HE HAS been castigated as the Negative One, the Enemy of Football, the man who places results above all else.
Chelsea will fancy their chances when they take on Atletico tonight[AP]Well tonight for Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, the arch exponent of the shut-out, the other side of the cloak will have to be shown.
Because his Chelsea team have to score to progress to the Mourinho's third Champions League final as a manager.
The goalless draw Chelsea ground out at the Vicente Calderon stadium last Tuesday night to establish the platform for a potential second leg triumph here at Stamford bridge this evening was a a supposed masterclass of the art.
The shut out, the "parking of the bus." Mourinho has bridled at those recent charges of negativity, as he has always done -pointing to individual goalscoring feats by players he has managed like Cristiano Ronaldo, or like Eden Hazard, on whom so much may rest tonight.
Against a formidable Atletico team moulded along much the same counter attacking lines as this Chelsea side, 17 goal Hazard's return after three weeks out with a calf problem could be the key to this second leg tonight. A
s could the return to fitness of skipper John Terry, and the return to the attack of that old penalty area poacher, Samuel Eto'o. Mourinho, who is going for his third Champions League final win with his third club, is in no mood to give ground at the moment.
Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto'o could feature for the Blues [STUART ROBINSON]Everything is very balanced. But we have to enjoy this
He said: "Football is full of people with fantastic theories and philosophies. It's amazing. "But tonight when Atletico have the ball, we have to defend. When we have the ball we have to attack. When they have the ball, we have to try and stop them. When we have the ball we want to score.
"At this moment in this tie, this is a clean score. It has possibilities for both teams.
"We play at home, but a draw with goals is good for them and not us. Everything is very balanced. But we have to enjoy this. We do - the players, too.
"There are some matches that are special. The match every player wants to play in is the Champions League final, but after that, it's the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. So we have to enjoy this.
"After the game, let's see if we go to Lisbon or not. I will go for sure in the summer anyway! But let's see if we can go together."
Eto'o, the 33 year old, three times Champions League winner, twice with Barcelona and once with Mourinho at Inter Milan, has shaken off the knee problem that meant that he missed the first leg at Chelsea's unexpected 2-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday.
The Cameroonian, despite Demba Ba's late and crucial flurry of three goals in his last five games, is Chelsea's most effective striker this season with twelve goals. And all of them have been at home - hence his inclusion tonight.
The veteran has a knack of scoring goals on the big occasion. He scored in the final for Barca against Arsenal in 2006, and netted in the final against Manchester United in 2009.
Petr Cech looks set to start after recovering from injury [GETTY]Mourinho, who captured his old favourite on a free transfer one year deal last summer and seems to have survived an unfortunate jibe earlier this season at the striker's age, added: "Yes, I have had more semi-finals than Diego Simeone - but I don't think it's crucial. Maybe it helped me sleep better last night, but during the game, it's the same. A knock-out game. A game of details.
"A game where, maybe, one goal is the difference. Everyone needs to be at the top level, but the players are more important than me. I trust them a lot and that helps me to be calm.
"People say Atletico are a counter attacking side. They are not. They are a good side, a side that defends well, that scores goals. They are in the semi-finals of the Champions league and they need two more wins to be champions in Spain. They are a very good team."
Atletico manager Simeone, whose side are on the verge of the club's first La Liga championship since 1996 and are unbeaten in the Champions League so far this season, was sympathetic to Mourinho's pragmatism: "I respect different ways of setting out a team.
"There is no 'best way'. In the end, it's important the team, the club, the institution wins, regardless of how it is achieved. If we all played the same way, it would be very boring."
Mourinho, the supposed arch exponent of the "big game," has actually lost his last three Champions League semi- finals, all with Real Madrid. He is actually the arch pragmatist - so he won't care how he wins tonight - as long as he does.
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