Can The Engineer derail the Special One? Abramovich favouring Pellegrini over Mourinho for Chelsea job
By Rob Draper for The Mail on Sunday
Published: 17:02 EST, 20 April 2013 | Updated: 17:02 EST, 20 April 2013
IT comes down to a choice of the most sensational managerial comeback in modern English football or a sober, considered decision; the return of the most iconic global manager or the arrival of a Chilean who is little known in England and has never won a major trophy in European club football.
And yet, increasingly, it seems that Chelsea will opt for Malaga's coach Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager for next season over the more obvious headline-grabbing story of bringing back Jose Mourinho.
Final decisions have yet to be made. Jurgen Klopp, the wunderkind of European football for the manner in which Borussia Dortmund won successive German titles and qualified for this season's Champions League semi-final, might yet have a final say if he can yet be persuaded to leave the Bundesliga.
Quandary: Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich
The candidates: Jose Mourinho (left) and Manuel Pellegrini (right)
But it looks as if Chelsea will have to narrow their choices to either one which represents steady progress on the style in which the club have evolved since Mourinho left more than five years ago, by appointing Pellegrini, or the nuclear option of reappointing Mourinho.
That would effectively admit that Roman Abramovich was wrong to wrest control of the first team from the manager. Though Abramovich and Mourinho have long since made up from their falling-out at Chelsea, there are still significant voices at Stamford Bridge that speak badly of the Special One and continually counsel against his return.
On the field, even his detractors recognise the success he almost guarantees. It is the off-the-field aggravation that Chelsea must consider: the constant battles for power over transfers, the questioning of key staff and the PR disasters, such as when he chose to take on the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service or his rant about UEFA refereeing conspiracies.
While others inside the club speak of Mourinho's return being close to a done deal, that last detail of negotiation would not be just a minor stumbling block but rather the crux of the issue. That is, who has control of the team?
At Chelsea, it has to be Abramovich or at least the staff he has appointed; for Mourinho, it can only be The Special One. Indeed, Mourinho's principal frustration in the early days at Real Madrid was the fact that director general Jorge Valdano had such a big say in first-team affairs.
Dilemma: Abramovich fears losing full control of the team if he brings back Mourinho
In an unprecedented step at Madrid, where the manager has always previously been seen as the servant to the team and the president, Valdano was sacked to make way for Mourinho's complete control.
Having spent the five years since Mourinho left reasserting control over team affairs and directing the transfer policy, it would seem inconceivable that Abramovich would want to re-engage in that ancient battle at Chelsea.
Hence the need to consider an alternative, and Pellegrini's canditature. Ironically, he is the man Mourinho replaced at Real Madrid in 2010.
Pellegrini was deemed a failure in his one season at the Bernabeu when, despite recording what was then a record for the club of 96 points in a season, he finished second best to Pep Guardiola's Barcelona and saw his side eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Yet he is a distinguished coach who has won titles in Ecuador, Chile and, most significantly, with River Plate in Argentina.
At Malaga he was initially given generous transfer funding by Qatari owner Sheik Abdullah Al-Thani but, ultimately, was left to deal with unpaid wages, to both himself and his players, and unpaid bills to the tax authorities, which meant the club were forced to sell, among others, Santi Cazorla to Arsenal last summer.
So what he did at Malaga in guiding them into this season's Champions League quarter-finals, where they lost controversially in the last seconds to Borussia Dortmund, mirrors the work he did at Villarreal, where he took a tiny team backed by a businessman to the 2006 Champions League semi-finals. With a degree in civil engineering and the nickname of 'The Engineer' to boot, he has personally denied contact with Chelsea. But it is understood there have been approaches between intermediaries.
Wunderkid: Chelsea remain keen on Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp
Driving the recruitment process is Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo, but just as important will be the voice of Marina Granovskaia, who was once Roman Abramovich's PA.
Staff at the club see her views as carrying significant weight with the owner. When key decisions have to be made it is often Granovskaia who initiates contact and meets protagonists face to face.
But if Chelsea cannot get Klopp and opt for Pellegrini, where does that leave Mourinho? Real Madrid sources are convinced he will leave and at present are quite happy for him to do so. Naturally, a Champions League win for Real might see all parties reconsider. But the breakdown of relationships with key players such as Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos suggests otherwise.
Marca, the newspaper that is often the mouthpiece of the Real Madrid hierarchy, reported earlier in January that senior players had told president Florentino Perez: 'Either Mourinho goes or we go.'
That prompted a rare public denial of the story by Perez, which in turn saw Marca publish the text message sent to their reporter by one of the players - with names redacted - which explained the exact exchange between players and president.
For Mourinho, it means examining his options. Manchester City remain a possibility if Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, director of football and chief executive at City, decide that the FA Cup - should they beat Wigan in the final - is not enough to save Roberto Mancini.
Paris St Germain have been mooted - they would also consider Mancini - but if Mourinho were to go there, it would amount to a bizarre job swap. Carlo Ancelotti would be the preferred choice of Perez to replace Mourinho at Madrid. Ancelotti dedicated a paragraph of thanks to Perez in his autobiography, recounting the Real president often greets him with the words: 'Carlo, some day you will be my coach.'
But if PSG keep Ancelotti, Perez will be looking for alternatives: Klopp, if he decides to leave Dortmund; Rafa Benitez, whose early years were spent at Real as a youth and reserve team coach; and, intriguingly, Andre Villas-Boas. Sometimes it seems every shortlist in elite football includes at least two ex-Chelsea bosses and one prospective Stamford Bridge employee.
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