Source: Daily_Mail
Branislav Ivanovic: No Champions League regrets over yellow card
ranislav Ivanovic has refused to dwell on his Champions League final heartache as he backed Chelsea's suspension-ravaged squad to secure European glory.[LNB]Ivanovic was today still coming to terms with the needless booking which ruled him out of the Munich showpiece against Bayern Munich.[LNB]Unlike fellow yellow card victims Ramires and Raul Meireles, Ivanovic had been blissfully unaware he was walking a disciplinary tightrope going into Tuesday night's semi-final second leg at Barcelona.[LNB] Rearguard action: Ivanovic was a goliath at the heart of Chelsea's defence at the Nou Camp[LNB] Getting cautioned for dissent after Barca were awarded a second-half penalty will doubtless haunt the defender for the rest of his life.[LNB]But he put a brave face on following what must have been a bittersweet victory on what one of the most astonishing nights in European football history.[LNB]'The Champions League and football is like life,' said Ivanovic, who is also in the midst of a three-match domestic ban for striking Wigan's Shaun Maloney.[LNB] Yellow peril: Ivanovic was booked for dissent after Barca won their penalty[LNB]'You cannot look back. You have to look forward. I think we have great players and a good squad. That's why we are in the final and we have to play like a group, and we have to believe.[LNB]'Not a lot of guys believe in us, but we believe.'[LNB]Confirming he had no idea he had beenone yellow card away from suspension, the defender said of the referee's decision to punish him: 'I didn't expect him to book me for that and I didn't know I was in the danger zone.'[LNB]He added: 'I feel happy because the team goes to the final. We deserved it at the end of the day, with some luck. With a little bit of luck, we did some great defending.'[LNB]Ivanovicwas heroic at the heart of a defence in which he found himself the onlyrecognised centre-back after Gary Cahill went off injured and captain John Terry was sent off, ending his own final dream.[LNB]He said: 'We lost two central defenders but I think we did a great, great defending job and we deserved it.'[LNB]Chelsea's amazing rearguard action was masterminded by caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo, who has surely put himself in the frame to succeed the sacked Andre Villas-Boas on a permanent basis.[LNB]Ivanovic said: 'He's changed everything. He gave us support, he gave us trust, and I think he's great.
