http://tinyurl.com/zmszm Pressure? Life's a beach as Mourinho avoids red tide By Henry Winter (Filed: 08/04/2006) A man of two halves, charming and calculating, Mourinho was actually the soul of sincerity in debating bird flu, his mood turning playful only when mention was made of Devon Loch. Chelsea's Premiership lead has shrunk to seven points, evoking memories of the Grand National's most spectacular faller. "I know the history," laughed Mourinho. "But I tell you a Portuguese story, because in Portugal there are no Devon Lochs and no horses. We're in the sea, in a boat one mile from the beach. I jump, because I'm a good swimmer, and this fellow wants to chase me to the beach. "I go, using lots of different swimming styles. I come to the beach and walk on the beach. He comes to the beach, he dies. We call it 'Dying on the beach'. He shouldn't chase me! He should say to the boat, 'Please take me little bit closer!' He's so enthusiastic chasing me, but has a heart attack. That's our Devon Loch." The moral of this Portuguese parable is about the perils of pursuit. Mourinho was keen to stress this was not a health warning to Sir Alex Ferguson, whose Manchester United side have closed on the champions. He holds the veteran Scot in too high an esteem. "He's doing fantastically," added Mourinho, who smiled at Sir Bobby Charlton's suggestion that Ferguson should be hailed as "the greatest ever manager" if United reel in Chelsea. "In English football, Sir Alex is already seen as that," said Mourinho. "For me Sir Alex doesn't need to win one more Premiership to prove something in his career. "Man U have had a great run but I believe they are still very concerned about the gap. I can win my fourth consecutive title [after two with Porto] so I have reasons to be optimistic. I have always been in front. One day, I have to be behind, and it will be a different experience." Pressure is not in Chelsea's lexicon. "If you ask Claude Makelele if he feels pressure, for sure he says no. Over his career, he has lived many, many situations. Spanish football, Real Madrid losing…if you ask him, he feels no pressure. If you ask an inferior player, someone who has never been a champion before, maybe his answer is different." The implication is clear. There is too much character in the champions' dressing-room, too much determination in leaders like Makelele and John Terry for the Blues to blow it now. Mourinho does accept that Frank Lampard has lost some of his sparkle, but understandably spread such a criticism to "the team" in general, saying instead of Lampard: "It's not fair to look to a player who was so responsible for our very good moments. I don't think that because he had a bad game against Birmingham and has not scored for three or four matches that we blame him. I like to be the man of the bad moment." Here is the essence of Mourinho the manager. Obsessed with taking the heat off his players, he acts as a lightning conductor, allowing Lampard and company to focus on the next game while the media grill the manager. Such a provocative public stratagem inevitably leads to a distortion of the private Mourinho, an engaging, family-orientated man. "When I read the papers, sometimes I think people in this country must think I am a man coming from another world. But in my social life, I feel exactly the opposite." An approachable individual, Mourinho happily listens to strangers who stop him in the street. "Somebody comes up to me and says, 'I am a Chelsea fan, we love you, thanks a lot for what you are doing.' Up comes another one, who says, 'I am an Arsenal fan, I hope you leave at the end of the season!' Up comes another one from Chelsea, 'Keep going, we like you very much, don't go to Inter Milan, stay here with us.' Up comes another one, from Man U, 'I hope you go!' It's a contradiction between my direct contacts with people and when I read comments in the press." 關於佛格森提醒我們別大意失荊州而所引用的真實故事，搜尋一下，發現其實蠻特別的 Devon Loch是一匹障礙賽賽馬，1956年參加Grand National比賽，比賽進行相當順利， 距離勝利終點只差剩50碼，看台觀眾都已經提前丟帽準備慶祝偉大的勝利，但Devon Loch 卻突然無緣無故四肢倒地，整個肚子攤在地上起不來，冠軍…當然給lucky loser撿去了。 意外發生的原因眾說紛紜，Devon Loch的騎師說觀眾席上的吼叫驚嚇到馬匹；在場的警察 說場地路況不佳的原因；另外則說是因為馬兒誤把陰影看成是障礙柵欄(在1901年，馬兒 Grundon也曾把小路看障礙柵欄)。賽後馬兒健康檢查也查無病因，意外發生原因始終成謎 。 http://www.grand-national-world.co.uk/gnw/the_race/tales/devonloch.html 馬兒摔成那樣真的很不可思議，很像劈腿……好痛 > <"" --

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