* * *

* * * * * *

* * *

THE DAILY TELEGRAPHSATURDAY, MAY 19, 2007 VI |

FACUPFINAL2007

WHO WILL WIN THE FA CUP TODAY?

Chelsea on

penalties

Chelsea on

penalties

Chelsea Chelsea 1-0

or 2-1

CHELSEA’S STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS

Strengths:

Inspirational

coach, innate

resilience, brilliant

goalkeeper in

Cech, outstanding

striker in Drogba,

desire to get one

back on United.

Weakness: injuries

Strength. Spine of

the team from

Cech in goal,

Terry at centre-

half and Drogba at

centre-forward.

Weakness: Lack of

quality cover for

centre-backs

Strengths:

Team spirit and

strong spine.

Weakness:

Reliance on Didier

Drogba for goals

Strength: Defence

– they probably

have the best

central defensive

pairing in Europe.

Weakness:

Scoring goals does

not come easily to

Mourinho’s team.

MANCHESTER UNITED’S STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS

Strengths:

Pace, technique,

individual

matchwinners in

Ronaldo, Rooney

and Scholes.

Weakness:

Defence still not

completely fit

Strengths: They

can score goals

and in Rooney and

Ronaldo they can

produce the

unexpected.

Weakness: They

have not always

produced the

goods in games

away from home

Strengths: Pace,

flair and class.

Weakness: Lack of

continuity in

defence

Strength:

Individual

attacking flair of

Messrs Rooney,

Ronaldo and

Giggs.

Weakness:

They look

vulnerable at

set-pieces.

KEY MAN FOR CHELSEA

Didier Drogba Didier Drogba. If

he is not at the

races, Chelsea

will lose

Didier Drogba John Terry

KEY MAN FOR MANCHESTER UNITED

Cristiano Ronaldo Ryan Giggs. Man

Utd can only

get away with

subdued

performances

from Rooney and

Ronaldo if Giggs

delivers, and this

season in the

main he has done

just that

Cristiano Ronaldo Should he be

deemed fit, Rio

Ferdinand would

bring stability to

the defence

HENRY WINTER

GRAHAMTAYLOR

ALANSMITH

DON HOWE

TIMRICH

FERGUSONVMOURINHOWHILE Manchester United and Chelsea have been conserving their energies for a compelling FA Cup final duel today, they would do well to heed the maxim that champions start strong, remain strong and finish even stronger. After a ferocious Premiership title race this season, the psychological tensions between the sides form one of the most absorbing – and little understood – elements of the backdrop to their clash at Wembley.

They matched each other almost stride for stride in their roles as front-runner and pursuer, but the mental pressures attached to their original, unfulfilled visions of a treble, even a quadruple, have taken a toll ahead of one last battle.

What both teams need, in the words of motivational expert David Elliott, is the “psychological and emotional stamina” to enable them to hold their nerve at pivotal moments, plus the ability to

Oliver Brown

The higher the aspiration, or so the theory went, the higher the motivation to achieve it. When Elliott first encountered Mourinho, one was the motivational coach at League of Wales minnows Barry Town, while the other was embarking on the road to Uefa Cup glory as manager of Porto.

The unevenness of that relationship – Barry’s average gate was 300, as against Porto’s 50,000 – was reflected in an 8-0 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League in Portugal in 2001. However, Mourinho was not immune to the impact of Elliott’s psychological devices. In the second leg, Barry recovered to record a remarkable 3-1 win.

Since then, Mourinho has time and again underlined his ‘special’ status through an implacable resistance to the “comfort zone”, while Ferguson’s ninth Premiership title illustrates he is more than a match for the younger pretender.

In an attempt to identify the factor that could separate such single-minded managers today, Elliott explains: “The unsuccessful in football and business do not possess this inner belief and dynamic vision – Ferguson and Mourinho have high levels of certainty, plus physical muscle in their teams.

“But it is the dynamic of psychological and emotional stamina that will create the ability to respond at the outer edge of their capabilities, to achieve ultimate success.”

overcome “success anxiety”, the hidden force that can ultimately determine the fate of those who dare to win and those who do not. Chelsea’s recent history yields evidence of this unseen phenomenon.

Their Champions League tie against Barcelona in 2005 was billed, somewhat prematurely, as the ‘final before the final’ – and yet the ensuing 1-1 draw featured two own goals. The odds against that result for teams of such calibre were minuscule, but it was a reminder for the two managers to be careful what they wish for in today’s final.

Leaving aside the clubs’ vaulting ambition and ‘omni-equal’ player capability, this final is essentially a classic encounter between two warrior personalities, and their corresponding leadership styles. Sir Alex Ferguson’s raw, physical menace and Jose Mourinho’s irreverent, theatrical wind-up act both combine serious psychological mind games with focused professionalism.

According to the ‘hierarchy of needs’ devised by American pyschologist Abraham Maslow, Mourinho represents a formidable foe – so singularly focused is he on victory through the Zen approach of “emotional control and connected leadership”, in sharp contrast to Ferguson’s more muscular, Samurai style. Both could be likened to generals going to war, perceiving themselves as ‘special’, albeit with one asserting that status more vociferously than the other.

Such individuals, contends Maslov, are “involved in a cause outside their own skin, working at something very precious to them, a higher calling, mission or special vocation – they think of themselves as the perfect person for their job, and their job perfect for them.”

This might sound a grandiose depiction of Mourinho’s motives, but it signals the importance of the changes he has made at Chelsea, in identifying an ultimate vision and aligning every aspect of the club’s activities to this.

With his sports science degree from the University of Lisbon, and his complex fusion of the cerebral strategist and court jester, Mourinho has shaken up the old order.

But the stark contrast between his background and that of Ferguson also suggests that there is no precise prescription for success at the highest level of management. Mourinho’s method is undoubtedly a powerful one – as reflected by the parallels with that of Arsene Wenger, a man possessed of the same inner serenity as the Portuguese.

Five years ago, Elliott helped Arsenal to break the traditional dominance of the Premiership by Ferguson’s United. The club’s outlook was broadened, and success domestically perceived as a stepping stone to success in Europe and, eventually, to success globally.

THIS IS A CLASSIC ENCOUNTER BETWEEN TWO WARRIOR PERSONALITIES AND LEADERSHIP STYLES

Manchester

United. They have

far less riding on

the outcome and

will be more

relaxed

Strength: Midfield

is as tough as any

in Europe

Weaknesses:

Defensively they

are carrying too

many injuries and

are over-reliant on

Didier Drogba in

attack

Strength: United

have half a dozen

players who could

provide a match-

winning moment -

from Cristiano

Ronaldo to

Nemanja Vidic.

Weakness:

Defence is still not

fully functioning

Joe Cole. Chelsea

may require a

moment of flair to

break through

and, coming up

against a

vulnerable back

four, Cole could be

the man to

provide it

Paul Scholes. He

will not be given

much room by

Chelsea’s

sometimes stifling

midfield but, if he

is, he could

demonstrate why

many believe he,

not Ronaldo, is

United’s man of

the season