Pep Guardiola's Natural Destination Is Manchester United, Not Chelsea or City

Josep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola to Chelsea was always a stretch.  Why would a manager who thrived on continuity at Barcelona risk his reputation at a club that hosts a revolution whenever a billionaire Russian feels like it?

As ever with Chelsea, Roman Abramovich's buying power justifies the speculation, but why are we to assume money is even a factor in Guardiola's decision-making?

Not everybody can be bought.

Money won't tempt Lionel Messi to Manchester City, for example. And it won't tempt Sir Alex Ferguson to see out his 70s managing an obscure Chinese club for $1 billion a season.

Guardiola has already passed up a year's earnings to spend a sabbatical in New York. He needed to "rest", he told reporters in May, after walking away from Barcelona—hardly the sentiment you'd marry to somebody motivated by money.

But, still, Abramovich thinks his wallet will win out. Chelsea made a second failed approach in October for Guardiola.

The same paper claimed Guardiola cited Chelsea as his "dream job" in early November—adding that he loved the way Roberto Di Matteo set them up this season and is a big fan of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata.

Then came the Di Matteo sacking. Abramovichhired his ninth manager in Rafa Benitez and opened the revolving trap door to a man who six months earlier had led Chelsea to their greatest triumph.

Chelsea fans rounded on their owner and their new manager on Sunday—booing both with equal ferocity. Meanwhile, their team tightened up to play out a dull 0-0 draw with Manchester City and are in danger of becoming the first holders to go out of the Champions League in the group stages.

Suddenly, the Guardiola to Chelsea rumours began to look a little less viable. 

So maybe Chelsea wasn't his "dream job" after all? What an earth-shattering surprise.

Of the Manchester clubs, United are the better fit—not just because of their history and the level of trust they've afforded Ferguson in his 26 years, but because their ethos is closer to that of Barca.

Barca are a football family. During Sunday's 4-0 win against Levante, they had 11 homegrown players on the pitch at the same time (Pitchside Europe). Chelsea could claim just Ryan Bertrand in the squad of 16 who drew with Manchester City. City were without Micah Richards, their only homegrown player.

In that sense, United—though the club is not quite the production line it was in the early 1990s—much more closely resembles the environment in which Guardiola made history with Barca. 

But it goes beyond youth development and choosing owners with a long-term vision. If you're going to make a comeback, make a big one—and what's bigger than taking over from the great Sir Alex Ferguson, and at a club with a romantic vision to fit Guardiola's footballing philosophy.

Guardiola has already turned down Chelsea's money. Turning down Ferguson's legacy would be far harder.

Chelsea fires another boss!

So that's that, then. Roberto Di Matteo bites the dust at Chelsea. And if you can find the logic in it, you're a better man than me. 

Di Matteo: bites the dust despite becoming the first Chelsea manager to win Champions League

They say it's a "results business." And most likely, Chelsea will become the first defending Champions League winner ever to go out at the group stage following the 3-0 defeat at Juventus on Tuesday night. 

But if you buy this "results" line then it's equally true that Di Matteo came in and rescued a wayward season and delivered Chelsea its first ever Champions League crown. Not just that; he also won the FA Cup. 

Villas Boas

And sure, Chelsea had good fortune on their side in overcoming Barcelona and Bayern Munich on their way to the big one. But it's also true that they weren't exactly lucky in their recent Premier League outings against West Brom, Liverpool and Manchester United. The Blues could easily have had another four points from those three games, in which case they'd be top of the table. Would Di Matteo have gotten the boot then? 

Who knows? 

It's becoming increasingly hard to decipher what goes on in Roman Abramovich's head. You will no doubt hear a whole load of anti-Abramovich stuff being thrown around right about now, much of it having to do with how he's "trigger-happy" because he sacked eight managers in less than nine years. 

Avram Grant

Strictly speaking, those numbers are misleading. Avram Grant and Guus Hiddink weren't sacked; they were always interim bosses who were let go after their spell. And Claudio Ranieri, the first guy to get the chop, was someone Abramovich had inherited from the previous regime. 

