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| Willian's six goals have been one of the few bright spots of Chelsea's season so far |
THE parallels are remarkable. A proud club languishing in 15th place. The manager a couple of years into his contract and in danger of losing his job despite an impressive reputation.
An early cup exit that could be the final straw.
Then up steps an unlikely hero with big hair to score a goal that turns the whole thing on its head and make you wonder what all the panic was about.
In 1990 it was the blond-curled Mark Robins who, according to legend, saved the career of Sir Alex Ferguson with an FA Cup third-round winner for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest.
And if the late free-kick winner against Dinamo Kiev on Wednesday that kept Chelsea's Champions League hopes alive is to prove a final upward turn in the current Jose Mourinho saga, you could not get a more unlikely hero than Willian.
"It probably was my most important goal for Chelsea," he says casually, leaning impossibly far back in his chair at the launch of Need for Speed. "It is also one of the best goals I have scored in my career.
"We had conceded a goal and started to think with all that has been going on, 'Are we going to draw again or are we going to lose this game?' But, thank God we managed to get a win."
It was his fifth free-kick goal of the season, the sort of return that seems appropriate from a South American import.
"Since the very early days when I started playing in Brazil and first became a professional I always used to take free-kicks," he says.
"Ronaldinho was obviously a fantastic player and we do have a lot of good players in Brazil to look up to when it comes to free-kicks. But I would also look to David Beckham and Andrea Pirlo when it came to studying technique.
"When I came here with Chelsea I took a few free-kicks but was not able to score. But I kept practising. Every day after training I would take five or six and that helped me to get more confidence. I have been lucky now to have scored a few. Hopefully it will carry on that way.
"I know the more goals I score the more pressure will be towards me. But I am quite confident I am ready to deal with this pressure.
"Obviously I won't be able to score goals every single game but I am going to try and keep doing my best so I can keep helping the team."
Certainly Chelsea fans would take another against Stoke to breathe life into their Premier League form. But it is the player's other less stereotypical qualities that have impressed the Stamford Bridge faithful of late - an unexpected silver lining to a very dark cloud this season.
It was Willian's work-rate against Kiev that Mourinho singled out after the game, a much less anticipated quality from a flamboyant Brazilian.
It has been suggested he is filling the hole left by Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba by providing the sort of leadership that Chelsea so desperately need.
"They have massive history within this club and it is a bit too early to start speaking about whether I could fit in that role," Willian protests.
"My hope is to carry on working the same way I am doing right now, and maybe in the future I would like to be recognised by the Chelsea supporters as one of those leaders.
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| Willian scored against Chelsea in the Champions League, before signing in London in August 2013 |
"Becoming a key player is an obligation for me. I am at a stage in my career, 27, where you can reach the peak. The best time for players should be between 27 and 30."
Twenty-five years ago, Ferguson used that win against Forest as the springboard for two decades of near supremacy.
Mourinho, for now, is focused only on the three points available at the Britannia, with his need for on-field leadership all the greater as a result of his own FA ban from the stadium.
"That won't be a problem," Willian insists. "It won't make a big difference because we are with him on a daily basis.
"He tells us what he expects from us. On game day, we are the ones that are playing and we already know what we have to do on the pitch."
Win. It is that simple.
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