FEMI TAIWO: HOW MOURINHO CAN ADVANCE INTO THE FINAL OF THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

STRATEGY WITH FEMI TAIWO ON MONDAY

Oluwafemi Michael Taiwo, PhD

Michael is a first class chemical engineering graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, and a PhD holder in same discipline from the University of Arkansas, United States.

I will be looking at Mourinho’s performance through the eyes of strategy and offer some tips on how he can get past Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Semi-Finals on Wednesday, April 30.

A brief analysis of the first leg:

Mourinho was predictable at the Calderon (Atletico Madrid’s home stadium). He went for a solid defensive line-up. You can always tell what mood Mourinho is in by whether or not he starts John Mikel Obi. If he starts Mikel, he prioritizes defense; if not, he wants to attack. He avoided defeat and was able to render the 90 minutes goalless but it was not a wise move. A better strategic alternative would have been to attack at the Calderon, away from home. Mourinho has a reputation of defending when away to good teams and attacking when at home. Reputation can be a strength – because it goes ahead of you and do some speaking and doing on your behalf. Entire battles have been won based on the reputation of the commanding general alone e.g. if you have a reputation of trust, negotiations move quickly as your allies know they can bank on your word. But reputation can also be a weakness. Reputation is synonymous with predictability. It’s a curse. Once your enemy can figure you out, you are done. By having a well-known battle preference, you open yourself up to counter strategy. It also limits your maneuverability and your options shrink. In short, reputation for a master strategist is a double-edged sword.  The greatest generals of history are therefore, first and foremost, unpredictable geniuses.

It is a biological law of nature that predictability leads to extinction. By being unpredictable, however, you move from the hunted to the hunter – you not just survive the harsh realities of life; you thrive in spite of them. This is why I said Mourinho made a mistake by starting defensively in the Calderon. What he should have done is name a defensive line-up i.e. put John Mikel Obi on the team sheet. This would make Diego Simeone, his opponent, believe he wants to defend. Then during warm up, Mikel would suddenly have an injury and replaced by an attacking midfielder. Feint is a time honored tactic. Diego, expecting his side to be the attacker, would suddenly find himself attacked. I think Mourinho realized his error late into the game because he switched to an attacking mindset. When John Terry became injured, I was expecting a defender or at least a defensive midfielder to replace him but rather he brought in Andre Schurle, an attacking midfielder. They ended the game on the higher note. If he had played that way for the better part of the game, he would have won.

So what should he do now?

Again, be unpredictable. Instead of attacking at Stamford Bridge, defend and bid your time. He did that successfully at Anfield and the goals came at the injury time, he can do it at Stamford Bridge also. He should not commit to attack. But just defend, defend and defend even though he is at home. With patience, the chink in Diego’s armor would appear and he can put his spear through it. Let’s see how it will all play out on Wednesday.