Brazilian Zico: Luiz Felipe Scolari should have more time at London

The popular and super talented Zico stated that he is against Chelsea for dismissing Luiz Felipe Scolari prematurely.

In fact, the CSKA Moscow coach, whose side played Aston Villa for the UEFA Cup this evening, believes that the man who led Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002 — sacked last week after only seven months — should have been judged at the end of the season.

“People seem to think the role of the coach in Brazilian football is less important because, it seems, they just have to turn up and the footballers victory the World Cup,” Zico, who appeared in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 finals, expressed. “So it is a problem for Brazilian coaches because they do not get time to have an effect on the way a side plays to get the results they want.

“Felipao had lost some games, however he did not lost a championship. We must consider that a reasonable time would have been at the end of this season.”

Back to Chelsea young players: Hiddink to lineup Michael Mancienne

A talent from the young division in Chelsea, Michael Mancienne, is poised to make his first Premier League start for the Stamford Bridge institution in their vital fixture against Aston Villa after Guus Hiddink oversaw his first training sessions at Cobham.

In fact, injuries to Portuguese Carvalho and Alex, as well as a suspension for Ashley Cole, see Hiddink faced with something of a defensive crisis in his first week in charge after replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Mancienne, notionally a central defender, filled in manfully at right back during Chelsea’s FA Cup victory over Watford last weekend that Hiddink watched from the stands with owner Roman Abramovich.

Indeed, Hiddink, a meticulous coach, has reviewed the weekend’s opposition, who sit above Chelsea in the Premier League table, and is concerned by the need to counter the pace of Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

It seemMancienne’s speed is seen as a greater asset than his inexperience is a concern.

The popular Hiddink has already watched a youth side encounter and is believed to have been impressed with Mancienne in the training sessions he has conducted at Cobham this week.

"It is amazing for me having the experience of seeing the second side as well and seeing if we first see a amazing performances of the side and second if they're some young footballers who might be very interesting for the future," expressed Hiddink after watching the youth side put six past Portsmouth.

"I think that even if you are a big team, and even if the first side is settled you must always create some space for youngsters, they are always promising and that is why we always have to keep an eye on them."

We must consider that Mancienne, who was called in to the experienced Fabio Capello’s England squad for the friendly victory against Germany in Berlin last year, though remained and unused substitute, was paired with John Terry in an open training session.

The England captain has been immediately impressed with Hiddink and is relishing the opportunity to reignite a difficult season for Chelsea.

“He’s made a few changes and in training he got us to press more and play higher up the pitch,” expressed John Terry.

“I must admit, it looked sharp, with everyone fighting for their places again.”

Chelsea’s defensive record this season stands up against most of their nearest rivals and in despite of that, the last few weeks has seen an alarming dip in form with even stalwarts like Terry and Cech coming in for criticism.

As we said, Mancienne, who has spent impressive spells with Wolves in recent seasons, may well prove to be the beneficiary of that and Hiddink’s fresh start at the team.

We should review the new generation at Stamford Bridge:

Miroslav Stoch - Gave a glimpse of his quality against Stoke City and has become increasingly involved with first-team squad - particularly noted for his pace.

Michael Mancienne - Came to prominence when he was called up to Fabio Capello's England squad and played against Watford in Chelsea's FA Cup victory.

Franco Di Santo - Argentina Under-20 international who impressed during pre-season and has made several first-team appearances.

Scott Sinclair - Made Chelsea league debut in 2007, and in despite of that, is currently on loan with Birmingham until the end of the season.

Frank Nouble – This talented player has been with Chelsea since an under-12 and has been capped by England under-17s.

Jeffrey Bruma - Centre-back from Holland, who plays for the Dutch under-17s and has trained with the first-team.

Jack Cork - The son of Alan Cork has steadily won admirers while on loan with Bournemouth, Scunthorpe, Southampton and Watford, and in despite of that, is increasingly making his mark for the England under-21s.

Jacob Mellis - Signed in the summer of 2007 and a member of the England under-19 division.

Ricardo Quaresma for Didier Drogba: perfect deal?

According to a report in a British newspaper, Inter are hoping to take Chelsea's Didier Drogba to Milan at the end of the season.

Apparently, Nerazzurri head team boss Jose Mourinho is extremely eager to be reunited with the Ivory Coast striker and will offer Portuguese international winger Ricardo Quaresma in exchange.

Drogba excelled under Mourinho's management of the Blues, scoring 16 goals in 2004/05 and 2005/06, and an incredible 33 in the 2006/07 campaign.

Since the 'Special One' departed Stamford Bridge in September 2007, the Ivory Coast striker has struggled to find the same form.

