Great Grant

No, this is not Avram Grant taking part in a Holocaust-themed play recalling Jewish powerlessness.



It is Chelsea football manager Avram Grant celebrating his side's win to gain a place at the Championship final in Moscow.

Here:-

But how did we end up in one of English football's most dramatic chapters with Avram Grant in charge of one of the protagonists? He finished last night's game on his knees on the pitch genuflecting to persons unknown. Grant said it was a tribute to his father, a Holocaust survivor; it could equally have been to his powerful friend Abramovich sat high in the West Stand, out of sight behind the glass of the executive boxes.

For the first time since he took over from Jose Mourinho at Chelsea in September, Grant felt brave enough to step onto the pitch and wave to the home crowd. It would be fair to say that the response was unremarkable. Stamford Bridge was lost in a rapture that was new to Chelsea fans, but none of them yet seem to think that they owe it all to the unassuming little Israeli in the dark suit.

Some comments:

...his suitability for the job, which can no longer be seriously questioned after taking Chelsea into uncharted territory in Europe and resuscitating their title challenge.

Grant, so often criticised, did a good job against BenÍtez, the master tactician in Europe. It did not require a masterstroke from the Israeli, just common sense.

I also agree that British press is too biased against Grant simply because he's from Israel. What Grant has done so far is outstanding, way better than Mourinho, who likes too much to speak about himself than what's on the pitch.

Louis, North Adam, USA

At some point the British press has to quit making fun of Avram Grant. He has done well at his job. I can't help but wonder whether the press would've treated a guy like Sven Goran Erikson the same way. I doubt it. I think that the British press simply hates Israel and Israelis.

Jonathan, New York, USA

and

And this was a defining match, too. It brought down the curtain on the José Mourinho years at Stamford Bridge, because nobody can omit Avram Grant, his replacement, from this achievement now.

Mourinho has been gone since September of last year but his spectre lingers. This, however, is a triumph of Grant’s own. He has managed all but one of the matches that have taken Chelsea to Moscow and the first all-English European Cup final, while Mourinho’s contribution was a disappointing home draw with Rosenborg, of Norway. Whatever the arguments about the merit of Grant’s appointment, this result means that at the very least he deserves the right to be in charge at Chelsea next season, and the chance to build his own team.