Friday, September 3, 2010

Carlo Ancelotti Has No Plans To Coach Italy In The Immediate Future


Carlo Ancelotti has put his nostalgia for Italian football to one side to focus on Chelsea as he excludes a role with Italy.

The Blues boss has expressed a desire to coach a national team in future, but for now he is firmly drilled on furnishing his time around Chelsea.

And he made it clear he is in with the Blues for the long haul as he hopes to continue on a trophy-filled journey with plenty of sticking power.

"I want to open up a cycle with Chelsea, and then we will see," he told TG1.

"I hope Cesare Prandelli stays with Italy for 20 years. According to statistics Italy win the World Cup once every 24 years which means we will win again in 2030.

"But I hope they can win it before then."

Spartak Moscow Willing To Throw A Lifeline To Chelsea's Yury Zhirkov


Spartak Moscow boss Valeri Karpin has confirmed that his side are keen on giving Chelsea outcast Yury Zhirkov a new lease of life in his career.

The 27-year-old wide man has been making appearances only on an intermittent basis - partly owing to injuries - since he joined the Blues last summer, and Russia boss Dick Advocaat recently warned the player that he could risk losing his place in the national team without regular football.

The Dutchman also cited Everton's Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Tottenham Hotspur striker Roman Pavlyuchenko among those who run the risk of being dropped.

Zenit St Petersburg were thought to have been interested in the versatile left-back, who can also play on the wing, but any interest that may have existed did not reach fruition in the form of a transfer.

Now Spartak boss Karpin has revealed that his side were also interested in luring the player back to Russia, as he is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: "I was interested, I am now and I will be in the winter."

Zhirkov has made only 17 appearances for Chelsea since his big money move from CSKA Moscow.

Chelsea And Inter Set To Battle For Anderlecht Starlet Romelu Lukaku


Chelsea and Inter are interested in securing the services of Anderlecht starlet Romelu Lukaku, according to tuttomercatoweb.

The 17-year-old, who was top-scorer in Belgium last season, is considered one of the top rising stars in European football and has a very bright future ahead of him.

Despite plenty of interest this past year from numerous European clubs, the starlet has already decided to remain with the Belgian champions until at least the summer of 2011 in order to finish school.

However, next summer it appears the door is open for both Chelsea and Inter, who are aiming to strengthen in attack.

Inter have yet to replace striker Mario Balotelli, who left for Manchester City, while two of Chelsea's most prolific strikers - Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka - are both in their 30's and might only have a handful of years of top level football left in them.

Essien Sets Sights High


Midfielder Michael Essien says Chelsea can crown last season's double success by winning the Champions League.

The Ghana international has returned to Chelsea's midfield after spending much of last season on the treatment table with a knee injury that eventually cost him a trip to the World Cup finals in South Africa.

Chelsea stormed to the Barclays Premier League title last season and then clinched their first-ever double with an FA Cup final victory over Portsmouth at Wembley.

Now Essien believes the Blues can add the Champions League crown to all the domestic silverware they have won.

Chelsea are confident of getting through their group which includes MSK Zilina, Spartak Moscow and Marseille.

"We have set our targets as high as we possibly can and the aim is to win every competition we enter," said Essien.

"We now have four trophies to go for and we are all focused on giving it 110 per cent.

"You cannot ask for more than three games played, three wins with 14 goals scored and none conceded. That is the reason why I am excited about this season. The team has been together for the last four to five years and the understanding is getting better each year.

"We cannot get carried away and have to keep working hard to win everything. As a player you get the inner feeling that something big is around the corner and I feel the same way I felt last season when we won the double.

"However I am sure we can go one further and add the big one - the UEFA Champions League to our collection of trophies.

"Everyone knows how much winning that will mean to us. As a team we have won every domestic trophy and so it's only natural that we have the hunger for the European trophy.

"That is not to say we don't care about the Premier League, FA Cup or Carling Cup. We want to win every competition we enter this season and we will do all we can to win them all."

Didier Drogba Named West Africa’s Player Of The Year


Didier Drogba has won the inaugural prize for the best footballer in West Africa awarded by the West Africa Football Union (Wafu).

The sub-region's maiden awards ceremony was held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Wednesday and chaired by Ghana’s FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi, who represented the Wafu president Amos Adamu.

The awards were meant to distinguish footballers from West Africa who performed exceptionally during the year under review. The votes were conducted via phone calls and SMS from the sub-region’s public.

Drogba received the biggest award of the night, tagged “Best of the Best”, beating Ghana’s trio Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Andre Ayew.

The Elephants' Yaya Toure and Kader Keita were also distinguished as well as two Nigerians: John Obi Mikel and Yakubu. Emmanuel Adebayor from Togo was also awarded.

Two of the Ivory Coast's former players Laurent Pokou and Cyrile Domoraud, along with Toure and Drogba, were designated as ambassadors of an Abidjan-based orphanage home called “SOS d’Abobo” so its residents can benefit from the players education projects - a prime mission of UFOA.

