TheCable

Former Super Eagles manager, Clemens Westerhof, has backed Jose Mourinho’s tactics, which have come under the spotlight in recent days.

The Chelsea boss was roundly criticised for his ultra-defensive tactics after his team’s 3-1 aggregate loss to Spanish club, Atletico Madrid in last week’s UEFA Champions League semifinal.

Morten Olsen, Denmark’s head coach, was the most vociferous, declaring on Monday that Mourinho’s tactics are bad for the game.

“In my world, Mourinho is a danger for football. If many try to copy his style, then the game will die,” Olsen had said.

“Imagine if everybody played football like Mourinho. Then it would certainly be boring, and then I wouldn’t watch the matches. I would prefer to pick a good film or go for a stroll in the forest.”

Eden Hazard, one of Mourinho’s most creative players, also took a swipe at the Portuguese when he declared that Chelsea “were not made to play football” following the loss to Atletico.

But Westerhof, who won 1994 the Africa Nations Cup with the Eagles playing attractive and attacking football, is in support of the two-time Champions League winner.

“People say that Mourinho put two buses in front of his defence, but the tactics has worked for him, except in the game with Atletico Madrid,” the self-styled Dutchgerian said.

“In spite of that, Mourinho is still one of the best coaches in the world.”

Chelsea are in third position on the Premier League log with 79 points from 37 matches. They travel to bottom-of-the-table Cardiff City for their last league match of the season.