Much was made of the London club's acquisition of young manager Andre Villas-Boas. His heritage and meteoric rise to fame - spectacular league and European success - drew quick comparisons to former mentor Jose Mourinho, and in many ways both can be said to be cut from the same cloth. It remains to be seen if "AVB" is tailor-made for Chelsea as Roman Abramovich continues his barren quest for European glory.
AVB's Porto finished the league season unbeaten, winning 27 out of 30 games, with the most potent attack and the best defensive record in the league (conceding only 13 goals). Admittedly, it would have been difficult not to stroll to success in one of the "lesser" leagues with a squad boasting the likes of Hulk, Falcao and Joao Moutinho, but their domination continued in Europe as well. Starting with a 7-2 aggregate victory of eventual Belgian champions Genk, they finished the group stage unbeaten and claimed the scalps of CSKA Moscow, Sevilla, Spartak Moscow, Villarreal and league rivals Benfica on the way to lift the trophy. That they did so with some style (scoring 5 goals three times in the knockout stage) is more than impressive.
For the vast majority of the season, Villas-Boas employed a 4-3-3 formation home and away. While many variations of this formation exist (think about the difference between Mourinho's Chelsea and Guardiola's Barcelona), I personally find AVB's permutation quite interesting. A key component of AVB's 4-3-3 is the way his central midfielder (Fernando) drops deep to allow the defence (particularly the wing-backs) to push up to provide width for an otherwise narrow line-up. The fact that the "wingers" of Varela and Hulk cut inside and scored hatfuls of goals suggests that they aren't the typical wide men that many would expect (more on Hulk later). Additionally, his left-sided central midfielder, Joao Moutinho (a Football Manager favorite) acted as his chief playmaker.
As far as the forward line goes, the central striker (Falcao) was the speedy finisher, while his right-sided wingman (Hulk) wasn't really a winger at all but an intelligent and dangerous striker with pace, power and panache that would and could drive inside and either take or make a chance (Henry at Arsenal, Ronaldo at Man Utd, etc). The left-sided forward was a more traditional winger, though the number of goals Silvetre Varela scored would suggest he is more than that as well.
Looking at the Chelsea team, recent purchases and the last four games, one can see how AVB has attempted to drape this winning formula over a side that is expected to do well.
Attacking wingbacks? Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa. Ashley Cole, in fact, has been found to be the farthest man forward for Chelsea in most of their attacks. Deep-lying central midfielder? Jon Obi Mikel for three games, though his lack of creativity meant that a reunion for Raul Meireles was on the cards. The former Liverpool man played this role excellently against Sunderland, linking up with his team-mates and initiating several moves (including a goal). Left-sided playmaker? Frank Lampard has featured in this slot in every game so far this season for Chelsea, and stats have shown that he has actually created more chances for his team-mates than anyone else in the BPL. He might be more effective driving forward (a few years ago?) but this is the way he plays - or more poignantly, is asked to play - now. Chelsea's dogged pursuit of a certain Luka Modric also hints at AVB's preference for a player that fits this framework. Finally, the forward three have rotated almost non-stop since January 2011, when Fernando Torres joined from Liverpool. The sacked Carlo Ancelotti was faced with the problem of how to play Drogba and Torres together. AVB simply didn't (save one game). Instead, he opted for the Spaniard despite his dismal form. Why? As mentioned earlier, AVB's 4-3-3 needs a speey central striker, a Falcao-sort. And for so many years there were few better than El Nino at that role. Left winger? Frank Malouda, and now Juan Mata. Strong right-sided forward? Surprisingly not Drogba most of the time, but he originally played Salomon Kalou there, and Belgian prodigy Romelu Lukaku (the mini-Drog) and athletic Daniel Sturridge featured on the right wing prominently when they have played this season.
In my opinion, the purchases of Mata and Lukaku, and the failed one of Modric, point to AVB trying to fit his Chelsea players into the formation that has brought him such huge and quick success in the short managerial career. It remains to be seen how effective this would be, but judging from their most recent game (Sunderland away), the pieces are fitting rather well. Meireles, Mata, and Sturridge/Lukaku may hold the key to this formation's (and Villas-Boas') success or failure, and perhaps the only flaw in this venture is that Villas-Boas lacks that central playmaker and a consistent central striker (Anelka might be his best short-term solution).
I'm intrigued as to how Chelsea line up against Manchester United this weekend, as the Red Devils aim to continue their simply breathtaking form. Between AVB's 4-3-3 and United's swarming red tide, it promises to be either a wonderful spectacle, or a tactical chess-match. Or both.
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