Chelsea will not miss Didier Drogba
Drogba scored his 19th goal of the season against Fulham
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti insists his side can cope without top scorer Didier Drogba in the next few weeks.
The striker is on international duty with Ivory Coast for the African Cup of Nations, along with Salomon Kalou, Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel.
Ancelotti said: “Didier has scored 19 goals but without him, this year, we’ve done very well.
“We won three games in the Champions League without him. We can do the same in the Premier League.”
Both Drogba and Kalou were given special dispensation to delay their flights to Angola, the country hosting the Cup of Nations, to play against Fulham on Monday.
Fifa regulations state the duo should have been released for international duty on 27 December but, along with midfielder John Mikel Obi, were allowed to leave two days past the deadline.
Drogba underlined his importance to Chelsea’s cause when he notched his 14th Premier League goal of the season in the 2-1 victory over Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
However, Ancelotti is confident he has enough depth in his squad to cover
“In some matches we can change the system,” said the Italian, who is also without striker Nicolas Anelka because of a muscle problem.
“We’ve played the diamond in every match but we can use our wingers in some matches. Florent Malouda or Daniel Sturridge can play. It depends on the match.”
Monday’s victory was only Chelsea’s second in eight matches as they extended their lead over second-placed Manchester United to five points.
“It was not a good December for us but that month is finished and now we look forward to January,” added Ancelotti.
“We can do better and maintain our position at the top of the table.”
Source: English Premier League Football Club, Chelsea news, Soccer Sport news at BBC Sport.
John Terry – Chelsea’s Captain / Defender
John George Terry (born 7 December 1980 in Barking, Greater London) is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League. Terry is also captain of the England national football team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John George Terry | ||
| Date of birth | 7 December 1980 (1980-12-07) (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | London, England | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)Chelsea_FC_profile_0-0″>[1] | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Chelsea | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
Career Overview
Terry was voted best defender in the UEFA Champions League in both 2005[2] and 2008, the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2005,[3] and was included in the FIFPro World XI for four consecutive seasons, from 2005 to 2008.[4][5][6][7] He was also named in the all-star squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the only English player to make the team.[8] He wears the number 26 shirt for Chelsea.
In 2007, he became the first captain to lift the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester United, and also the first player to score a full international goal there, scoring a header in England’s 1-1 draw with Brazil.[9] However, the 2007-08 season saw Terry and Chelsea miss out on three trophies, losing the League Cup Final to Tottenham Hotspur and Premier League and UEFA Champions League to Manchester United with Terry missing a penalty in the Champions League final shootout, sending it to sudden death. Had he scored, the European Cup would have been secured for Chelsea.[10] After the final in Moscow, teammate Frank Lampard described Terry as “a man’s man”.
Source: English Premier League Football Club, Chelsea F.C. Captain, Chelsea F.C. Defender, John Terry information at wikipedia.org.
Carlo Ancelotti – Chelsea’s Manager
Carlo Ancelotti (born June 10, 1959 in Reggiolo) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of the English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C.
At Chelsea F.C.
Ancelotti announced his resignation from Milan less than an hour following their 2-0 victory over ACF Fiorentina on May 31, 2009, after the club terminated his contract by mutual consent with one year remaining. The next day, he was confirmed as the new Chelsea manager after agreeing to a three-year, £9-million contract.[3] Ancelotti, succeeding temporary replacement Guus Hiddink, became the club’s fifth manager in 21 months, following Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Hiddink. He is the third Chelsea manager hailing from Italy, after Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri.