This season he has played only 20 encounters, scoring just three goals, while Nicolas Anelka has made 32 appearances, finding the back of the net on 17 occasions.

It is claimed that the 30-year-old has also fallen out with current manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, so should Quaresma impress for the remainder of the season a swap deal may not be out of the question.

Talented Frank Lampard On Ref After Red Card Reprieve

Chelsea talented footballer Franky Lampard was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Xabi Alonso on the hour mark during the Blues' 2-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday.

The defeat was a massive blow in terms of the Premier League title race, but Lampard was handed a boost yesterday at the time the FA overturned his sending off, thus sparing him a three-match ban.

Lampard slid in on Alonso and the Spaniard was sent flying, but it was clear even without the aid of video replays that England star Lampard had got a large chunk of the ball.

Now able to look ahead to ahead to the weekend visit of Hull City, Lampard spoke to the Press Association of the red card, which was dished out by referee Mike Riley. "It's great that I can move on, but a shame that we lost the game because of it," he bemoaned.

"I presumed it would be rescinded anyway so I was quite confident about that.

"It was obviously a mistake, we all make mistakes. soccer players make mistakes just as much as anyone - and the referee did."

Under-fire Riley will not be in action this weekend, it has been revealed, after sustaining an undisclosed injury during the Liverpool win.

He and his assistants have also come under fire over Jose Bosingwa's kicking antics, but the full-back cannot be punished retroactively as the linesman saw the incident at the time.

Felipe Scolari: we must win over Bordeaux to continue in the Champions League

Chelsea Portuguese boss Luis Felipe Scolari underlined the importance of beating Bordeaux on Wednesday to seal their seventh straight appearance in the Champions League knockout stages with a game to spare.

The charismatic Brazilian proffesor knows last season's beaten finalists came unstuck in their last away game at italian AS Roma when they were thumped 3-1 and is not taking the French outsiders lightly.

"We really need to qualify either tomorrow or against Cluj and reach the second round," he told a press conference here Tuesday.

"As we know, we had a chance against Roma and now we have a second chance. Myself and the players cannot wait for more chances and tomorrow (Wednesday) is the day."

The 60-year-old played down the defeat in Italy and says the group is still wide open with just a one point lead on Roma and Bordeaux with Cluj still in the hunt three points adrift.

"The clash against Roma was a time when they were in crisis and it was a game that if they lost they were out of the competition. They played better than us 100 per cent.

"Look, what I know about French Bordeaux is that they have very good players and the result in the first match was not a normal result.

"I know they are in fifth or sixth in France and they didn't start the competition very well but they have played well since and we respect this team and more. They have six points and we have only seven so there is no difference."

In fact, the Girondins have been hit by the late withdrawal of first choice goalkeeper Ulrich Rame who failed to recover from a hamstring injury which means the gloves will be handed to 25-year-old Matthieu Valverde.

We must mention that Bordeaux are coming off back to back victories over Romanian newcomers CFR Cluj which has lifted them back into contention for a spot in the final 16 but have never beaten English opposition at home in European play.

They were beaten by powerful Manchester United 2-1 in the 1999-2000 Champions League group phase and also lost 1-0 to Liverpool in the 2006-07 pool stage as well.

Their only point at home in European action came way back in the first round of the 1997-98 UEFA Cup first round when they battled Aston Villa to a 1-1 stalemate.

Scolari also made it clear his squad are not thinking about Sunday's showdown with Arsenal in a top of the table Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge and says qualification is crucial and not especially winning the group.

"Myself and the players will not think about Arsenal FC until after the game tomorrow. If we start thinking about Arsenal, we might lose tomorrow.

"In fact, if we have the second leg in the Champions League at home in the next round that it's great but there are two things.

"In the past teams have won the second leg away from home and other times the home team has won but there is not a big difference. The most important thing is to qualify."

In-form French forward Nicolas Anelka hopes to carry his hot touch in the Premier League onto the European stage where he has been misfiring so far in the competition.

"I may be need a bit of luck but the important thing is that we get the win and that the team pick up the three points or at least a draw," said the French forward.

"I know that the match tomorrow will be a lot different from the first match at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea won 4-0) and we are expecting a very tough encounter."

Didier Drogba talks with Inter Milan

Explosive forward Didier Drogba's Chelsea future has become surrounded in doubt, with the Blues striker understood to have held discussions with officials at Serie A club Inter Milan, according to a news website.

The popular Drogba is understood to have met with Nerazzurri coach Jose Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes and Marco Branca the technical director at the San Siro along with his powerful agent Pierre Frelot at a restaurant in West London.

