Did Mourinho cheat? Gabriele Marcotti, SI.com When all of the talk at a Champions League quarterfinal between the leaders in the English Premiership and the German Bundesliga is about a guy who isn't even there, you know things aren't normal.
Then again, there has been nothing normal about Chelsea's season or its manager, Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese coach was suspended for Wednesday's match against Bayern Munich, punishment for accusations he launched at Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard and referee Anders Frisk. (Rijkaard allegedly visited Frisk's dressing room during halftime of the Feb. 23 Barcelona-Chelsea match, an allegation UEFA refuted.) When coaches are suspended, they usually sit in the stands. Not Mourinho. He announced that instead of going to Stamford Bridge, he was going to watch the game from a "private" location. This presented a problem for UEFA. Suspended coaches are not supposed to have contact with their team or staff. And if they watch from the stands, they usually are monitored. But in his autobiography, Mourinho boasted about how he circumvented a similar ban two years ago, communicating from the stands with his bench via instant messages sent from a laptop. Naturally, there were concerns he might have done the same thing against Bayern Munich. And what better place to do so than a "private" location like his own living room, far away from UEFA eyes? ADVERTISEMENT TV pictures did show some suspicious activity, such as Chelsea's fitness coach, Rui Faria, appearing to use some sort of earpiece and pass notes to assistant coach Steve Clarke. The real story about all this isn't whether Mourinho tried to sneak his way around the ban. Even if he did communicate with the bench, it's not as if he gave Chelsea some incredible natural advantage. (Chelsea won 4-2.) Mourinho is a very good coach, but it's not as if his game-day decisions on Wednesday made the difference. The real story is that, once again, the media frenzy around Mourinho overshadowed the team. Between his cloak-and-dagger shenanigans, rumors of a rift with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon and reports of a new, improved contract offer from Chelsea (around $9 million a season, which would make him the highest-paid coach in the game), Mourinho dominated the news for the umpteenth time. Maybe it's part of his plan: attract all of the attention to minimize the pressure on his players. To casual fans, most of the teams left in the Champions League are readily identifiable by their big-name stars: Bayern has Michael Ballack and Roy Makaay; Juventus has Pavel Nedved, Gigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero; Liverpool has Steven Gerrard; AC Milan has Andriy Shevchenko and Paolo Maldini; Inter has Christian Vieri and Adriano. Chelsea's equivalent is Mourinho. This is not because Chelsea doesn't have any gifted players; its stars either are low-profile types (Claude Makelele, Petr Cech) or are simply overshadowed by the boss (Frank Lampard, John Terry). And so the focus, for better or worse, is always Mourinho. That's a shame. Against Bayern, Chelsea struggled for a half and then dominated, fueled by magnificent performances from Lampard and Makelele. And yet the headlines were all about the man who wasn't there. (Or at best was there in spirit and text messages). Extra time Shame on the 100 or so Juventus fans who turned their backs on the Heysel memorials at Anfield and booed Liverpool fans when they held up their friendship signs. Former Juventus striker Jose Altafini, now a TV pundit, was insulted by Juve supporters for wearing a joint Liverpool/Juventus scarf. To be fair, it was a minority of Juve fans; the vast majority applauded Liverpool's efforts at reconciliation. Forgiveness is a very personal issue and you can't fault someone for not wanting to forgive. But, corny as the proceedings might have been, there was no doubting Liverpool's sincerity. Next Wednesday, when the two teams meet again in Turin, some thugs no doubt will use Liverpool's visit as an excuse to cause trouble. The authorities, the vast majority of Liverpool and Juve fans who are honorable and respectable and anyone who loves the game can't allow that to happen. ... Just as Olympique Lyon looked poised to firmly establish itself as a European power, PSV Eindhoven threatens to ruin the party. Lyon's 1-1 home draw with PSV does not bode well for Paul LeGuen's men, especially since PSV is a tough, well-coached team. Lyon wasted plenty of chances and it would be cruel if, once again, its unexpected stumble causes it to crash out of the competition. ... Is there any stopping Robinho? The Real Madrid-bound Santos striker notched another two goals against Liga Deportiva Universitaria in the Copa Libertadores, bringing his season tally to 15 in 17 matches. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Help save the life of a child. 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