Jose sure of his man Carvalho

Matt Hughes|Evening Standard|In Pittsburgh

14 April 2012

Not many managers would describe a £20million, £60,000-a-week centre-back

His decision to make Ricardo Carvalho the second most expensive player in Chelsea’s history has raised eyebrows across Europe, particularly as Real Madrid offered only £7m for the 26-year-old, but the club’s head coach
remains unconcerned.

Mourinho maintains that Carvalho’s wages for the next three years, a fourfold increase on his pay at Porto, make him a good-value purchase, but there
aren’t many defenders in the Premiership earning £60,000-a-week. New captain John Terry, for one, could soon be asking for a pay rise.

Mourinho said: “Portuguese players are cheap because of their salaries. They do not earn big salaries in their country so when they move they move for their ambition and a new challenge. They can be offered double the money and it’s still not as much as other players.

“If you go to Italy or England for a player they open their mouths and ask, ‘How many pounds?’ Ricardo’s a cheap player in terms of his salary. We found other clubs with players of less potential asking for similar amounts.

“We paid a big transfer fee but we’re buying the best defender at the last Euro. When you buy quality you pay high. Real Madrid tried very hard to buy Ricardo and made a good offer but it was too late.”

Mourinho had originally intended to sign a cheaper alternative to provide cover for Terry and William Gallas, looking at AC Milan’s Fabrizio
Collocini, Ledley King and Roberto Ayala, but baulked at the asking prices and
decided to sign the best of the best.

Carvalho’s outstanding performances in Euro 2004, particularly his tight
marking of Michael Owen in Portugal’s quarter-final win over England, confirmed his quality and Abramovich’s money did the rest.

Mourinho said: “We put everything on the table, looked at all the profiles and Ricardo was the perfect choice. He has all the right footballing qualities and is leaving Porto at a high point of his career.

“He is the perfect age, has perfect experience and a lot of ambition. He’s
very shy off the pitch and finds it difficult to communicate but on the pitch
he has unbelievable self-confidence. English football is really fast and
against England Carvalho showed his pace. It’s not normal to find a central
defender faster than the strikers but Carvalho is.”

Having been rescued from Porto’s reserves by Mourinho two years ago, Carvalho was understandably keen to be reunited with his mentor. The former Leca defender won two Portuguese Championships, the UEFA Cup and Champions League under his guidance at Porto and is expecting a similar haul at Stamford Bridge.

Carvalho said: “I’ve always enjoyed working with Mourinho and always will. It’s important for me to know the coach.

“The fact that he is manager made my mind up and left me in no doubt. If you get on with him as a player, everyone is happy. Mourinho is not like a typical manager. He is very interested in the psychological aspect of players
and is a very good communicator, which makes life easier for all concerned.”

But Carvalho does not feel he or former Porto team-mate Paulo Ferreira will be shown any favours — quite the opposite. “Nobody thinks that we are going to have it easy or get special treatment. Mourinho is very demanding and, having come from Porto, he will demand more from us than our team-mates.’’

As a Champions League winner and European Championship finalist Carvalho could reasonably expect to walk straight into Chelsea’s starting line-up but has already been warned that he must fight for his place.

Mourinho said: “The money we pay is not the reason players are picked and they have to win their place every single day. Ricardo has John Terry, William Gallas and Robert Huth for competition and will have to fight very hard to arrive in the first team.” He made an impressive start yesterday, stepping straight off a plane from London to train at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field.

Carvalho will sit out tonight’s Champions World Series fixture against Roma in Pittsburgh and will make his debut instead in Gianfranco Zola’s tribute match at Stamford Bridge on 8 August.

“I want to establish myself as a firstchoice player in the team from day
one,” he added. “After winning the Champions League with Porto and reaching the final of Euro 2004 with Portugal, I believe that I am good enough for the Premier League.

“I don’t fear any forwards in England, nor the game in general.”

Mourinho will give a debut tonight to Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, who
completed a club-record £24million move from Marseille last week, and Damien Duff will play his first football the season after a shoulder injury.

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Jose sure of his man Carvalho

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