Mourinho's good vibe fills Chelsea

Tuesday, 3 April 2007
by Trevor Haylettfrom London
Chelsea FC return to the UEFA Champions League - the pinnacle of their quest to win an unprecedented four trophies this season - with José Mourinho insisting that even if they fall short in all three remaining competitions, he will still finish the campaign a contented manager.
'Good feeling'"We can win more things but even if we don't, it will be the kind of season where at the end of it I will only have good words for my players. And only a good feeling about my commitment, what I gave and what I did to try and help my team to success," said the Portuguese, who already has the English League Cup under lock and key, ahead of Wednesday's quarter-final first leg against Valencia CF. "In that respect we can all sleep soundly knowing we are giving everything. The problem comes when people think you could do more, or you've slept on what we did or achieved before, but that is not the case."
FavouritesChelsea are the only side in the last eight who have not appeared in a European Champion Clubs' Cup final, something which has not dissuaded the bookmakers from installing them as favourites to hold the prized silverware aloft in Athens on 23 May. That glamour date is still some way ahead and Mourinho does not expect an easy ride against the Spanish visitors at Stamford Bridge. "Valencia are a team that play very well and who like to play good football," he warned. "They have a lot of solutions and a lot of good attacking players. They have speed down the sides and experience at the back. Their midfield players are very strong defensively."
Robben outArjen Robben - who did so much to tilt the balance of the last-16 return match against FC Porto back in Chelsea's favour - has followed Michael Essien on to the absentee list after knee surgery. But Joe Cole is almost ready to return and could have a substitute's role in London. Neither team really impressed at the weekend. Chelsea, who are also in the FA Cup semi-finals, needed an injury-time goal to defeat bottom club Watford FC and remain six points behind Premiership leaders Manchester United FC. Valencia also endured some difficult moments before overcoming RCD Espanyol 3-2 to remain fourth in the Primera División.Two suspendedWith David Navarro and Carlos Marchena suspended and leading scorer Fernando Morientes joining Rubén Baraja and Edu among those missing out through injury, Quique Sánchez Flores's options are considerably reduced. The Valencia coach believes two sides of similar strengths and styles will be battling it out for a place in the semi-finals. "There is going to be a lot of play in the middle of the park, and when there are two similar teams like this they do tend to cancel each other out," Flores said. "Normally a game like this will be decided on one key incident or a couple of chances here or there. If we could score everyone on our bench would be delighted - it would be a major step forward for us in the tie."
Probable teams Chelsea: Petr Čech; Lassana Diarra, Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Ashley Cole; Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Shaun Wright-Phillips; Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko. Valencia: Santiago Cañizares; Luis Miguel, Roberto Ayala, Emiliano Moretti, Asier del Horno; Miguel Ángel Angulo, Raúl Albiol, David Albeda, David Silva; Vicente Rodríguez; David Villa.
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