The Bernabeu is a daunting place but is it somwhere for players to be inspired by?
I think so. I only played here once in my career - England v Spain. We lost 2-0 and I didn’t get a kick. Xavi and Iniesta were in their heyday. I absolutely remember the size of the stadium. So for our players, some young players but also we have players who have achieved a lot – CL winners, WC winners. So I don’t think it’s something completely new to them but ofc this is a stadium and a QF is an occasion and we have to play the occasion because levels go up at this point in the competition. But we have to come here with the belief that we can perform under that pressure.
Still to a dream to be involved here and at this stage?
Yes, it is amazing. I have been fortunate enough to manage in the Champions League – two seasons - and as a player, it was always a special competition. So to be here as a manager particularly when a week ago today I did not know I would be here is a huge honour for me of course and a big part of my thought process when taking on the challenge here. This is an amazing challenge for me personally as well as for us as a team and a club.
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Can you think back to 2012 and have you spoken to Roberto Di Matteo?
I have not spoken to him. I have exchanged some messages with a few people – obviously, a lot of people are Chelsea-related, Guus Hiddink, ex-managers and people in the game. There are parallels in probably a simple sense, we are ex-players. But the year Robbie was here he was an assistant and had a big awareness of the squad and got the job earlier in the year than I did. He did an amazing job. I remember big parts of why he achieved what he achieved. My situation is different in practice… I think I have to be careful making that parallel. We have very tough games in front of us, starting tomorrow. So there’s a lot of work to be done but we’re very committed to trying to, if we can, create our own little bit of history.
Can you explain why the team has been better in the Champions League than the Premier League?
I am not sure. I understand the question, if you isolate this year as well. I think there have been challenges this year and the PL is also one of the greatest challenges in world football. It’s tough week in and week out and those challenges have obviously taken us to a place where we don’t want to be as Chelsea Football Club. The Champions League sometimes offers you a bit of escapism from that. Different speed of the game, knockout football, those things can all contribute to getting different success in the same season. I think when you get to this stage of the competition, you’re playing teams of the level of Real… Now those comparisons are pretty worthless.
Todd Boehly is said to have spoken to James Corden before employing you?
I saw the headline of James Corden. I am not aware if it’s true or not. It’s obviously a great headline to put together casually from the outside. When I look at the success of Todd Boehly and the owners of the club you have to respect that success and respect the idea that they’ll probably make decisions based on more than a conversation with one person.
After the result last year, what can you say to the players?
Every new year in football brings a new story. Having watched Real Madrid and having a relationship with Carlo Ancelotti who’s been incredible in his time here, the players have to understand: this is a special arena and a special club, anything can happen and some things you can’t control. We have to control what we can control… understand the quality of the player in the Real Madrid team… but my focus will not be on last year.
What kind of game do you have to play?
We have to understand the strengths of the Real Madrid team, their qualities in possession and their individual talent. We have to be very disciplined in our game off the ball, and understand the threats. There are some very clear threats individually in their team. Ways Real Madrid like to score and regularly score and how they want to control the game. So we have to be defensively good against that. But we also have to show our own strengths in our game… We have to have belief, we have to follow the idea because in a high-level game the biggest thing can sometimes be the mentality – following through with what the idea is, under pressure. At this level, you have to be spot-on with our game to take it back to Stamford Bridge in front of our supporters.
Unusual to join a team at this stage of the competition, but do you think you earned it because of where you were in the competition when you left?
I don’t link them. I know the part I played in the last success and it ended when I left the club as far as I was concerned. My part probably more than anything was qualifying for the CL the year before in a tough season, with a young squad… I am just very proud to come back… I know I have managed in this competition before, I know I’ve managed against big teams in this competition before. So I am not daunted at all. In fact, I am more excited than anything.
Do you have enough leaders in the squad?
