Carlo Ancelotti Will Talk the Right Language for His First Day at Chelsea
The Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti will use his newly-improved English when he meets his training staff tomorrow to discuss the season ahead
Carlo Ancelotti is due to arrive at Chelsea's training ground tomorrow to begin in earnest the demanding challenge of making the club either domestic or European champions.
The Italian has spent the past few days enjoying a holiday, which he spent with his family, and attending to affairs at home, following a hectic few weeks since he was named as the successor to Guus Hiddink at the end of last season.
This period has included a recently completed spoken-English course, which Ancelotti and Chelsea believe will aid his communication with the club's multi-national squad and their chances of success next season – language was a demand of the manager's role which Luiz Felipe Scolari, Hiddink's Brazilian predecessor, notably struggled with.
Ancelotti will employ his improved English for the first time tomorrow at Cobham, the club's Surrey training ground, when he speaks to all of his backroom staff for the first time as they finalize preparations for pre-season training, which starts officially on Monday.
The 50-year-old will hold his first formal briefing with the media that morning, which is to be conducted at Stamford Bridge rather than Cobham due to heightened interest in the appointment of what is Chelsea's fifth manager in the five years since Ancelotti's countryman Claudio Ranieri was sacked by Roman Abramovich.
Then, in the afternoon, the Chelsea players will return to the club for the first time, when they should embark upon a series of medical and fitness tests, and some ballwork.
Those who have recently been on international duty, including John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole – all were involved in England's World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra last month – are not due to return until 9 July. The club's African contingent – including the Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou – return later still.
One player who may not be there in time to hear Ancelotti's opening words to his new squad will be Yuri Zhirkov, the CSKA Moscow left-sided player who can operate in midfield or defence.
Zhirkov was due to travel to London earlier this week to complete his move and though he remained in the Russian capital there are not expected to be any problems with the 25-year-old's transfer after collecting his visa today. As he does not currently have an agent, negotiations are ongoing directly between the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, and the CSKA president, Evgeny Giner, who is a close friend of the billionaire, and it now seems likely the deal could be completed sometime next week.
The teenage striker Danny Sturridge, meanwhile, has signed a four-year deal from Manchester City following the outcome of a valuation tribunal.
Ancelotti will be expected to improve on the club's difficult campaign last season, which entered near crisis when Scolari lost sections of the dressing room and was let go in January, when Chelsea became acutely aware they might struggle to qualify for the Champions League.
That competition is firmly established as the club's holy grail and as Hiddink's final match in charge, before returning to his permanent role as Russia head coach, was to win the FA Cup, Ancelotti will be expected to improve on that by at least reaching the European Cup final and being competitive until the close of the Premier League season.
The Italian has spent the past few days enjoying a holiday, which he spent with his family, and attending to affairs at home, following a hectic few weeks since he was named as the successor to Guus Hiddink at the end of last season.
This period has included a recently completed spoken-English course, which Ancelotti and Chelsea believe will aid his communication with the club's multi-national squad and their chances of success next season – language was a demand of the manager's role which Luiz Felipe Scolari, Hiddink's Brazilian predecessor, notably struggled with.
Ancelotti will employ his improved English for the first time tomorrow at Cobham, the club's Surrey training ground, when he speaks to all of his backroom staff for the first time as they finalize preparations for pre-season training, which starts officially on Monday.
The 50-year-old will hold his first formal briefing with the media that morning, which is to be conducted at Stamford Bridge rather than Cobham due to heightened interest in the appointment of what is Chelsea's fifth manager in the five years since Ancelotti's countryman Claudio Ranieri was sacked by Roman Abramovich.
Then, in the afternoon, the Chelsea players will return to the club for the first time, when they should embark upon a series of medical and fitness tests, and some ballwork.
Those who have recently been on international duty, including John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole – all were involved in England's World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra last month – are not due to return until 9 July. The club's African contingent – including the Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou – return later still.
One player who may not be there in time to hear Ancelotti's opening words to his new squad will be Yuri Zhirkov, the CSKA Moscow left-sided player who can operate in midfield or defence.
Zhirkov was due to travel to London earlier this week to complete his move and though he remained in the Russian capital there are not expected to be any problems with the 25-year-old's transfer after collecting his visa today. As he does not currently have an agent, negotiations are ongoing directly between the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, and the CSKA president, Evgeny Giner, who is a close friend of the billionaire, and it now seems likely the deal could be completed sometime next week.
The teenage striker Danny Sturridge, meanwhile, has signed a four-year deal from Manchester City following the outcome of a valuation tribunal.
Ancelotti will be expected to improve on the club's difficult campaign last season, which entered near crisis when Scolari lost sections of the dressing room and was let go in January, when Chelsea became acutely aware they might struggle to qualify for the Champions League.
That competition is firmly established as the club's holy grail and as Hiddink's final match in charge, before returning to his permanent role as Russia head coach, was to win the FA Cup, Ancelotti will be expected to improve on that by at least reaching the European Cup final and being competitive until the close of the Premier League season.
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