Claudio Ranieri set for emotional Chelsea return

Claudio Ranieri can expect an emotional welcome back to Stamford Bridge this evening, when the Juventus coach makes his first return to Chelsea since his departure in 2004. Players and supporters alike will recognise the part that the Italian played in making Chelsea a force in European football, but Roman Abramovich, the West London club’s owner, and Peter Kenyon, the chief executive — the men who sacked him — will hope that the generosity for their former head coach stops there.
The supporters may recall that as Ranieri left, José Mourinho arrived to usher in the most successful period in the club’s history, but yesterday was a time for Ranieri to emphasise the high points of his spell in England, such as the farewell he received at his final match in charge, a 1-0 home win over Leeds United. “The applause of the fans was great,” he said. “It was a memory that will stay with me all my life. The feeling is good at the moment. I hope I will have a good welcome. Even when the draw was made, I felt good about it. One doesn’t forget four years.”
Indeed, the memories flooded back. He was asked if there is an Italian word for “Tinkerman” — he decided there was not — but a question about which of his four Juventus forwards may play in the first leg of the first knockout round tie turned into a defence of his constant team changes. “I was criticised for my rotation policy here initially, but after we beat Arsenal and reached the Champions League semi-final it changed,” he said. “People began to realise I was right to rotate.”
Ranieri preferred not to dwell on how his eccentric substitutions altered the course of the semi-final against Monaco, when Chelsea conceded two late goals in the away leg in April 2004, losing 3-1 and going out 5-3 on aggregate. “Even if we had won the Champions League, I knew that my days were numbered,” he said.
However, an answer to a question about changes in his years away from England could have been taken as a barb aimed at Abramovich after the recent dismissal of Luiz Felipe Scolari. “In the past you would have had time to build a team, but that’s not true any more,” he said. “Here in England it’s becoming a bit like Italy. New owners come in and want to win straight away, but football isn’t like that. Money isn’t everything — which is a good thing.”
Ranieri, of course, spent heavily even before splashing out £120 million in the summer after Abramovich’s arrival, as Frank Lampard, the England midfield player, pointed out. “I don’t think I would be sitting here if it hadn’t been for him,” Lampard said. “He spent £11 million on me, which seemed a lot of money at the time. He elevated John Terry to captain and he’s become one of the best in the world since. A lot of things have happened at this club and Claudio Ranieri is part of that history.”
Guus Hiddink, the fourth man to take charge of Chelsea since Ranieri left, was also heaping praise on his predecessor. “He’s a gentleman coach,” the Dutchman said. “He’s very intelligent. Modest is maybe not the word, but he knows how to cope with the press and the pressure in this particular job. I respect him very much. He organises his teams in a very disciplined way, so it’s very difficult to play those teams that he is managing.”
Hiddink has certainly found it hard, coming off worse in most of their head-to-head meetings in Spain and in European competition, including a 5-1 home defeat for his Valencia side by Ranieri’s Napoli. The short time that Hiddink has had in which to prepare for this match — he has been in charge for two weeks today — may give him an excuse for another poor result, but the Dutchman would have none of it.
“It’s easy for me to say that I should have two, three or four weeks to observe the team and everything, and then I’d start working,” he said. “But there’s no time. Every manager would like four, five or six weeks to implement a lot of things. But I have to do that in a reduced time, a pressured time. And we have to do it. We must not give ourselves an excuse because, if we do, there’s a tendency that we go a little bit less and that’s not good in the boys’ minds.”
Deco and Ricardo Carvalho will be missing for Chelsea through injury, along with Michael Essien and Joe Cole, the long-term absentees. Juventus are second in Serie A but have won only two of their past five games. Gianluigi Buffon will be in goal after missing five of the six group matches, but David Trezeguet, the France forward who missed all the group games with a knee problem, is likely to begin on the bench.
Jürgen Klinsmann, the Bayern Munich coach, is hoping that Luca Toni, the Italy striker, will recover from injury in time to give his side an edge against Sporting Lisbon in their Champions League first knockout round, first leg match this evening. Bayern have lost three of their past four Bundesliga games.
Panathinaikos have never won in Spain and will need to be in top form if they are to end Villarreal’s unbeaten home record in the Champions League in their tie.
Source:the times