Ancelotti eyes Euro glory

01 June 2009 11:23
New Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti immediately set his sights on bringing UEFA Champions League glory to Stamford Bridge. Ancelotti, who signed a three-year contract with the Blues just hours after stepping down as AC Milan coach, tasted European success twice as a player and twice as a manager with the Rossoneri. Blues owner Roman Abramovich has seen his expensively-assembled side claim every domestic honour, but it is the Champions League which he craves above all others. Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and Guus Hiddink all came close to claiming continental glory, while Luiz Felipe Scolari was shown the door before the competition had reached the latter stages this season. Ancelotti, speaking in English to Chelsea TV, is happy to be the new man charged with ensuring the Blues lift Europe's most prestigious club honour. He said: "For me, the Champions League is a beautiful sensation. When I played I won two times, in 1989 and 1990. It was a fantastic moment. "It was the same when I was a coach in Milan in 2003 and 2007. The Champions League, for me, is the best competition in the world and everyone wants to win. "Chelsea has a great record, five semi-finals in six years is a beautiful score, but now we have a need to win. I hope!" Objective Ancelotti, who turns 50 on 10th June, believes it is vital to maintain a strong team ethic, which appeared to be lacking at Chelsea under Scolari but was very much in evidence when Hiddink and Mourinho were at the helm. He said: "I like to be close with the players. I like to be close with the company. I like to speak with people. I believe in team-work, it is the most important thing to create a group to work together to build a dream. "To have a strong organisation, to have a strong discipline, to have the right motivation. I hope to do this together because this is the right way to arrive to success. "I want to bring my experience, I want to bring my individual quality. To win is important, to work together is the most important thing. To have great motivation, to have a right objective. "At Chelsea it is easy to find the objective. Win the Champions League, win the Premier League, win the FA Cup, win the Carling Cup. "Naturally, it is not easy, but the right way is to create a group of people who work well together." ImproveQuestion marks have been raised over the former Parma and Juventus manager's ability to communicate with his players, a factor which is believed to have played a part in Scolari's premature exit, but the Italian is determined to have mastered the language even further before pre-season training begins. "This is my first interview in English and, for me, it is not easy. I want to learn and I want to improve," he admitted. "When we start the new season I will speak well because it is important for me to speak with the players, the team, the assistant and with all the operators who will work with me."

Source: SKY_Sports