As we know, former Stamford Bridge manager Mourinho was a huge influence on Drogba, while at Chelsea and had been heavily linked with a move to bring the former Marseille striker to Inter in the summer. However, Drogba, who is currently serving a three-match ban for throwing a coin in the Carling Cup defeat to Burnley, remained at the Premier League side.

Jose Mourinho has an abundance of striker’s at the San Siro, with Hernan Crespo, Adriano, Mario Balotelli, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cruz and Victor Obinna all fighting for a starting berth upfront for Inter. Despite this Mourinho is expected to offload brazilian Adriano in January, with Balotelli a reported target for Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, while Crespo never made the grade under Mourinho at the Blues.

We must notice that young striker Obinna had been heavily linked with a loan move to Everton in the summer, but this didn’t materialise due to work permit problems and this deal could be resurrected in January, which if as Mourinho has stated recently that some forward’s will leave Inter in January then the path would be clear for Inter to sign Didier Drogba, who would be keen on a reunion with his former boss.

Chelsea 2008/2009 Squad

1 GK Petr Čech
2 DF Branislav Ivanović
3 DF Ashley Cole
5 MF Michael Essien
6 DF Ricardo Carvalho
8 MF Frank Lampard (vice-captain)
9 FW Franco di Santo
10 MF Joe Cole
11 FW Didier Drogba
12 MF John Mikel Obi
13 MF Michael Ballack
15 MF Florent Malouda
16 FW Scott Sinclair
17 DF José Bosingwa
18 DF Wayne Bridge
19 DF Paulo Ferreira
20 MF Deco
21 FW Salomon Kalou
23 GK Carlo Cudicini
26 DF John Terry (captain)
27 MF Mineiro
33 DF Alex
35 MF Juliano Belletti
39 FW Nicolas Anelka
40 GK Henrique Hilário
43 FW Miroslav Stoch
44 MF Michael Woods

Deco admits Chelsea offer

Portuguese star Deco broke his silence last night to admit that Chelsea are openly pursuing him.

But the talented player insisted that nothing will be finalised until he has met Barcelona officials.

"I already knew about the interest from Chelsea, and other teams. I still need to speak to FC Barcelona," said Deco.

"However, I am going to have news. I knew that Barcelona wanted rid of me, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o. I have to respect the decision, move on and think about my own career."

Close to heaven: Chelsea reach the Champions League Final with a 3 - 2 win over Liverpool

Historical night for every blue fan, player, board member and supporters around the world. After many years of struggling, Chelsea reached the Champions League Final for the first time in history.

What's more, it will be the first European Cup final between two English clubs, and beating Manchester United to win the title will make it even more special.

Owner Roman Abramovich wasn't at Stamford Bridge to see his expensively assembled team beat Liverpool 3-2 in extra time to advance to the final on May 21, but United manager Alex Ferguson was.

Manchester United and Chelsea are also neck-and-neck in the Premier League. The Blues beat the Red Devils 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to draw level on points with United, which leads on goal difference with two encounters to go.

"An all-English final. I think everyone's looking forward to it," Chelsea leader John Terry said. "They have been very good in the league. Also we matched them the other week and managed to defeat them here. All in all, they're playing very well. I think we're at the top of our game so in three weeks time it's going to be a very tough game."

It's important to notice that even though it's the first time two English teams have made it to the final, there are no English coaches.

The last Englishman to lead a team to a European Cup triumph was Liverpool's Joe Fagan in 1984. That was at a time when English coaches did well in the competition with seven triumphs in eight seasons, including victories from Liverpool's Bob Paisley (three), Nottingham Forest's Brian Clough (two), Aston Villa's Tony Barton and Fagan between 1977 and '84.

Manchester United has had the veteran Ferguson in charge for 22 years, and the Scot has led the Red Devils to nine Premier League triumphs and five FA Cups and is now chasing his second Champions League title to go with the one he won in 1999.

As for Avram Grant, he is the former coach of Israel who has led Chelsea to its first Champions League final after the man he replaced, Jose Mourinho, failed three times. Mourinho moved to Stamford Bridge in June 2004, a month after leading FC Porto to a triumph in the competition.

And although he won two league titles in a row, Chelsea's first in half a century, portuguese Mourinho couldn't capture a European success and the club replaced him in September. Now, the fact that two English teams are playing each other thousands of miles away in Moscow for a major prize is good timing.

Now talking about the semifinal match, we can say it was one of the most exciting games of the year. Didier Drogba scored the first goal that seemed to assure their ticket to the final. But Fernando Torres kept the emotion alive up to the 90th minute.

In the extra time, the referee downed a goal scored by Kalou, but just two minutes later a penalty shot was converted by Frank Lampard. His celebration is now inprinted in the memory of every blue fan.