You can give an owner a pass for removing a leftover boss (and one who had been there for four years), especially if he replaces him with a Jose Mourinho. The Special One's departure was the one most Chelsea fans regret, but internally, Mourinho had run his course and tensions had bubbled over with club officials and players. You can live with that one. 

Furthermore, you can also understand why Andre Villas-Boas and Luiz Felipe Scolari both went, as they had the worst and second-worst results of any boss in the Abramovich era. AVB had also fallen out with senior players, while Scolari, at times, looked about as interested as a 10-year-old in an accountant's office. 

Scolari

But you can't give the club the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Carlo Ancelotti, the double winner who had Fernando Torres and David Luiz thrown into his lap unsolicited. Nor, by any stretch, can you do it with Di Matteo. 

I don't buy this argument about whether someone "deserves" to be sacked. Merit has nothing to do with it. You remove a manager when you think you can get somebody better. I don't have a problem with that. 

So the issue here is whether Chelsea thinks it can get someone better right now. Forget the Pep Guardiola business. He's on Manhattan's Upper West Side as you read this; unless he did some kind of sudden about-face, he's not on his way over to jump-start Chelsea's season. If -- and it's a huge if, as we've written before -- he comes to Stamford Bridge, it will be in the summer. And if he commits to Chelsea and Di Matteo had been let go at that point, few would have batted an eyelid. 

Ancelotti

Thus it becomes a question of whether there's a better available manager out there, but it needs to be somebody so good that you accept the fact that Guardiola is not coming. Why? Because no serious boss is going to accept an interim position. 

And if you were going to go for a Mr. Fix-It type who could deliver instant results, someone to "save" the season and then disappear into the background, why not keep Di Matteo? After all, it's not as if a top-four finish for Chelsea looks in question this season. And who else is going to put up with Torres? 

Unless, of course, we are to believe that Di Matteo was sacked because Chelsea did not get the result they needed at Juventus. In which case it would be a simply idiotic decision. Because the implication is that, had Chelsea drawn the game, then -- presto! -- Di Matteo would still be good enough to be Chelsea boss. 

The trigger-happy Abramovich

The reason Chelsea is in this situation isn't hard to discern. It was folly to go into a season with Torres and Daniel Sturridge masquerading as the Blues' entire strike force. That was not Di Matteo's decision; somebody further up the food chain needs to take ownership of that. 

Thinking that four central midfielders -- one of them somewhat limited (John Obi Mikel), one of them a recycled wide player (Ramires), one of them 34 (Frank Lampard) and one of them just turned 21 with little experience (Oriol Romeu) -- could be enough to see you through the campaign was equally silly. And equally not down to Di Matteo. 

Chelsea says it'll announce its new boss shortly. Whether it's an interim guy or a permanent hire will tell us plenty about what the next move is and whether there really was a coherent plan. Right now though, it looks like a knee-jerk reaction and nothing more.

Why Man Utd, Chelsea and Real Madrid are in River Plate contact for Lucas Ocampos

His first team career is barely five months old, but Lucas Ocampos already has the pick of the game's biggest clubs should he decide to leave River Plate.
 

Lucas Ocampos: Likened to Cristiano Ronaldo



Likened to Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, the 17 year-old, 6ft winger is the subject of intense interest from Chelsea this week, while media sources in Buenos Aries declared Manchester United and Real Madrid held talks with River before Christmas and assured them offers will arrive for Ocampos in 2012.

Currently sitting second in Argentina's Second Division, River president Daniel Passarella had insisted Ocampos would not be sold until they had returned to the top-flight. Interestingly, he was at the FIFA gala awards, where United manager Sir Alex Ferguson collected his career achievement gong.

Daniel Mancusi, a director at River, admits they're now ready to sell Ocampos: "There's been bids, but we've turned them down. If we get an offer to our liking, we'll consider it."

