Melchiot's uefa.com inquisition

Chelsea FC's Dutch defender Mario Melchiot was in the uefa.com chat room on UEFA Champions League Matchday 5 for the third in a series of Talk Football Expert Chats, presented by MasterCard.

Ajax debut
Born in 1976, Melchiot joined AFC Ajax as a youth and made his debut for the Amsterdam club in August 1996. Melchiot went on to make 23 Eredivisie appearances that season, and nine in the Champions League, scoring once. The following season he played a significant part as Ajax won the league and the Dutch Cup, a trophy they retained in 1999.

Chelsea move
The cup success marked the end of Melchiot's stay at Ajax with Chelsea FC securing his signature on a free transfer after the player had made no secret of his desire to move to the Premiership. Melchiot's first season ended with an FA Cup winners' medal and he began the 2000/01 season by scoring in the FA Charity Shield victory over Manchester United FC.

Recent form
Melchiot was a virtual ever-present last season, playing in 34 of Chelsea's 38 league matches as they pipped Liverpool FC to fourth position and a Champions League place. This season, Melchiot has continued to make his mark, scoring Chelsea's winning goal away against Southampton FC on Saturday.

Big matches
Melchiot's fans were eager to know what he thought of Chelsea's prospects this season. Answering Maltese's question about the atmosphere at Chelsea ahead of a crucial game against Manchester United FC, Melchiot said: "They're the champions so we give them a lot of respect. This is a vital match if we want to win something this season and I think we're ready." Looking ahead to another important game - Chelsea's Champions League Matchday 6 encounter with Besiktas JK - Melchiot said: "It's going to be an important game for them. We will play for pride and to win the group."

Premiership hopes
Upbeat about Chelsea's future this season, Melchiot hinted his team could win the English Premiership and praised all involved in Chelsea's campaign so far: "We have a lot of players and the influence of the old players is important too. It's the whole group that deserves the credit." Michael compared Chelsea to Real Madrid CF, to which Melchiot answered: "I don't want to compare us to Real Madrid, but I like the comparison. We need to win some trophies first."

Henry vote
Melchiot's favourites to win UEFA EURO 2004™ include England, if they play well, the Netherlands, for whom he would of course love to play, and France. Asked about his footballing tastes, he told Nafta_fan the player he admired most as a child was: "Maradona - he was the only one who made my heart race. I'm never scared of playing against anybody, but I would have been scared of him."

Favourite players
Fowler asked Melchiot who the best player he had played with and against were. The Dutchman answered: "[Gianfranco] Zola, he's a good man with so much quality. An unbelievable person. Against, it has to be Ryan Giggs." The_Moonwalker asked about Adrian Mutu: "He's a very, very good player and I really enjoy his company too," replied Melchiot.

Impact of football
Finally, asked whether football and fame have changed his life, Melchiot told Root: "Football changed my life because people recognise me. Financially you go forward too. I'm really happy with the way it's gone." But asked whether he would like to become a coach when his career as a player is over, his quick response was: "Hell no! I want to sit on the beach with a big cigar."