One year ago Carlo Ancelotti and Yury Zhirkov walked into the lives of Chelsea supporters. What followed was a year like none before for their new club.
There were far more ups than downs for the manager as he steered the team towards the Double and although Yury Zhirkov did endure some injuries, his settling-in season culminated in some strong spring performances.
The latest edition of Chelsea magazine speaks to both at length about their debut season in SW6. It is suggested to Zhirkov that it all came right for him personally in March's 7-1 blistering win against Aston Villa and in the following home game when Bolton were defeated narrowly. That evening the left-back was voted man of the match having played much of the game with a heavily-bandaged head.
'I don't know, but I trust my fans,' Zhirkov responds.
'For me every game was very important and I was giving 100 per cent in each one. I don't separate the games I've played into important and unimportant, and I'm talking about both league and cup games.
'Maybe the knock on the head [in the Bolton game] gave me a system re-boot and that was why I started playing so well and got Man of the Match!'
His answers become more serious when Zhirkov discusses how he came to Chelsea's attention in the first place, and when he gives his views on the positions he plays in Ancelotti's side, but he smiles once more when last winter is discussed, the first time in his career a league season has ploughed on through the coldest months.
'At some times actually it was worse here [than Russia] because of the wind-chill factor,' he explains to the magazine.
'We have lots of cold-resistant players at Chelsea who are happy to play in the cold, like John Terry. Maybe he was actually born in Siberia!'
Ancelotti, as manager, was never going to enjoy the type of acclimatization period often afforded players who have moved to a new country. Happily he had no need for one as the team got off to a flyer in the league campaign
In this month's cover interview the Italian talks tactics with Chelsea as he explains what happened when the results eventually took a dip.
'After 10 to 15 games, the opponents knew how to play against the Christmas tree and so the space in the middle of the pitch was very closed,' Ancelotti reports. 'So from this moment we started to use wingers instead.
'We had the possibility to change a lot of players into different positions on the pitch so we made this our advantage.
'A surprise for me was Anelka in the role he played from the beginning until we changed the system in January,' he adds. 'He did very well alongside Drogba, when he did a different role, not just striker, and then he also did a good job as a striker when Didier was at the Africa Cup of Nations.
'Also Malouda was a surprise for me because after starting well he played with continuity in different positions - he played very well for all the season. For both players it was their versatility above all that surprised me, that they could perform different positions for the team.'
The manager also tells readers of Chelsea what he and the team were able to do in England that they would never have got away with had they been an Italian club. He also reflects on the day at Wembley when the Double was completed and is asked if he is relieved to have had some time away from pressure over the summer?
'The pressure is normal when you manage an important club like Chelsea. Now we have to take time to think about next season, about the future because I think this could be the beginning of a fantastic cycle. I think we can improve our play and our confidence with these victories behind us.'
In regular features, Graeme Le Saux is the subject of this month's 'A to Z' and in discussing 26 subjects, he discloses behind-the-seasons manoeuvrings prior to Chelsea's Uefa Cup match in Tel-Aviv in 2001 when six of the squad didn't travel, and discusses key figures from Chelsea past such as Ruud Gullit, John Hollins, Ken Bates and Pat Nevin.
The 'Top 10' is focuses on Pint-Sized Blues, recalling former players short in stature but not lacking in impact at the club, and the young player featured is Ben Sampayo - a full-back who played a part as a substitute in the cup run that resulted in the FA Youth Cup triumph.
Elsewhere in the August edition there are interviews with two Chelsea fans from the world of music. William Orbit, producer of albums for the likes of Madonna, Robbie Williams, Blur plus many other chart-topping act also creates his own music but football at Stamford Bridge is another big passion. He talks about how Chelsea are 'a bit of a music biz team'.
James Ewers, lead singer with indie band My Luminaries, is another who shares time between appearing on stage and supporting the Blues from the stands. He speaks to Chelsea too.
There is plenty more in the 86 pages including news, a 'Tactics Board' on reading the game with Mickey Thomas discussing Frank Lampard and a look back at Chelsea is the 1970s.