It's only been in the last six months that Ocampos' profile has exploded.

Identified as a junior with Quilmes, the winger was taken by River 18 months ago with little protest and didn't get near the senior squad until last year's preseason. It was the former Inter Milan and Parma star Matias Almeyda, now coach of River, who recognised Ocampos' talent and fast-tracked him into his first team for this season.



Started as a centre-forward before converted to left winger

A centre-forward with River's youth team, Almeyda has since converted Ocampos into a left-sided winger and seen him thrive in his new position.

"Ocampos is a star, he can be the future of River," declared Almeyda before handing the teen his debut against Chacarita Juniors. A week later Ocampos already had his first senior goal and soon the world's biggest clubs were on the phone to Passarella asking him to name his price.

Scouts liken Ocampos to Real Madrid star Angel di Maria, who came through at Newell's Old Boys before being signed by Benfica.



Ocampos: A fan of Cristiano Ronaldo



He has good technique and is a great dribbler. The raw pace he has is often too much for the fullbacks he's so far faced this season. It's very similar to Di Maria. He can pop up anywhere, but does his best work on the left of midfield."

In need of money and with Trezeguet now leading the line, Passarella is actively courting buyers for Ocampos, with £8 million a jumping off point for negotiations.

Chelsea made their move last week, but in United and Real Madrid's favour is that Ocampos is a self-confessed Ronaldo fan. Real would be confident if it came down to choice, as Ocampos' agent, Pablo Sabbag, has stronger links to Spanish football than the Premier League.

But money talks - especially if you're Passarella. Not only does he need to cover the loss from their shock relegation last season, but he's also promised River fans should Ocampos be sold a top-line replacement will arrive - with Internacional's former River favourite Andres D'Alessandro already nominated.

Chelsea, Manchester United or Real Madrid. For Ocampos, any move will be a whirlwind. But having become one of only four ever presents for River in this his debut season, you expect this 17 year-old to handle any big money transfer with similar ease.

Chelsea fall short with £22m bid for Valencia ace Juan Mata

Chelsea have had a £22million bid for Valencia winger Juan Mata rejected by the Spanish club.

Juan Mata

Roman Abramovich made the offer - £18m up front and £4m to follow - on Wednesday after Andre Villas-Boas identified the 23-year-old, also a target for Tottenham and Arsenal, as the man he wants out wide to help bridge the gap on champions Manchester United.



Valencia are determined not to let Mata go so close to the start of the season in Spain - this weekend's start has been delayed due to a player strike - but the player is desperate to leave for Stamford Bridge.
Such is Chelsea’s desire to sign Mata, who was the star of this summer’s Under 21 European Championship, that Abramovich is considering flying to meet Valencia president Manuel Llorente to push through the deal.


An extra £4m should be enough to force Valencia’s hand, which would be a huge bonus considering there was a buy-out clause of £22m which expired at the end of July.
Mata has been keen on a move to Chelsea all summer and has been promised a pivotal role, a pay rise and Yossi Benayoun’s No 10 shirt by the London club. 



That should be enough to see off the persistent interest from Arsenal and Tottenham.
Mata scored nine and set up 15 goals for Valencia last season, coming on the back of being part of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad.

Chelsea signing of Genk keeper Courtois confirmed

Belgian champions Genk have reluctantly agreed to sell teenage goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to Chelsea on a five-year deal.


Reports suggest the Blues have splashed out £7.9million to land the well-regarded 19-year-old.

Thibaut Courtois

And Genk admitted they had little option but to let him leave once the Blues made their intentions plain with a substantial bid.


"We received an enormous offer that gave us no choice but to let our goalkeeper leave," Genk director Dirk Degraen told a press conference.


"But I have mixed feelings about this transfer. Genk wanted Thibaut to stay a bit longer."


Courtois does not expect immediate first-team action in west London.


"Chelsea see me as the successor to Petr Cech," he admitted recently.


"It won't happen in one or two years, but in three, four or five years. I can therefore work on my development in peace."