It is a known fact that Roman Abramovich goes into panic mode when his Chelsea team stumbles either in the Premier League or in the Champions League. He has done so in numerous occasions during his ownership of the Blues. With the inevitable departure of Andre Villas Boas, Roberto Di Matteo was entrusted with the task of seeing the current Chelsea players through the season. RDM as he is now known, has shown that a temporary manager fare a whole lot better at Stamford Bridge.
RDM has done fantastically well since taking over from AVB. From impossible situations and player power, he has guided Chelsea into the Champions League quarterfinal and FA Cup semifinal. Overcoming a 3-1 deficit against Napoli and victory over Leicester have earned RDM the player's respect and the chance to improve on Chelsea's poor season. Under Di Matteo's Chelsea, the enigma who is Fernando Torres is even beginning to regain form and goalscoring touch. El Nino has scored three goals and made four goals since AVB's sacking.
Abramovich clearly knew what he was doing when he sacked AVB. The owner was sure that results would improve once the manager was gone and he dealt his ruthless hand. It wasn't a risk, in his mind, after all he had done it before, sacking Mourinho and Scolari, bringing in Avram Grant and Guus Hiddink. The previous temporary assignments had brought immediate results to Chelsea.
What does this mean? Let's try to put this into perspective.
We could see the arrival of the players onto the pitch and their introduction to the crowd as an emotional high point of the match experience. The heart rate of this subject reaches an extraordinary peak of 187 bpm at this point, a rate from which it gradually – and perhaps thankfully – decreases until the 40th minute of the game. Anticipation and the 'fan-fare' of the build up to the game play a crucial role here. The context of the match also adds to the intensity of the experience. Fans get immersed in team talk often days before the actual event. By the time match day comes around countless discussions, whether online or face-to-face, would have taken place regarding team selection, tactics, team formation, the current form of players and managers as well as the importance of the next encounter to team's standing in the league. Prior to this match on February 23rd, PSG were perilously close to the relegation zone and Monaco, while lying towards the top of Ligue 1, were smarting from a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Bordeaux. The game, ending in a hard-fought draw (1-1), saw few real chances in the first half. A total of 34 fouls occurred during the match, over 2/3 of these were in the first half. A number of attacking moves, particularly from PSG, were viewed by the referee to be offside, which also interrupted the flow of play. The heart rate of the subject reflects the rather fragmented nature of the opening period – and perhaps his frustration – and it is not until the 40th minute that the deadlock is broken with Rothen's (a former Monaco player) shot from the left side of the box forcing a save. The subject's heart rate increases rapidly – by 70 bpm in less than 40 seconds – with the attacking move culminating in the attempt on goal. The PSG fan's heart rate falls to just below 140 bpm, only to rise again to 172 bpm with Diané's goal in the 41st minute, putting PSG 1-0 in front. Despite the dramatic increases in heart rate towards the end of the first half, the level of arousal in the subject when his team scores is not as high as the rate recorded before kick-off. The sense of anticipation prior to the match elevates heart rate to levels equivalent to those accompanying goals. I bet this young fan was as physically tired as he would be psychologically after the match!