Drogba appeared again to score the third one, to unleash the emotion of every Chelsea supporter. Babel scored a goal for Liverpool, but that was not enough to save his team.

Now Chelsea will face Manchester United knowing all about Cristiano Ronaldo's dribbling and shooting skills and how to stop him from adding to his 38 league and cup goals this season. It also has to break open the solid defensive partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Because it played Chelsea on Saturday, Manchester United is aware of the dangers posed by Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack and the defensive strengths of Terry and Ricardo Carvalho.

Ferguson's team has a 65-41 record against Chelsea with 44 draws. But the last time they met in a final, Chelsea edged Man. United 1-0 in last season's FA Cup at Wembley.

Carvalho confident in Chelsea title chances

Talented defender Ricardo Carvalho has issued a defiant message to Liverpool and Manchester United before a decisive week for the London club by declaring that belief remains strong at Stamford Bridge that they can earn the Premier League and Champions League titles.

In fact, Chelsea's 1-0 win over Everton on Thursday closed the gap on Premier League leaders United to two points. It ensures that Sir Alex Ferguson's team will travel to Blackburn for their game in hand today aware that anything but three will allow the Blues to claim a share of top spot by defeating them at Stamford Bridge Stadium on April 26.

Before that, Chelsea play the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against the poweful Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday, and Portuguese defender Carvalho insists that Avram Grant's squad are fully capable of ending the week with two victories.

As we said, Carvalho expressed: "It was a very important win at Everton, especially after the draw against Wigan. We knew we couldn't make a mistake, that we had to win.

"I'm sure that the title is still possible. Blackburn away is always a difficult game, so hopefully United can drop points. It's going to be difficult and it depends on United, but let's see. We have to win all our encounters, but we will never give up. We hope they can lose points and we can keep winning."

The memory of two defeats in three seasons against the terrible Liverpool at the same stage of the Champions League has galvanised the Chelsea footballers. Carvalho added: "We lost on penalties the last time and in the previous semi-final to a goal that nobody saw cross the line. It was really hard to take" Carvalho admitted.

Claudio Pizarro might face international ban

Peruvian Football Federation sanctioned four players after an alcohol scandal during the South Africa 2010 qualifiers. And even though Claudio Pizarro is one of the punished players, he has denied any participation in the incident.

Claudio Pizarro, whose career as a Chelsea striker is coming to a close, was said to be involved in the events and was suspended from playing for the peruvian national selection as well as fined $20,000.

In response, the former captain of stated that Peru's Football Federation (FPF) was not being run well and that Manuel Burga was at its head. The forward affirmed that someone was out to get him and he would find out who, stating that the federation's lack of effective management would soon come to light.

"That's totally false," said Burga in an interview on a local radio. "I've known a lot of the players since they played U-17. There isn't anything against anyone," affirmed the president of the federation.

When told about the player's plans to take the federation to court, Burga assured that if this was done, Claudio Pizarro's case would be taken to the FIFA. The head of the FPF assured that this meant the Chelsea striker would be exposed to international banning.

In fact, Pizarro could be banned from playing for clubs in the same way he was banned from playing for the national team.

Gianfranco Zola might return as Chelsea coach

Italian talented player Gianfranco Zola expressed that he would like to return to Chelsea in the future to work in either a coaching or managerial capacity.

Indeed, Zola was one of the most popular foreign players to appear in the Premier League as he scored 80 goals for Chelsea in a dazzling seven-year career at Stamford Bridge between 1996 and 2003. Just before he left the club Chelsea fans voted him as the best footballer in the club's history.

Zola stated in an interview on Friday that although he was currently coaching the Italian Under-21s with Pierluigi Casiraghi, he could see a future back at Stamford Bridge.

"Will I come back to Chelsea? We'll see. I think so. In fact, sooner or later I'll have a go. But at the moment it is important to get the knowledge. Playing football is one thing, but coaching is another one, completely different."

However, London seems irresistible for him. "Chelsea is where I had the best satisfaction of all, where I was treated the best. This is a special place," he claims.

"I do care about Chelsea very much and when I do come back I want to do something very valuable."

We must say that Zola was also linked with a position at the English FA, working with coach Fabio Capello's backroom staff, but he said he was not approached for a role.

"I read that in the news myself several times but I didn't speak to Capello or anyone else," he admitted. "I was very pleased (if) they were considering me but I have a commitment with the national team in Italy, a two-year contract."

As we know, Gianfranco Zola also played for Napoli, Parma and Cagliari among other sides, and won 35 caps for Italy national team.

Chelsea Kit: Season 2007/2008

These are the models for the new Adidas Chelsea jersey for the current season. Simply beautiful:

Video: Top 10 Chelsea goals for 2006/2007 season

Enjoy: