كتب : Omar Shoeb
Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon insisted that the club brought Maniche to cover up a deficiency in midfield after Michael Essien’s injury, which caused him to miss Ghana’s African Cup of Nations campaign in Egypt earlier this year.
“The signing was about cover. Generally we don’t want to bring players in during January because it is difficult for them to integrate. But we had players going off to the African Cup of Nations and the manager felt we needed more cover, particularly with the potential of Michael Essien going away,” Kenyon explained.
Maniche’s started in a total of five matches for Chelsea, and played in three, after being handed a three-match ban following a red car in a match against West Ham in April in the Premiership.
“He certainly contributed to the team while he was here. We make a big thank you for that and wish him all the best with his future.
“It is never easy for anybody coming into a team halfway through the year and he had some getting fit to do. He was eager to prove his worth and what he contributed to the squad is not always just about what you do on the pitch,” Kenyon added.
On the other hand, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho revealed that he felt sorry for Arsenal for losing the UEFA Champions League final against Spanish champions Barcelona.
“I was just wishing a good game but at the end I felt sorry for Arsenal people. I felt sorry because they had a fantastic game in difficult circumstances. In the big occasions I never enjoy to see the faces of the losers,” Mourinho said.
“I think Arsenal played very well. It is very difficult to do better than they did with ten men. I think English football can be proud of what they did in Paris,” he added.
Mourinho also hailed Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger’s career and said that he should be no less than all the other Class-A coaches in Europe who took a shot at European glory at least once each.
“Maybe people don’t believe me in what I am saying but I feel that with the career Wenger has behind him, he deserves to win the Champions League one day. You look at the first line of coaches in Europe and almost everybody has had the luck to be European Champion once — Lippi, Capello, Ancelotti, myself, Rijkaard, Ferguson, Benitez, Del Bosque.
“You go around and almost everybody has got it. I think he deserves it and I feel sorry for him,” he said.