On the 3rd July 2009, Ancelotti made his first outfield signing as manager of the club in the shape of promising English striker Daniel Sturridge. Ancelotti scooped his first trophy, the Community Shield, after beating Manchester United on penalties. His first Premier League game in charge of the Blues ended in a 2-1 home victory over Hull City on the 15th August 2009. His second victory came away to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on the 19th August. They produced a blistering second half display after falling behind, Ballack, Lampard and Deco on the scoresheet. Ancelotti maintained his 100% start as Chelsea manager on Sunday 23 August 2009, with a 2-0 win over London neighbours Fulham at Craven Cottage. On September 21 Ancelotti won his second London derby, and first at home, 3-0 against high flying Tottenham Hotspur. A.Cole, Ballack and Drogba netting the goals, Drogba with his 99th for Chelsea. On the 26th of September Chelsea lost their first game under the management of Carlo Ancelotti at the DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic, losing 3-1 after the sending off of Petr Cech. The game also marked Didier Drogba’s 100th Chelsea goal. On October 4, Ancelotti won his first Premier League game against one of the Premier League’s “Big Four.” It was at the expense of Liverpool at Stamford Bridge where Nicolas Anelka netted in the 60th minute and substitute Florent Malouda scored in stoppage time. On October 17, Ancelotti’s Chelsea lost to Aston Villa, losing 1-2 away from home. It was his second loss after taking over at Chelsea and a second straight away defeat in the current Premier league season. On October 21, Ancelotti’s Chelsea got back on track with a 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid. In a game where an own goal, a Salomon Kalou brace and a Lampard goal were scored. On October 24, Ancelotti’s Chelsea bounced back from defeat to Aston Villa to demolish Blackburn 5-0 in what was the best performance by Chelsea this season. Joe Cole returned to side and had a great presence in the game. On November 8, Chelsea played Manchester United for the first time in the league under Ancelotti and went on to win 1-0 thanks to a headed effort by John Terry.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | June 10, 1959 (1959-06-10) (age 50) | ||
| Place of birth | Reggio, italy | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Chelsea (manager) | ||
Source: English Premier League Football Club, Chelsea F.C., Carlo Ancelotti, Manager information at wikipedia.org.
Roman Abramovich – Chelsea’s Owner
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (Russian: ?????? ??????????? ??????????, pronounced [r??man ?r?kad??v??t? ?br??mov??t?]; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian billionaire and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC. According to Forbes magazine, as of 11 March 2009, he had a net worth of US$8.5 billion, ranking him as the 51st richest person in the world.[2] Prior to the financial crisis, he was considered to be the second richest person living within the United Kingdom.[3] Early in 2009, The Times estimated that due to the global economic crisis he has lost £3 billion from his £11.7 billion wealth.[4]
In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He is known outside Russia as the owner of Chelsea Football Club, an English Premier League football team, and for his wider involvement in European football.
Source: English Premier League, Chelsea F.C., Roman Abramovich information at wikipedia.org.
Petr Cech – Chelsea’s Goalkeeper
Petr ?ech (born 20 May 1982 in Plze?, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic) is a Czech international football goalkeeper who is currently contracted to English Premier League football club Chelsea, for whom he has played since July 2004. Petr ?ech has previously played for Viktoria Plze?, Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals.[1] ?ech also received the individual award of Best Goalkeeper in the 2004/2005, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 seasons of the UEFA Champions League. In addition, he was named in the FIFPro and UEFA Champions League teams of the season in 2006.
He currently holds one record: a Czech professional league record of not conceding a goal in 855 competitive minutes (he previously held a record for the most clean sheets accomplished in a single Premier League season (25), set during Chelsea’s 2004–05 title-winning campaign). He also has a club record at his former team Sparta Praha, having gone 928 minutes unbeaten in all competitions in 2001–2002, when his unbeaten run in Czech league competition was combined with his performances in the UEFA Champions League. During the 2004–05 season, ?ech went 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal – a former Premier League record until Edwin van der Sar of Manchester United broke it on 27 January 2009.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 May 1982 (1982-05-20) (age 27) | ||
| Place of birth | Plze?, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Chelsea | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
Source: English Premier League Football Club, Chelsea F.C., Goalkeeper, Petr Cech information at wikipedia.org.