There were far more ups than downs for the manager as he steered the team towards the Double and although Yury Zhirkov did endure some injuries, his settling-in season culminated in some strong spring performances.
The latest edition of Chelsea magazine speaks to both at length about their debut season in SW6. It is suggested to Zhirkov that it all came right for him personally in March's 7-1 blistering win against Aston Villa and in the following home game when Bolton were defeated narrowly. That evening the left-back was voted man of the match having played much of the game with a heavily-bandaged head.
'I don't know, but I trust my fans,' Zhirkov responds.
'For me every game was very important and I was giving 100 per cent in each one. I don't separate the games I've played into important and unimportant, and I'm talking about both league and cup games.
'Maybe the knock on the head [in the Bolton game] gave me a system re-boot and that was why I started playing so well and got Man of the Match!'
His answers become more serious when Zhirkov discusses how he came to Chelsea's attention in the first place, and when he gives his views on the positions he plays in Ancelotti's side, but he smiles once more when last winter is discussed, the first time in his career a league season has ploughed on through the coldest months.
'At some times actually it was worse here [than Russia] because of the wind-chill factor,' he explains to the magazine.
'We have lots of cold-resistant players at Chelsea who are happy to play in the cold, like John Terry. Maybe he was actually born in Siberia!'
Ancelotti, as manager, was never going to enjoy the type of acclimatization period often afforded players who have moved to a new country. Happily he had no need for one as the team got off to a flyer in the league campaign
In this month's cover interview the Italian talks tactics with Chelsea as he explains what happened when the results eventually took a dip.
'After 10 to 15 games, the opponents knew how to play against the Christmas tree and so the space in the middle of the pitch was very closed,' Ancelotti reports. 'So from this moment we started to use wingers instead.
'We had the possibility to change a lot of players into different positions on the pitch so we made this our advantage.
'A surprise for me was Anelka in the role he played from the beginning until we changed the system in January,' he adds. 'He did very well alongside Drogba, when he did a different role, not just striker, and then he also did a good job as a striker when Didier was at the Africa Cup of Nations.
'Also Malouda was a surprise for me because after starting well he played with continuity in different positions - he played very well for all the season. For both players it was their versatility above all that surprised me, that they could perform different positions for the team.'
The manager also tells readers of Chelsea what he and the team were able to do in England that they would never have got away with had they been an Italian club. He also reflects on the day at Wembley when the Double was completed and is asked if he is relieved to have had some time away from pressure over the summer?
'The pressure is normal when you manage an important club like Chelsea. Now we have to take time to think about next season, about the future because I think this could be the beginning of a fantastic cycle. I think we can improve our play and our confidence with these victories behind us.'
In regular features, Graeme Le Saux is the subject of this month's 'A to Z' and in discussing 26 subjects, he discloses behind-the-seasons manoeuvrings prior to Chelsea's Uefa Cup match in Tel-Aviv in 2001 when six of the squad didn't travel, and discusses key figures from Chelsea past such as Ruud Gullit, John Hollins, Ken Bates and Pat Nevin.
The 'Top 10' is focuses on Pint-Sized Blues, recalling former players short in stature but not lacking in impact at the club, and the young player featured is Ben Sampayo - a full-back who played a part as a substitute in the cup run that resulted in the FA Youth Cup triumph.
Elsewhere in the August edition there are interviews with two Chelsea fans from the world of music. William Orbit, producer of albums for the likes of Madonna, Robbie Williams, Blur plus many other chart-topping act also creates his own music but football at Stamford Bridge is another big passion. He talks about how Chelsea are 'a bit of a music biz team'.
James Ewers, lead singer with indie band My Luminaries, is another who shares time between appearing on stage and supporting the Blues from the stands. He speaks to Chelsea too.
There is plenty more in the 86 pages including news, a 'Tactics Board' on reading the game with Mickey Thomas discussing Frank Lampard and a look back at Chelsea is the 1970s.
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