Essien Puts International Career On Hold


Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has stood down from international football for the foreseeable future, telling Ghana he wants to return to form at club level, coach Milovan Rajevac said.

Essien has been missing without explanation from two Ghana squads named since the World Cup, including the selection for Sunday's start of the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers.

Rajevac told the BBC Essien had asked for time off to consolidate his place in the Chelsea side after a long injury lay-off.

"He contacted me and wanted to ask for permission to be excused for a while," Rajevac said in Swaziland ahead of Sunday's Group qualifier.

"I understood his thoughts and of course I wanted to help him to get into his old form, to start playing regularly and I gave that permission," the Serbian-born coach added.

Essien, who missed the World Cup in South Africa, has suffered two serious injuries while on past international duty.

"I'm sure that after sometime he will come back to the national team," Rajevac added.

Essien has won 50 caps for his country and played in the 2006 World Cup for the Black Stars.

Lampard Reveals Secret In New Magazine

Frank Lampard is looking sharp and ready to talk on the cover of October's Chelsea magazine, now on sale.

Inside the new edition he reveals secrets behind his play that helped him net 27 goals last campaign - a magnificent total for a striker, let alone a midfielder.

Talking exclusively to the club's official publication, Lampard describes how movement, stamina and sharpness all play a role in his game, but another factor is the team around him which allows our number 8 so many opportunities to strike.

'I'm very lucky to play in a team with such good movement,' Lampard tells Chelsea, 'especially when we're really firing.

'Defenders are worried about [Didier] Drogba and [Nicolas] Anelka, especially when they're running in behind players and pushing the defensive line back, because that opens up space for me to arrive when the ball comes into the box.

'The easiest way I ever score goals is when we win the ball and move it quickly forward. What's the point in winning the ball back and just keeping it?'

During the in-depth interview, Lampard also discusses new arrivals at the Bridge, as well as the experience our side already boasts, before talking of Chelsea's recent run of form and how it affects the opposition.

'The fans enjoy it, we enjoy it, but it's not reality winning sixes, sevens and eights. There was a time last year when we couldn't score. We've got to be ready for teams who shut up shop against us so that we have to find a way to make a breakthrough.

'Those are the games where you have to find a goal from nowhere and be happy with a 1-0 win,' he adds.

Elsewhere in the new-look Chelsea magazine, Ramires tells fans all about his footballing career, which didn't really begin until he was 17. He also reveals how his first time out of Brazil was when he left for Benfica last year.

You can learn all about the young Brazilian's football idols, what role he expects to play for Chelsea and his first impressions of the club and our impressive training facilities.

Then there's Florent Malouda's Photo Album, a collection a snaps from his childhood and time at Chelsea, each accompanied by a description from the man himself.

There are images of him in his first football team and he also divulges the belief he once had of being Superman and the drastic repercussions which followed!

Salomon Kalou stars in this month's Family Secrets feature, as the Ivorian reveals all sorts of facts, from his favourite songs and sporting idols, to his most important shirt swap and the last holiday he took.

And as Chelsea magazine looks back over days gone by, Ken Shellito takes part in this month's The Boys Are Back In Town.

In it Shellito discusses Jimmy Greaves, a fellow east London boy who would go on to achieve great things.

The former full-back describes the decision to sign for Chelsea and how it came about in this exclusive and insightful interview.

DJ and supporter Johnny Vaughan then discusses his love of Chelsea before Carlo Ancelotti answers fans' questions in You Ask The Manager.

This month's feature includes queries such as 'Having not made too many signings this summer, what gives you the belief that we can retain our title or win the Champions League?'

Or 'Do you have any superstitions going into a game, as a manager or back when you were a player?' and 'How does the atmosphere compare in Premier League matches to that of Serie A?', all of which the Italian expertly answers.

Internationals: Benayoun Blows Malta Away


Yossi Benayoun was the star turn as Euro 2012 qualifiers began for Chelsea players on Thursday evening, scoring a hat-trick in an Israel win.

Our summer signing struck all his side's goals in a 3-1 home win over Malta. He scored within the first 10 minutes from inside the area, only for the visitors to equalise before the break. Benayoun then converted from the penalty spot in the second half before heading his hat-trick goal on 76 minutes, following up after a save. He also had a goal disallowed for handball after two minutes.

Former Chelsea players Tal Ben-Haim and Ben Sahar (currently on loan at Hapoel Tel-Aviv from Espanyol) also played for Israel.

England Under 19s were also in action on Thursday evening with Josh McEachran and Aziz Deen-Conteh both making their debuts at this level.

The Chelsea Academy products started a 2-0 win over Slovakia at Crewe's Gresty Road. McEachran played the first 61 minutes and Deen-Conteh came off on 69 minutes. Their team-mate in last season's FA Youth Cup win, Milan Lalkovic, played 64 minutes for the Slovakians.

More Chelsea players will be involved in Euro 2012 qualifiers on Friday.