Ferguson v Mourinho: A Rivalry Renewed

Nine years ago Sir Alex and the 'Special One' met for the first time in a last sixteen clash in a spanking new Estádio do Dragão with the home side Porto coming out on top 2-1 thanks to two goals from the South African Benni McCarthy. 1-0 Mourinho. 

The victory was complete in the second leg as a second half equaliser and a dubious offside decision saw the Portistas win the tie 3-2 and spark memorable celebrations from their motivational coach. 

The next season saw Mourinho join the Abramovich revolution at Chelsea and he swept to successive titles, enjoying three wins, including a magnificent 3-1 victory at Old Trafford to set a Premier League record of 95 points in 2005. 

In the 2005/06 season Ferguson did notch up his first win over Mourinho, but still finished second best in the title race and had to wait until 2009 for his second triumph. That was the last time the two managers met as the Red devils won 2-0 over Inter Milan in the San Siro to cruise into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.  

Mourinho	Draw	Ferguson
6	5	2

Tonight they meet again in a clash of two of the three most valuable clubs in the world, not only in football, but in sport as a whole. 

Mourinho's Real Madrid got the better of the much-heralded Barcelona to win the La Liga title last campaign, but now sit 16 points off top and behind city rivals Atletico in third and in poor form.

Ferguson's United have dominated the Premier League this season and now sit 12 points clear of rivals Manchester City and on course to match their historic treble of 1998/99. The front two of Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie are likely to be Real's biggest threat, especially with the home side's centre back Pepe just returning from injury and full-back Marcelo dropped for being overweight. 

Mourinho will place his trust in former United star Cristiano Ronaldo, a man who swapped Manchester for Madrid in an £80 million move four years ago. Even Sir Alex himself has admitted that he did not expect him to score the amount of goals that he has in Spain and that he is now reaching his peak. 

There have been problems aplenty at the Bernabeu this season, with Mourinho slated for dropping legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas and rumours of unrest in the boardroom surrounding the club. It seems likely that the great Portuguese will be on his way out sometime soon, probably at the end of the season and he has stated that he wants to return to England. 

But before these two great men can continue their rivalry on a more permanent basis, this pallet-wetting tie will decide which of these two huge clubs are still in with a chance of regaining the European title. 

Real hold the record of being champions of Europe nine times, while United have won just three. Ferguson himself has won two of those, but accepts that for a club of their size, they should have won more. At least the English team have been in the final three times in the last five years, the Galacticos haven't been there since 2002. 

The last time these two sides met was in an epic 2003 encounter when the defending champions saw off United 6-5 on aggregate, despite a 4-3 defeat in the second leg when future Galactico David Beckham scored twice off the bench. 

If tonight's match, and indeed the tie, even comes close to matching that night a decade ago then we will be in for a treat as two huge clubs and great managers go head to head. 

First leg prediction: Real Madrid 2-2 Manchester United

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Why Chelsea should not have sacked Di Matteo

The sacking of Roberto Di Matteo was one of the most shocking football dismissals of recent memory. A Chelsea legend, twice FA Cup winner as a player, won the club's first Champions League trophy against all the odds, just months after being appointed manager. 

To the amazement of many his reign has been terminated just six months after he was given the prestigious job on a permanent basis. Many Chelsea fans will be dismayed by the lack of faith shown in him by owner Roman Abramovich and the club's board, although this is nothing new to them as he was their eighth boss since the Russian billionaire took over in 2003. 

What is most surprising is that Abramovich has always fired previous managers on the basis that they did not do well enough in the Champions League, although Di Matteo delivered the trophy at the first time of asking. He also managed this impressive feat with a squad out of form and struggling in the Premier League, as well as facing a 3-1 deficit in the last 16 of Europe's elite competition against Napoli. 

Not only did they win the second leg against Napoli 4-1 after extra-time to go through, but he did oversee an up-turn in their league form and took them to Wembley, and ultimately, FA Cup victory.

It is the Champions League final in Munich that he will be most remembered for as the Blues overcame the home side on penalties thanks to a late Didier Drogba header and a Petr Cech penalty save in extra-time. 

Their road to Munich was not a cruise by any stretch of the imagination; beating Benfica before memorably seeing off Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate. 

Despite finishing sixth in the league last season, their league form did marginally improve as they had suffered a horrific start under former boss Andre Villas-Boas. 

Chelsea managers under Roman Abramovich

Year	Manager	Matches	Winning %
2000-2004	Claudio Ranieri	199	53.76
2004-2007	Jose Mourinho	131	70.81
2007-2008	Avram Grant	54	66.67
2008-2009	Luiz Felipe Scolari	36	55.56
2009	Guus Hiddink	21	71.43
2009-2011	Carlo Ancelotti	109	61.47
2011-2012	Andre Villas-Boas	40	47.50
2012	Roberto Di Matteo	42	57.14

While the table above shows that the Italian only had a better record than three of his predecessors, he took over in totally different circumstances than any of the others. Chelsea were at their lowest point since Abramovich pumped his money into the club when Di Matteo took over, and from that he produced their all-time high.

Abramovich should not take all the blame for these sackings. After all, without his money the West Londoners would still be delighted with a top five finish each season instead of sacking managers for not cruising to league titles.

The Chelsea board have a big impact on the decisions that the Russian owner makes and without their advice, he would probably not have got through so many managers in the last eight years. There are so many supporters at the club that are crying out for the stability that has brought success to the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, and more recently, Manchester City. 

Having said that, all football fans are fickle and athe majority of Chelsea supporters would welcome Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho with open arms. However the job, at least on a short-term basis, looks destined to go to Rafael Bentitez, a man who did anything but endear himself to Chelsea supporters during his time at Liverpool.

His record has been good at every club he has managed, although he has been out of a job for over two years now and replacing Di Matteo with Benitez is not a very forward-thinking decision. It is anything but promoting stability, especially considering the age of the two men (Di Matteo 42, Benitez 52).

While Guardiola did excellently at Barcelona, he has never been at a club like Chelsea before and the players may not take to his style of play. Mourinho would clearly be a great fit but that is more Chelsea fans dreaming than an actual possibility, for now at least. 

Roman Abramovich will be sitting in his pent-house suite right now feeling good about himself and expecting an immediate climb to the summit of the Premier League, but he might find that not forthcoming. 

Chelsea have looked good this season and could still qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League. They have a massive game on Sunday at home to Manchester City and they would have had a much better chance of inflicting the champions' first defeat of the campaign if they had not made such drastic changes.