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Ramires defends Chelsea's style
Jun 27, 2012 7:52:00 PM
The Brazilian midfielder responded to comments from his own country after the Blues' tactics in their Champions League victory over Barcelona were criticised by former players
Chelsea midfielder Ramires has defended his team's style of play after it was criticised in his home country of Brazil by Corinthians coach Tite and 1970 World Cup winner Tostao.The Champions League winners' defensive approach came under fire, with Tostao going so far as to suggest the Blues are organised but short of talented players. But Ramires defended their tactics and believes they were necessary to enusre they made it to the final in Munich.
"This anti-football is not Chelsea's style, we only played that way in those games against Barcelona," Ramires told Radio Estadao ESPN.
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"When we played against Napoli, we needed to score a goal and we did it, when almost nobody believed we would.
"If we tried to play as equals against Barcelona, we would have conceded five or six goals. We watched some videos of Barcelona and decided for that strategy.
"We knew we could beat them on counter-attack and we were happy for achieving that. If you don't play that way, you can't beat them."
Ramires also pointed to other examples of teams that have been successful in playing defensively against the Catalan giants, especially their great La Liga rivals Real Madrid.
He added: "It's not only Chelsea that plays that way against Barcelona. We watched that game where Real Madrid beat them 2-1, playing the same way we did.
"Barcelona move the ball around a lot, tiring opponents that have to run after the ball. In our case, we scored that goal and then we took a defensive stance.
"If we always win playing that way, I'll choose to win."
Ramires enjoyed a successful season with the Blues, including victory in the Champions League and FA Cup. He also won the club's Players' Player of the Year award, as well as their goal of the season award for his chip against Barcelona.
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