Malouda Targets Trophy Treble

France winger Florent Malouda is hungry for more success at the World Cup after his season of glory with Chelsea.

Malouda helped the Stamford Bridge outfit claim their first-ever double as they triumphed in both the Premier League and FA Cup.

And the midfield maestro, who has been an integral member of Carlo Ancelotti's side this season, now wants to help France silence their critics in South Africa.

"When you have such a great season, where you've shared so much with the fans, you want to experience the same thing with the national team," Malouda told the Daily Mirror.

"We don't want to go back to our clubs with our heads down. When you win titles with your club, you become more ambitious."

Les Bleus endured a rocky road in qualifying for the summer showpiece, only scraping through after their controversial play-off victory over Republic of Ireland.

But Malouda, who is now back in favour with Raymond Domenech after falling out with the departing coach, believes they can silence their critics.

"It's all down to what we do on the pitch, the attitude we have, and above all the results," he added.

"There's a certain amount of responsibility when you play for the French team, but the players feel like they're ready to take up the challenge. The context wasn't easy before, but we've tried to change things.

"What I like about the new system is that it's more attacking, I have more freedom and I'm not just a defensive midfielder like at Euro 2008.

"I'm someone who enjoys responsibility. It was quite painful for me the last couple of years when I was on the (France) bench. I did my best to turn the situation around, and I'm very happy."

José Mourinho Offers A Real Haven For Ashley Cole

It is the special relationship that has endured. José Mourinho is long gone from Chelsea; he is poised, indeed, to make his latest managerial move from Internazionale to Real Madrid. But the Portuguese continues to cherish the bond that he formed with the core members of his playing squad during those glittering three years in west London.

In the time since his departure from Stamford Bridge in September 2007, Mourinho has stayed in touch with Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, among others. A text here, a phone call there; sometimes to chew the fat, on other occasions to deliver a pep talk. There is the slightly draconian view that Mourinho ought not to contact players who are no longer his, a school of thought coloured, no doubt, by paranoia and the potential for tapping-up. Yet there is no employment law concerning friendship.

When Mourinho's Inter hosted Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 in late February, Cole was not only nursing a serious ankle injury but he had suffered from an eruption of lurid headlines related to his private life. Mourinho's comments were interesting. "I called Ashley Cole a few days ago," he said at the time, "because I care about him and I wish him a quick recovery. And because I like him very much, my advice is: 'Don't leave England.'"

It was put to Mourinho that Cole might benefit from a move abroad, given that the player's off-the-field indiscretions could make him a target for opposing fans. "I watched Ashley Cole play until the moment of his injury [on 10 February]," Mourinho replied, "and I watched him play superbly. So, if he has problems, they are for sure not on the pitch.

"[Carlo] Ancelotti [the Chelsea manager] must give him advice, his family must give him advice and he must think for himself. If he wants my little opinion, my opinion is: 'Stay in England.'"

Mourinho spoke with Cole's interests at heart, recognising also that the left-back, who many observers rate as the best in the European game, was enjoying his football at Chelsea. But, in the helter-skelter world of 21st century football, little stands still for long and, as Mourinho name-checked Cole, together with Lampard and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, as possible Real recruits, Cole was beginning to wonder whether he could continue to live in England. Mourinho, fully abreast of the situation, would offer him a velvet-lined escape route.

Installed as public enemy No1 following his split from his pop star wife Cheryl, Cole feels hounded. He loves Chelsea, where he has three years of his contract to run, but he cannot tolerate the manner in which his marriage breakdown has been reported. He feels that there have been grave inaccuracies and, with each one, his blood becomes hotter.

Yet the situation is compounded, in his eyes, when he considers the news reporters' quest for their next line. They have been camped outside Cole's house, his mother's house and even his nephew's school, in the hope of snaring a fresh angle. Friends of Cole believe that with every passing day the notion of his departure becomes more likely. Quite simply, he cannot live his life.

Chelsea would resist any Real bid for Cole, as they would for Lampard, but Mourinho's imminent arrival at the Bernabéu has cast long shadows. When Cole was asked in the build-up to the FA Cup final two weeks ago whether Arsène Wenger, his one-time mentor at Arsenal, or Mourinho had been the best manager he had worked for he plumped, without hesitation, for Mourinho.

