As Chelsea begin their Champions League campaign tonight, coach Ancelotti wants nothing less than a final entry
As Chelsea begin their Champions League campaign tonight, coach Ancelotti wants nothing less than a final entry
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti revealed his goal of steering the Blues to the Champions League final ahead of their Group Stage match-up versus Portuguese champions Porto tonight.
"The first objective is to reach the final," Ancelotti said. "We want to arrive at the final before we think about winning it.
"It is not easy to reach the final but I think we have the possibility to do this. "We have to try to do our best. We have a very strong team with fantastic players and a fantastic mental attitude."
Chelsea have been defeated at the semi-final stage four times, including last season's controversial exit to Barcelona, and came within one John Terry penalty kick of winning the competition for the first time in the 2008 final, only to lose to Manchester United.
Ancelotti can't pin-point a reason for Chelsea's misfortune, but insists he doesn't feel under any extra pressure to end the club's long wait to be crowned kings of Europe.
"It is not that the club asked me to win the Champions League, they asked me to win the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup," said the former AC Milan coach.
"For Chelsea it is important to be in these competitions and to have the possibility to win. To win is not easy because the Champions League is a very special competition.
"I don't know why they haven't won it. I think they have done very well in the Champions League because they reached the semi finals five times in six years. It is not easy to do that.
"To win the Champions League is very important. You need to be a little bit lucky but it isn't just luck. You have to believe if you want to do the best in this competition."
