Mourinho targets Champions League

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho left London on a charity mission to Africa today after setting his sights on winning the Champions League next season.

Mourinho, along with midfielder Michael Essien and several young players, flew to Ghana as part of the club’s first major initiative in the six-year partnership announced between Chelsea and the ’Right To Play’ charity at the British House of Commons last January.

Chelsea will be conducting play sessions for children in Accra and Tamale as well as holding demonstrations for the ’Right To Play’ coaches who are integral to the charity’s purpose of raising awareness about disease, war and poverty through sport.

But prior to his departure Mourinho revealed that, having won every domestic honour in the English game, he now wants to seal the Champions League trophy for the second time in his career.

Mourinho, who won the crown with former club Porto, has taken Chelsea to the semi-finals of the competition in two f his three years at Stamford Bridge but each time they have lost out to Liverpool.

But the Portuguese believes that, without too much tinkering of his squad, Chelsea can go one step further.

Mourinho said: “Winning is a habit, winning is culture, winning has a lot of mental preparation and I am very happy with it here.

“I just feel the last step is to take this feeling, or this little bit of luck to European competition. Chelsea played three Champions League semi-finals in the last four years, which is fantastic, but couldn’t play one single final.

“This club wants more and we want more. I won it before but past is past, I want to do it with Chelsea. The players, they want to do it but we have to do it without being obsessed because being obsessed doesn’t help.

“We have to understand the game. Understanding the game is two or three minutes to go, we score against Man United and win the FA Cup. Against Liverpool we couldn’t score two penalties in three shots and details make the difference.

“We cannot be obsessed. We must just keep doing our work and trying to improve and for sure next season we will improve because I don’t believe in the same kind of season in medical terms. The natural tendency is to improve.”

If Chelsea do reach the final next season, it would take them to Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on 21 May 2008.

The 84,745 capacity stadium will host Moscow’s first such football showpiece although it was the 1980 Olympic stadium under its former name, the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium.

Russian league sides Torpedo and Spartak Moscow both play their home games there.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are unlikely to release injured midfielder Mikel John Obi despite calls by the Nigerian FA for the player to be examined by their own medical staff.

Nigeria face a Nations Cup qualifier against Uganda next Saturday but Mikel is struggling with a hamstring injury.

Chelsea have written to the NFA telling them Mikel is undergoing treatment but the Nigerians want Mikel to be assessed by their own team of doctors.

“The NFA is not satisfied with the club declaration hence we expect Mikel to be in Uganda for the game,” NFA spokesman Ademola Olajire told BBC Sport.

Olajire added: “If our medical team confirm that he’s not fit to play then will surely he’ll be rested. We’ve made it clear that due process be followed and the said player be released immediately according to FIFA rules.”

The Nigerian camp has been ravaged by injury as midfielders Yusuf Atanda Ayila and Seyi Olofinjana have also been ruled out.

Chelsea’s pre-season trip to America in July could help the club break into the lucrative America market, according to their business affairs director Paul Smith.

Chelsea want to push their brand in the US, and Smith is looking to cash in on David Beckham’s move to LA Galaxy.

The recalled England international leaves Real Madrid at the end of June and he could make his debut for his new club against the double cup winners.

Smith said: “It’s a fortuitous development that the Galaxy have signed David because when he gets here in July the spotlight will clearly be on him and soccer in the US, and there will be a media frenzy of attention on him.

“We will be part of that for sure, and if it does turn out to be his debut against us on 21 July then we’ll get nationwide attention. If that’s the case it will be our good fortune.

“Most of the media here, just anecdotally, believe Chelsea are now niched in that top group of clubs along with Manchester United, Milan and Real Madrid.”