Real's current left-back options are Marcelo and Alvaro Arbeloa. Mourinho said he normally played with "two offensive full-backs like Ashley Cole and [Inter's] Maicon" and, while Marcelo is attack-minded, there have been questions raised about his defensive prowess. Cole, by contrast, offers the complete package and Mourinho, lest it be forgotten, likes his defenders to defend first.

Lampard has never hidden his affection for Mourinho, and he came close to joining him at Inter in the summer of 2008. "At the time, if I am honest about it, I did have thoughts about going to Inter," he said. "It was a difficult time for me in my life after the death of my mother and everybody knows how I feel about José Mourinho."

Lampard stayed put to sign a new five-year contract, a decision he has not regretted, and he has said that he is determined to finish his career at Chelsea, not least as it is the wish of his family. Mourinho would face a challenge to persuade him otherwise.

Gerrard appears slightly less settled after a traumatic season at Liverpool. Real's interest in the midfielder is long-standing while he came close to joining Mourinho at Chelsea in the summer of 2005, only to have an eleventh-hour change of heart. Like his team-mate Fernando Torres, who is a target for most elite clubs in Europe, Gerrard has grown weary of the boardroom strife at Anfield, which has been destabilising, while it has also been reported that his relationship with the manager, Rafael Benítez, is strained.

Mourinho could be prepared to exploit any uncertainty.

Obi Mikel Joins Up With Nigeria

John Obi Mikel joined the Nigeria squad on Friday for the first time since knee surgery last month and will be fit for the World Cup, officials said.

The midfielder has been out of action since a minor operation last month and missed Chelsea's run-in to the English Premier League title as well as the London club's victory in this month's FA Cup final.

"He has completed his rehabilitation at Chelsea," a Nigerian Football Federation spokesman said.

Nigeria are training near Maldon in the English county of Essex and play a friendly against Colombia at Milton Keynes on Sunday.

Nigeria's opening World Cup Group B match is against Argentina in Johannesburg on June 12.

Frank Lampard Admits He'd Consider Move To MLS

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has admitted that he could be tempted by a move to the MLS in a few seasons as his career draws to an end.

Lampard, 31, still has three years to run on his current deal at Stamford Bridge but acknowledges that he might one day follow in the footsteps of his international team-mate David Beckham.

"It's his [Beckham's] decision, isn't it? When he went, I thought, maybe he's gone too early, but the more I thought about it, I thought, if that's what he wants to do, let him do it," Lampard told The Sabotage Times.

"I'd like to go and play in America when I'm 36 or 35 but you can't take away someone's right to go and play where they want."

Lampard, perhaps surprisingly, has also asserted that he has no interest in remaining in football once he has finished playing, either in coaching or the media.

He is also keen to have a meaningful career after football rather then living on his past glories.

"The first thing is after I finish I don't want to be involved with football, not as a manager, coach, agent or in the media. Not interested," he stated.

"I've been getting to know a lot about property, not just for me to live in, but as a business.

"I have a family to support, I know that might sound strange when you consider the money that's mentioned but I want to have a career after this, I don't want this to be everything.

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life just living in the past."

Stamford Bridge Hosts Charity Events

Stamford Bridge has played host to several football tournaments over the past two weeks, helping to raise money for worthy causes.

The first event to take place saw the likes of Angus Deaton, Alistair Campbell, DJ Spooney and Ben Shepherd all help raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

There were also charity events for Help a London Child and Right To Play before Thomas Cook took control of the hallowed turf for their day of fun.

Thomas Cook Sport gave Chelsea fans from all over the UK a chance to play inside their beloved ground as a prize, as two teams of 11, made up of Thomas Cook employees and competition winners, took to the pitch.

'After 30 years of watching games at Stamford Bridge, I was excited and nervous at the same time about playing here,' said competition winner Kevin Hyatt from Milton Keynes. 'It's an honour to be able to say I've followed in the footsteps of footballing legends and the experience is something I'll never forget.'

