Time is ripe for Makelele and Chelsea
Monday, April 21, 2008
Article summary
Disappointed after Chelsea FC's previous three UEFA Champions League semi-final appearances, veteran Claude Makelele insists "this time it can be different".
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Final hurdle
Having cantered through the group stage for the past five years, the west London outfit have always seemed primed for success, only to pull up before the final hurdle. AS Monaco FC beat them in 2003/04 but in their previous two last-four appearances Liverpool have been their undoing, prevailing on penalties last season having won by a solitary goal two years earlier. Makelele believes it is time for a change of fortune. "Chelsea must forget the years before," he said on the club's official website. "Last year Chelsea played very well but [having lost the first leg 1-0 at home] we needed two goals – this was the problem."
Competition record
Makelele knows a thing or two about UEFA Champions League semi-finals. The Liverpool tie will be the French international's eighth – extending his own competition record – and though he has only once been successful, the former Real Madrid CF midfielder believes he now knows the secret to victory. "We know some details must be different in this semi-final compared to the past," said the 35-year-old. "We must play like Liverpool have played and be strong physically and tactically – and keep out of trouble as well. The first game is in Liverpool and if we avoid conceding a goal there we will have a good chance at home."
Long wait
Makelele has been used sparingly in the Premier League this season but is ever-present in the UEFA Champions League and only ten players have made more appearances than him in the history of the competition. Yet it is a relative newcomer to European football's premier club competition, Liverpool's Fernando Torres, that many believe could prove the difference between the sides – but not Makelele. "We need to forget about Torres and Steven Gerrard and just think about Liverpool as a strong team – that is why those players are able to do well," said the Chelsea No4, who won the trophy with Madrid in 2001/02. "I keep saying to people that to go to this final would be amazing and we have been waiting a long time to get into the Champions League final." Perhaps the time is ripe for Chelsea and Makelele.
