Kezman: it’s Jose’s way or highway
Chelsea may clinch the Premiership title today, but for frustrated striker Mateja Kezman, there are more important things than trophies Duncan Blanch explains.
MATEJA KEZMAN last night provided a fascinating insight into life as an outsider at all-conquering Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho’s side will win the title if they beat Bolton this evening but the Serbian striker has decided that his personal happiness is more important than such glittering prizes.
Kezman will be on the substitutes’ bench at the Reebok after playing for the last 12 minutes against Liverpool on Wednesday, but is unlikely to be around for much longer.
Since signing from PSV, his confidence has been destroyed to such an extent that he is scared to shoot when one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Such is his mental state that Roman Abramovich has started taking him out to dinner in an attempt to lift him from his depression.
“Abramovich is very close to the group and I have a good relationship with him. He’s a funny guy who, if you didn’t know his background, you wouldn’t look twice at him. He wears just cheap jeans and a cheap jacket.
“He understands my problems. Then he calls me and we go out. He’s obsessed with football.”
Unfortunately for Kezman, Mourinho has been less understanding. Although full of respect for his achievements as a coach, Kezman feels he has never received his full support and never been given an explanation for his repeated omission from the side.
The 26-year-old has started just six Premiership games and was furious to be dropped after his contribution to Chelsea’s thrilling win over Barcelona.
There is also the suggestion that Mourinho’s ego, his desire to be the best and the most prettiest, overshadows the achievements of his team. “It’s a pity that Jose Mourinho never stood behind me, never gave me full confidence. I can’t score a lot of goals if I am only playing for five or 10 minutes. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can do that. Not me.
“I spoke to Mourinho a lot about my situation, but we both look at it with different eyes. He thinks something, I think something different,” he told yesterday’s London Evening Standard.
“I have to accept it because Mourinho is the boss. ‘Why?’ was the big question for me but there was no answer. I am number two. Everything I do is not good enough. That’s the feeling I have and that’s very hard to accept.
“I respect him because he has fantastic results. From his side he understands my situation but he cannot change anything. He would be crazy to change it. This is the way he works and this is the way he had success the last couple of years. He feels he is the best and he is the most prettiest. You have the world of Mourinho and you have the other world.”
Having arrived at Stamford Bridge as a cocksure young gunslinger, Kezman is now afraid to load his rifle, too scared of missing to shoot for the target.
After shattering the Dutch scoring records by scoring 105 goals in 112 league games, Kezman has scored just four Premiership goals this season and had to wait until last month’s trip to Norwich to score his first from open play. Whether he likes it or not, Mourinho must accept some responsibility for the player’s decline.
Kezman said: “Confidence is 80%. A player without confidence is worth nothing. In the past I could do anything - a double scissors, a volley, a bicycle kick, everything happened for me.
“Over here it doesn’t happen because there’s fear in my head. A one-on-one is difficult because I fear for loss of possession. With a cross for goal I think maybe it is better to give it somebody else.”
For all his fears, Kezman has been brave enough to admit to his shortcomings and is already contemplating a future away from Stamford Bridge.
“The last few weeks I have been thinking a lot about it. ‘Is this for me? Do I want to have fun in football? Is this the price I have to pay to win big prizes?’
“If I have to play like this, maybe it’s better to leave and be on the pitch again with a smile on my face. I have a lot respect for guys like Geremi and Scott Parker but I don’t understand them.
“They hardly play but still they can smile. I am not like that. If I cannot play football I feel bad. I cannot cope with this for very much longer. I’ve learned that having fun on the pitch is the main objective, at a club I like in good surroundings. Why not take a pay cut to leave?”
At this stage, he may have little option.
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