Carlo Ancelotti's the perfect man to bring us glory at last, insists John Terry

Simon Johnson
3 Nov 2009

Instability in the dug-out has been blamed for many of Chelsea's failures to win the Champions League but captain John Terry believes all the upheaval will finally be forgotten this season under Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian is the fifth coach to attempt to bring Europe's biggest prize to the club in the past two years.

Chelsea's near-misses in the four semi-finals and one final since 2004 have been well documented and they will secure their place in the knock-out stages for the eighth time in a row if they beat Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium in Group D tonight.

The Blues' visit to the Spanish capital is fitting for it is the location of this season's final in May, although the match will take place at the home of Atletico's fierce rivals Real Madrid.

Terry could be forgiven for not looking that far ahead having tasted much disappointment during the reigns of Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink. The Chelsea captain's obsession with winning the competition has been portrayed in more than one soundbite, yet his union with current coach Ancelotti appears to have applied some much-needed substance behind the belief.

Ancelotti's record in the competition is among the best having won it twice as a player at AC Milan and then twice as a coach with the same club.

He has worked with some of the very best players in the world, most noticeably Milan stalwart Paolo Maldini, whom Terry has always revered.

The England captain was one of the key figures in the dressing room hoping Hiddink would convert his temporary stay at Stamford Bridge last term into taking the full-time position.

He has no regrets that such a move failed to take place now that he has the benefit of Ancelotti's wisdom at the helm.

While most players would be irked at the idea of having to start from scratch with a new boss again, Terry revealed: "I've spoken to him a few times about Maldini and what he did, the way he worked, his relationship with the other players.

"I'm always looking to learn and when a manager comes in like Ancelotti, I can learn an awful lot from him - he's played and managed at the highest level.

"While we've had some hard times with managers coming and going, I can look at it as a chance to get my learning cap on when a new boss comes in and I can do that by talking to him about players he's worked with."

Terry is hoping Chelsea have learned their lessons from 12 months ago when they were in a similarly strong position after three group games.

They needed to win away at struggling Roma to book their place in the last 16 with two games to spare only to collapse and suffer a shock 3-1 defeat.

Chelsea ended up being taken to a nail-biting final match against Romanian minnows Cluj to finally get there and Terry is hoping history doesn't repeat itself.

Atletico are in crisis having won just once all season. They sacked coach Abel Resino since Chelsea beat them 4-0 at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago and replaced him with former Valencia boss Quique Sanchez Flores. His arrival is expected to give Madrid hope as well as a hostile atmosphere to play in but Terry is determined to win the match and book Chelsea's place in style.

He added: "We haven't slipped up at all in the Champions League and we must not tonight. The best way to qualify for the knock-out stage is as quickly as possible with consecutive wins.

"They haven't started well in the Champions League but a couple of wins and they have every chance of qualifying, so they'll be pumped up so we must be pumped up too.

"We know they're a really good side and going forward we know they're dangerous - Diego Forlan scores a lot of goals and Sergio Aguero is a good player."

The 28-year-old will not allow tiredness to be an excuse either even though it is the club's 18th fixture in under three months.He said: "I would never take a back seat. "If people are feeling tired or we have only got two days between matches, it's part of my job and other players here to speak with everyone and make the most of the time we have got so that we start well."

For Ancelotti, it has been a dream start. Top of the Premier League, in the last eight of the Carling Cup and on the verge of the last 16 of the Champions League.

But he is keeping a typical Italian sense of precaution and said: "It is not always easy to play good football but the team have a good idea of how to continue to maintain this.

"I am happy because in three months we have improved."