I think you can only become a leader in action. There is no point in being called a leader until you show why and how you do it on the pitch. I understand the question and the point. We have a lot of players who have a lot of titles so we can’t call ourselves completely young because if I go through the squad I can see a lot. Also in terms of natural leaders, I think modern leaders have changed in the game. I don’t think we can ever try and look back 10 or 15 years and try to replicate what leaders were. For sure where we have brought in some younger players over the course of this season, we have to give them a chance to develop into the leaders we want them to be. In Enzo, I see a leader, but he is 21 or 22 years of age. It’s very difficult so he has to find his way. Games like tomorrow are a great chance to perform and show personality.
Are Thiago, Mason and N'Golo fit? And character has been questioned this season?
They are all fit. They are all in the squad. The three players you mentioned are good and are here. In terms of the character I think it’s normal in a season where a club like us falls below the levels we want, the character gets questioned. It is probably one of the first things to get questioned at times in defeat. The only thing the players can do is prove it on the pitch. People can view it where they can see it. There is a lot we do behind the scenes, on the training pitch, around the dressing room, talking to the players. My job is to convey to them the need to train at a level, to have the mentality is at a certain level, individually and as a group. The rest, they have to show it. You can talk as much as you want but the players have to show it on the pitch. I’m absolutely not questioning the fact they have a lot of character in the group because I’ve seen the dressing room and understand football. There is character. Nobody wants to not win football matches. But sometimes players can take a hit on confidence and sometimes a lack of confidence can look like a lack of character. That’s my job to [correct] quickly. I’ve only been here a short time, to find those areas, find out which players need help or where the group needs help and try it give it the help it needs. Then it’s up to them.
N'Golo has been one of the best midfielders in the world but given his situation can he make it back to that level?
N’Golo is a special player. I understand what you mean in terms of consistency and the problems N’Golo has had with injuries. But in terms of coming back and playing at a really high level, I have witnessed him do it. He did it for me in the Super Cup against Liverpool for me a few years ago. He passed a fitness test, hadn’t trained in a long time and was the best player in the pitch for 120 minutes. I think he has the capacity to do it because he’s a special player. Hopefully, he can do that because he’s that high-level a player and when we miss him as a club we miss him because of how good he is. It’s a positive that he’s back.
Who are you most worried about from Real Madrid?
It’s a difficult question, because once you start naming one, two, three, you ask about fourth. It’s a team with a lot of good individuals. I’ve got a huge amount of respect for the team. My biggest respect for the Real Madrid and the success is for the serial winners — Benzema, Modric, Kroos — a huge amount of admiration for them. To appreciate what it takes at this level to win so regularly, to know what it takes to win so regularly. That’s what it makes them the special players they are. They all have incredible qualities.
Of course, Vinicius Jr as a young player has incredible quality. We have to make the players aware of those threats. In certain areas of the pitch where we know the threats are repetitive. The one-on-one with Vinicius Jr and Benzema at the top end of the pitch.The players have to deal with it.
Can you play on the fact that real are heavy favourites here — pressure? And what do you make of Toni Rudiger?
To the first part of the question, there is pressure on both teams because of the size of both clubs. When you get to this stage, there’s always going to be pressure. Are Real Madrid favourites? Yes and I understand why. That’s the difficulty of our season. I don’t think that is a problem. There is no better carrot in football than trying to prove people wrong and being the underdog and have a good result. That’s one of the best things I’ve been part of. I’m not worried about that. In terms of the pressure, I am not worried about that. Football at this level is pressure. If you can’t handle the pressure you are not a big player.
On Toni Rudiger, I think he has done fantastically well. When i last saw him as Everton manager and he was with Chelsea and the Madrid move was happening and I wished him well. My relationship with him is fine. A lot of people like to speculate. As a manager of Chelsea, which I was and I am again now, you have 25 or 27 players to choose from and Rudiger played a lot for me. Our story ended and the story continued. He was a big part of the Champions League story. Good luck to him, good luck to any professional who works as hard as he does because he deserves it.
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