So the game is over, three points have been earned and thoughts turn to a swift exit from the stadium to catch the flight back to England. Only one responsibility now awaits the players after a Champions League game - the post-match mixed zone.
That is a Uefa-designated requirement for Champions League and Europa League football, the playing staff of each side must pass through an area between the tunnel and the team coach where members of the press and media wait to answer questions that will feature in the next day's reports of the action.
It is not an event that takes place in domestic football, other than at Wembley where the procedure applies in much the same way.
Players are not obligated to stop and talk, and following a bad result you may find that, understandably, numbers who do donate a few minutes of their time to share their thoughts drop.
The manager too has his requirements. Following the game, Carlo Ancelotti must do a 'flash' interview - that is, straight after the final whistle - with the national TV broadcaster, in England's case that is either ITV or Sky, before entering a press conference shortly afterwards. These tend to last between five and 10 minutes, but can take longer depending on the amount of translation required for foreign media.
For example, the coach of an English side who speaks little English may need questions, and his own words, translated into his native tongue, then into English and finally into the language of the opposition side and its local media - it is a time-consuming process, although some coaches have been known to translate themselves.
The man of the match, or players that contributed largely to victory, may also be requested by the TV crews as they come off the pitch - at Zilina, it was Daniel Sturridge who spoke to Sky's Guy Havord, while Petr Cech spoke to the Slovakian broadcasters in his native Czech.
The mixed zone (which at Stamford Bridge runs across the East Stand touchline, between the tunnel and the corner flag) is split into four sections, one for TV rights holders and club channels (Chelsea TV), one for other TV channels, one for audio media (radio) and a final one for written press and internet. Even here there is further seperation with, for example, the Sunday paper journalists requiring different words from those to be used the next day.
These are where most quotes you will read from the players over the subsequent days after a game will have come from, an area where hundreds of journalists have been known to compete for the prime locations. At the Bridge, we are fortunate to have plenty of space though at other grounds there has been the sight of Didier Drogba conducting interviews in a car park on the way to the coach. Last night at Zilina, it was a small, classroom-sized room behind the changing rooms, with media men and women crammed in behind a barrier and the players streaming past.
The day before a game, there is also a press conference, usually at the stadium but sometimes at a training ground (last year Jose Mourinho opted to conduct his at Inter's training ground, an hour's drive from the San Siro), involving the manager and one player - on Tuesday Cech joined Carlo Ancelotti in fielding questions, with clubs required to use Champions League-themed backdrops incorporating the competition's sponsors' logos.
It all makes for a busy time, for players, managers and media, but it simply has to be to satisfy the worldwide interest in football's elite club competition.
That is a Uefa-designated requirement for Champions League and Europa League football, the playing staff of each side must pass through an area between the tunnel and the team coach where members of the press and media wait to answer questions that will feature in the next day's reports of the action.
It is not an event that takes place in domestic football, other than at Wembley where the procedure applies in much the same way.
Players are not obligated to stop and talk, and following a bad result you may find that, understandably, numbers who do donate a few minutes of their time to share their thoughts drop.
The manager too has his requirements. Following the game, Carlo Ancelotti must do a 'flash' interview - that is, straight after the final whistle - with the national TV broadcaster, in England's case that is either ITV or Sky, before entering a press conference shortly afterwards. These tend to last between five and 10 minutes, but can take longer depending on the amount of translation required for foreign media.
For example, the coach of an English side who speaks little English may need questions, and his own words, translated into his native tongue, then into English and finally into the language of the opposition side and its local media - it is a time-consuming process, although some coaches have been known to translate themselves.
The man of the match, or players that contributed largely to victory, may also be requested by the TV crews as they come off the pitch - at Zilina, it was Daniel Sturridge who spoke to Sky's Guy Havord, while Petr Cech spoke to the Slovakian broadcasters in his native Czech.
The mixed zone (which at Stamford Bridge runs across the East Stand touchline, between the tunnel and the corner flag) is split into four sections, one for TV rights holders and club channels (Chelsea TV), one for other TV channels, one for audio media (radio) and a final one for written press and internet. Even here there is further seperation with, for example, the Sunday paper journalists requiring different words from those to be used the next day.
These are where most quotes you will read from the players over the subsequent days after a game will have come from, an area where hundreds of journalists have been known to compete for the prime locations. At the Bridge, we are fortunate to have plenty of space though at other grounds there has been the sight of Didier Drogba conducting interviews in a car park on the way to the coach. Last night at Zilina, it was a small, classroom-sized room behind the changing rooms, with media men and women crammed in behind a barrier and the players streaming past.
The day before a game, there is also a press conference, usually at the stadium but sometimes at a training ground (last year Jose Mourinho opted to conduct his at Inter's training ground, an hour's drive from the San Siro), involving the manager and one player - on Tuesday Cech joined Carlo Ancelotti in fielding questions, with clubs required to use Champions League-themed backdrops incorporating the competition's sponsors' logos.
It all makes for a busy time, for players, managers and media, but it simply has to be to satisfy the worldwide interest in football's elite club competition.
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