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Emmanuel
Petit 03/14/03 |
| When
it comes down to it, Chelsea haven’t done badly when it comes
to bringing in talent from abroad, which is scarcely surprising given
that they were in the forefront of the movement, dating back to the
stunning signing of Ruud Gullit when Glenn Hoddle was manager at the
Bridge. Many pundits argue that the best ever import into the Premiership today is another Chelsea man, Gianfranco Zola, and it’s a case that is pretty damn strong. Yet if Chelsea are to finally make the step up to greatness, to the point at which they can genuinely challenge Arsenal and Manchester United then it’s likely to be another continental superstar who will be the biggest influence. Emmanuel Petit has already won pretty much all there is to win in the game, including the English Double, though that in the red shirt of Arsenal rather than the blue of Chelsea. Alongside Patrick Vieira, Petit was one half of the most imposing double act the Premier League has ever seen before he left for an abortive spell at the Nou Camp, but we were lucky enough to welcome him back to English football last season when he signed for the Blues. Petit’s all-action style is made for the hurly burly of the English game, his pace, stamina, strength and vision combining to make him pretty much the perfect midfielder. Petit will make a saving tackle on the edge of his own box and then, just seconds later will pop up in our territory to take a shot or play a neat through ball. The personification of the box-to-box style of midfielder, Manu Petit is the nearest thing in the game today to the great Bryan Robson in his prime. Compliments don’t come any higher than that. But it’s wholly justified for Petit is the kind of player any manager would want in his side, as the scramble for his services when he came back from Spain proved, Chelsea beating both Arsenal and Manchester United to his signature and inevitably he’s proven to be a superb buy for Ranieri, given Chelsea the extra bite they needed in midfield without reducing their flair in any way. Petit came to prominence in England under Arsene Wenger’s management at Highbury when he was perhaps unlucky not to have won more praise than he’s received, playing as he did in the shadow of the likes of Bergkamp and Overmars, players who caught the air with their pace and quality in front of goal. But Petit alongside Vieira was the mainspring of the Gooners’ success in that double winning season, performing the role that fellow Frenchman Eric Cantona termed the water carrier – Perrier presumably. It was in the World Cup of 1998 and then the European Championships two years later that a wider audience recognised Petit’s qualities as he gave some powerful displays in that great French side, his strength in midfield, his all-round vision and his willingness to shoulder the defensive responsibility providing the perfect platform for Zinedine Zidane to perform miracles and set the Frenchmen on the way to that unprecedented double which perhaps established them as Europe’s finest ever national side, Petit fittingly getting the clinching third goal in the World Cup Final against Brazil, a powerful run ending with a lovely finish. That said, the last twelve months have been less enjoyable for Petit, starting with the FA Cup Final defeat at Cardiff last May when Chelsea were beaten by, of all people, Arsenal to give the Gunners a second double of the Premiership era. If that weren’t bad enough, he then went out to Japorea with the French side and had to struggle and suffer with the rest of them as the team simply couldn’t raise a gallop and dipped out of the World Cup at the first stage. Those reverses have clearly hurt and Petit came back to this season as a man on a mission with something to prove. Losing does not come easily to him and, a proud man, he is desperate to restore some balance, as he proved in last weekend’s Cup tie with Arsenal where, in spite of only just returning from injury, he gave a virtuoso midfield performance, moving commentator Barry Davies to say that, “Petit is doing the work of three men today.” There remain very few players in England who can match Petit for quality or consistency. If Chelsea do finish up in the Champions League places and with the FA Cup on the mantelpiece come the end of May, Manu will have been the man instrumental in putting it there. |
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