs, like Chelsea, you have a commitment to win titles, whether I am the manager or Jose is the manager. At Tottenham, near the bottom of the league standings, it's different even though Spurs are also a big club."
Regarding his poor record in Israeli cup competition, Grant said: "I don't live in the past. I won a lot of trophies in Israel but I do not want to talk about that. I'm at Chelsea now with an opportunity to win a title. It's always good to be in a final and we're a good team and of course I want to win."
Grant rejected criticism that claims that replacing Mourinho with Grant has made any significant difference with the team. "I was never worried I was not going to give Roman what he wanted. These things were said after my first match; we had lost [to Manchester United] at Old Trafford just a day after I was put in charge. Even a magician could not have made an immediate difference. I was concerned with the development of the players; I think about progress and development all the time. I am satisfied with my players' progress. I think you want to keep the good things and implement your ideas. The team this year wasn't really succeeding and after the trauma against Rosenborg at home, we kept the good things but we changed things: the staff, the role of Steve Clarke. We are making progress step by step."
So specifically how is today's Chelsea different than Mourinho's Chelsea?
"You [the press] always try to make comparisons with the past. There are a few things we do differently: like trying to pass the ball more, and not just long passes. We take it too far sometimes and [what that happens] we need to go back to using long ball more. We try to build our attacks from the defense. I am not saying that there wasn't good football in the past: Mourinho's team played well. Today, we are creating four or five scoring opportunities per game, but we don't always convert them. Overall, we are playing well and we are developing."
In a Premier League match yesterday, Manchester United defeated Newcastle 5-1 with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo each scoring twice. After Rooney had given the Red Devils a 25th-minute lead, Ronaldo added his first goal in the final minute of the first half. The Portugal winger took his league tally to 21 before Rooney added the fourth and then set up the fifth for Louis Saha. In other Premier League matches yesterday, it was: Birmingham 2, Arsenal 2; Fulham 0, West Ham 1; Liverpool 3, Middlesbrough 2; Portsmouth 1, Sunderland 0; and Wigan 2, Derby 0.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.