Then, yesterday, former Blue Gareth Hall took part in the Oil Aid pitch event, alongside fellow past players Ken Monkou, Keith Dublin and Garry Stanley, as they helped raise funds for Chelsea's community work.

Carlo Ancelotti: Chelsea Were Never Affected By Speculation About John Terry & Ashley Cole's Private Lives

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that the club were not affected by the media speculation surrounding John Terry and Ashley Cole’s private lives last season, as they secured a Premier League and FA Cup double.

The Italian said that, despite the English media’s interest in off-field issues and not tactics, the club managed to keep focused — for which they were rewarded with the first double in the club's history.

“Always we kept the private lives of the players outside of the press conference and outside of the training ground,” he told Chelsea’s official website, noting that in his homeland the media would not have been at all interested in Terry and Cole's off-field problems.

"In Italy the press conference is always focused on the line up. If you tell them the line up, it is finished," he said.

"Here they are interested in the private lives. I am not interested in that. Always we kept the private lives of the players outside of the press conference and outside of the training ground."

As well as praising his club’s efforts in securing their first league and cup double, Ancelotti also offered some advice towards the likes of Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benitez, by insisting that he is only interested in talking about his own team during press conferences.

“I don't like to use mind games in press conferences,” he stresses.

“I want to give something of our philosophy, how I want to manage the club, how I want to manage the players. Only this. I am interested in explaining my kind of behaviour in managing the team.”

Coach Milovan Rajevac Moans Over Michael Essien’s Absence

Ghana Coach Milovan Rajevac says he has to quickly put behind him Michael Essien’s unavailability for the World Cup and adopt a strategy for the team.

“I am really disappointed that Michael Essien will not be at the World Cup for Ghana as a player,” Rajevac told the Ghanaian FA website.

“He is an important player on and off the field but we can’t use him this time. Essien brings lots of advantages; he brings so many things to the team and always gives us options.”

The Serbian has rallied his charges to lift up their game and show a united front ahead of the global football showpiece this summer.

He said: “It’s most unfortunate. But I hope and believe that the other players will give their best.

“We want to achieve with this team and must work hard. We will focus on the task ahead and hope we have a good World Cup. I hope the past experiences with injuries, though unfortunate, will help us stay united and fight for each other.”

Ghana are paired in Group D with Australia, Germany and Serbia.

Chelsea Continue Search For An Asian Football Star

Chelsea's initiative of trying to find an Asian football star will see them hold trials between 29 and 31 May.

It is the scheme's second year and six players will get the chance to win a week-long trial at the club's academy.

The tournament is open to Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi players aged between eight and 13.

"This is a huge opportunity to come to Chelsea and enjoy the best coaches and the best training ground,' said Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti.

"Everyone with a love for the game should sign up and see what they can do.

"It will be great fun and a good way to make new friends and who knows, perhaps one day we will see one of them at Chelsea."

Chelsea launched the first project of this kind last year and have increased the number of places available on the week-long trial from three to six.

The Stamford Bridge outfit had 350 participants at their Cobham training ground in 2009, with two of the winners having been signed by Southend United and Leyton Orient.

"My life has changed quite a bit after winning the trials," Jordan Sidhu, who was signed on a youth contract by Southend United, told BBC Asian Network.

"I'm now playing a high standard of football and am happy that I've got a chance to realise my dream of becoming a professional footballer."

The youngster explained that he only entered because of his mum.

"I came home from school and my mum said she had signed me up for a competition," he added. "I didn't expect anything from it but I went along and ended up winning it.

"The trials are very good because they are a lot different from what I was used to. There were big training grounds, nice facilities and I met Florent Malouda, Petr Cech, Nicolas Anelka and other Chelsea players.

"At first I was a bit starstruck, but I got used to it."

Chelsea have teamed up with Asian Media Group, Kick It Out and bhangra singer Jaz Dhami to help get the Asian community involved.

"I have been working very closely with a number of sporting bodies in encouraging more Asians to get involved in football," said Dhami.

"I want to help break down boundaries and encourage more Asians to get involved in the game."