Ancelotti twists Blues’ revenge notions

CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti has warned his players that only by winning the Champions League outright will they have gained revenge for their 2008 final defeat to Manchester United.

The quarter-finals of the Champions League will see another all-Premier League encounter, and one that might even be eclipsed in terms of glamour by Tottenham coming up against Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.

For Ancelotti the stakes could not be higher as Chelsea continue the search for their first Champions League trophy and he believes focusing on that defeat in Moscow three years ago could prove a distraction.

He said: “I don’t have to have revenge for United — I was not there. For my players, I don’t think it’s a good motivation for revenge. It should be fantastic motivation to look forward in the future. We have four games to reach the final in London. If Chelsea reached the final there, we’d have a good revenge for 2008 — not against United.”

Ancelotti was pragmatic at the prospect of facing Alex Ferguson’s men in another crucial match this season. The victors will face either holders Inter Milan or Schalke for a place in the final at Wembley on May 28.

Ancelotti added: “I’m not happy, I am not disappointed. I am realistic.

“They are a team we know very well and they know us very well.

“For English football, it’s good — last season, no English teams were in the semi-finals. This year, one team or two teams will be in the semi-finals.”

United have not won at Stamford Bridge since 2002, and were defeated earlier this month in a stormy encounter that has ended up with Ferguson incurring a five-match touchline ban.

United striker Javier Hernandez, who scored both goals against Marseille in the last 16 second leg match at Old Trafford on Tuesday, said: “We play in the same league and it is going to be tough.

“Stamford Bridge is a nice stadium and it makes it a little bit like a league game. But if there is an advantage, it is that we are at home in the second game.”

For Spurs, they will have another of Harry Redknapp’s “greatest days” to savour — and with the prospect of Barcelona, who take on Shakhtar Donetsk — lying in wait in the semi-final if Tottenham achieve yet another improbable victory in Europe this season.

For Redknapp, he could not have asked for anything more and is relishing the prospect of pitting his wits against Mourinho, who has already won the competition with Porto and Inter.

He said: “It’s a fantastic draw. What a game to look forward to against one of the greatest clubs in world football.

“You have to look forward to games like this. These are the great days in your life and great days in Tottenham’s history.

“We’ll go there and give it a real go and you couldn’t have a more exciting or tougher game. I’ve said all along that the two Spanish clubs were, for me, the favourites to win it.

“We’ve drawn Real Madrid who are pushing Barcelona all the way for the championship with big players and a fantastic manager. In my opinion, he’s one of the all-time greats. He was amazing for English football when he came.

“But we’ve got a chance against anyone,” added Redknapp, who also confirmed his club intend to appeal against the one-match touchline ban handed down by UEFA to assistant Joe Jordan following his bust-up with Gennaro Gattuso in Milan last month.

If Spurs do fail and Real and Barca both prosper, then the semi-final will be a ‘Clasico’ but with the stakes having never been higher and Mourinho seeking revenge after his side’s 5-0 La Liga drubbing earlier this season.

Real Madrid sporting director Miguel Pardeza insisted his club will give the north London side their full attention.

Pardeza, whose side will be reunited with former Real playmaker Rafael van der Vaart, said: “Tottenham are a good team, with a player we know in Van der Vaart as well as good wide players, good strikers.

“Tottenham are not an easy opponent, but it could have been worse. They are doing well in the Premier League, and although it seems they aren’t an eye-catching rival and are somewhat unknown to the average fan, they will be a very difficult opponent.”

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is another man refusing to take what on paper look like inferior opponents lightly as his side prepare to take on Shakhtar. “We know Shakhtar and they know us. We’ve had some very tight games against them,” he said.

“They are a physically very strong team with experienced players. A little while ago they won the Europa League and we had it tough to beat them in the UEFA Super Cup (in 2009).”