Source: Daily_Mail
Carlo Ancelotti turns into the tinker man on Chelsea's return to Zilina
Seven years, six managers and three Premier League titles later, Chelsea are back in the Slovakian city where the Roman Abramovich era began. [LNB]The very first game under the Russian's ownership was a Champions League qualifier in the Pod Dubnom stadium, in Zilina, where a baseball-capped Carlo Ancelotti coached his players on Tuesday night. [LNB]'I didn't know that,' confessed Ancelotti, raising an eyebrow. 'Did they win?' [LNB] Sole survivor: John Terry is Chelsea only player in the starting line-up against Zilina from the sides last meeting in 2003[LNB]They won 2-0 on the night, 5-0 on aggregate. 'Good,' nodded the Chelsea boss. [LNB]He would take the same scoreline tonight, playing without Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba, as he launches another attempt to bring the European Cup to Stamford Bridge. [LNB]'Chelsea have come very, very close and maybe this year is the year it happens,' said Ancelotti. [LNB]Enlarge 'This year is very important because the final is at Wembley and no London team have won the Champions League. Maybe that can be a good motivation. [LNB]'The first aim is to play the final. If you play the final, you have done a good job. And after, there is a time to prepare for the final. We have to show our quality and arrive at the right time in the Champions League fully fit. This is the key. We have to arrive in March with all the players fit.' [LNB]After one season in England, Ancelotti has concluded, like foreign coaches before him, that squad rotation is the key to success. [LNB]That is why Cole has stayed in London for a breather and Yuri Zhirkov will play at left back in Zilina, why Yossi Benayoun starts his first game for the club and why Daniel Sturridge plays up front ahead of Salomon Kalou. [LNB]'I've never seen a quicker striker,' said Ancelotti as he talked up Sturridge. 'It's not a risk. Rotation is good, to give all players motivation and to avoid injury.' But there are traces of Claudio Ranieri creeping in here. [LNB]Ranieri, Abramovich's first Chelsea manager, dubbed himself the Tinker Man before rotating his way out of the job with some odd decisions in a Champions League semi-final against Monaco in 2004. [LNB] Running the rule: Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti guides his players through training[LNB]Drogba is serving the first of a two-match ban for his red card against Inter Milan last season and Lampard was not quite ready to travel after groin surgery. [LNB]Ancelotti was confident enough to name his team on Tuesday night and John Terry is the only survivor from the trip here in August 2003. [LNB]Abramovich watched it over brunch from the comfort of his yacht, Le Grand Bleu, anchored off the coast of Alaska. [LNB]He had bought the club in June in a takeover worth £140million and spent £111m on 10 players in the first summer. [LNB] Old days: Lampard, missing through injury this time round, starred in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Zilina seven years ago[LNB]In Zilina, there were debuts for Glen Johnson, Wayne Bridge, Geremi, Juan Sebastian Veron and Damien Duff. Abramovich's spending has since slowed amid theories that his focus has shifted but Ancelotti said: 'He has a lot of passion and enthusiasm for this club and he feels that it is his club, 100 per cent. To put this club at the top, he needed to spend a lot of money. [LNB]'He bought some fantastic players from the beginning and now this club is at the top. To maintain this, it is not always necessary to spend money.' [LNB] Abramovich's seven Champions League campaigns have proved agonising for Chelsea, especially being beaten in the final on penalties in 2008.[LNB] But Ancelotti said: 'These players will have their revenge. They will win the Champions League.' [LNB] Terry fit to lead Chelsea in Slovakia but Lampard will miss Zilina showdownYuri Zhirkov's failure to impress at Stamford Bridge blamed on former Chelsea boss Guus HiddinkChampions League predictions: So who will lift the trophy at Wembley? CHELSEA FC
