UCL Knockout Stage Draw

[Term-X 7,891]

jesus christ

i hope our players don't have this mentality.. if we go into this game under rating a jose mourinho team we will be destroyed.

[Steve 10,227]

Carlo Ancelotti tells Jose Mourinho: Don't bother with the mind games

Carlo Ancelotti did not have a lot to say about Jose Mourinho last night. And that spoke volumes.

For all that the Chelsea boss insists the looming return of the Special One to Stamford Bridge is not a concern, the truth is that Ancelotti would have preferred to draw anybody but Inter Milan.

Ancelotti is not afraid of the Italian champions, indeed, he is anything but and if it were just a football match he would have no concerns at all.

But after feuding with Mourinho for a year in Milan, Ancelotti knows it is a matter of when, not if, it gets personal. And that the ego of the Special One will not allow for anything else.

Ancelotti, unwilling to focus on his rocky relationship with the Portuguese, still could not keep all his ill-feeling to himself.

“Mourinho is a fantastic coach,” said Ancelotti, diplomatically. “He won in Portugal, he won in England, he won in Italy. This means he is a fantastic coach.

“About his personality, I don’t know him. I want to speak about him like a coach, nothing else.

“I like him like a coach. But I’m not able to discuss his character. That’s not a problem for me.”

Actually, it is. Ancelotti, normally so affable, was noticeably colder and more bristly last night, preparing himself for the verbal battle to come even as he promised he would not get sucked into the trap, which would allow Mourinho to call the shots and set the rules.

He added: “I’m not ready to play mind games with him. I never will be ready to play these games.

“I prefer to play football matches. But I have experience of what he’ll do.

“We had some problems, some questions, some discussions in the papers in Italy, but as far as I am concerned it was nothing important.

“I think that, for him, it will be an emotional game. He did a very good job here in Chelsea so to play against Chelsea won’t be easy for him. He will do his best to win against Chelsea.

“As for the two clubs showing mutual respect, I hope that is not a problem. Chelsea and Inter are two of the most important teams in Europe - and it’s a football game, and nothing else.

“Who will be the best? The team that is the best has to win.”

Ancelotti, set to restore four of Mourinho’s old boys - Ricardo Carvalho, Joe Cole, Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba - to the starting side at West Ham tomorrow, also played down his own superior Champions League record.

“That is the past,” added the Italian. “It’s not interesting. The past doesn’t count for anything.

“I never thought that a football game is a match between coaches. I’ve never thought that.

“I want to do the best, to watch the other team to find a weakness, if it’s possible. And to work on this. But not against a fellow coach. I would never try to exploit a weakness in that coach, absolutely not.”

Mourinho, fighting for his job after a scrap with a local journalist was keeping his powder surprisingly dry last night, not even speaking to Inter’s in-house TV channel although he is due to give a press conference at lunchtime.

But Inter President Massimo Moratti, who is growing tired of his antics, said: “It is better for us to have a strong motivation and we will against Chelsea.

“All teams are beatable and it will be interesting to see how we cope with this challenge. But there is no point in having fear or not believing we can do it.

“But we know that there will be a real stimulus and motivation for Mourinho to return to Stamford Bridge.”

Mirror

[Shane 2,275]

jesus christ

i hope our players don't have this mentality.. if we go into this game under rating a jose mourinho team we will be destroyed.

Oh yeah, What happened to Ancelloti is going to be a failure btw?

[Term-X 7,891]

this is what the times have to say..

There can be no middle ground for Ancelotti. Eliminate Inter Milan over two legs and, presuming they are still in the thick of the Barclays Premier League title race, Chelsea will have proved once and for all that they have moved on from Mourinho. Lose, though, and Ancelotti will suffer the worst type of defeat a Chelsea coach can experience — the type that leaves Roman Abramovich, the club's billionaire owner, feeling humiliated.

Oh yeah, What happened to Ancelloti is going to be a failure btw?

I've never said that.

[Matterz 67]

Look, in all honesty this is a massive tie, but this is the Champions League and to win you need to beat the best. Ive always believed that the only teams capable of beating us this year are Barcelona and Man Utd. Italian opposition just doesnt seem to bother me too much. Just looking at the two sides we are stronger in almost every position, we have more depth than Inter, and thats before we possibly make signings in Jan. There is a reason why we have been in 5 of the last 6 semi finals and I see no reason why we wont do it again.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Interesting draw; plenty of reunions being made; Beckham at United with Milan, Benzema going back to Lyon and now José returning to the Bridge. I'm fairly confident we'll beat them - we're the stronger, tougher team of the two - but we can't afford to underestimate an Italian team. We did that with Roma last season and that made things difficult for us. Sure we'll progress though, especially if we have a fit and ready Drogba back.