ROBERTO DI MATTEO wants to become the new Tom Cruise and achieve his very own Mission Impossible.
By MARK IRWIN
The Chelsea boss is bidding to become the first manager in the competition’s history to win back-to-back Champions League finals.
But he admits the odds are stacked against him as the Blues kick off their title defence against runaway Serie A winners Juventus tonight.
Di Matteo claimed: “The Champions League has proved impossible for anybody to win twice in a row but we will try to do the impossible.
“The competition is fierce and every season strong new teams come into the tournament, like Paris St Germain and Juventus.
“We have three national champions in our group and the competition this year is probably even stronger than last season.
“Sir Alex Ferguson said you have to win the Champions League two or three times to be remembered as a great team.
“I’m not sure how many times you have to win it to be remembered but I always have respect for what Sir Alex has to say.
“Juventus are a very strong team. They had a fantastic unbeaten run throughout Serie A last season and they have quality, experienced and dynamic players in their team.
“They are probably one of the most difficult teams you could be drawn against at this stage of the Champions League.
“For now, the objective is to progress from the group stages.
“But the hope is to win the trophy again.” Since beating Bayern Munich on penalties in the Germans’ own backyard, Chelsea have spent £80million in the transfer market to rejuvenate an ageing squad with the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Cesar Azpilicueta and Victor Moses.
And Di Matteo insists that overhaul would have been impossible had Chelsea failed to win last season’s final, just days after finishing sixth in the Premier League.
He added: “It would have been very difficult to attract players like Hazard and Oscar if we were not in the Champions League this season because they want to be involved in the biggest competition in the world.
“Winning the Champions League was never about myself getting a new contact. It was about being involved in the tournament again and having the opportunity to defend the title.
“Every season at Chelsea there are new challenges. A club like ours will always try to win trophies and be successful.
“It’s not about looking back at what you have achieved. That is done and dusted.
“We are trying to live in the present and in the future.”
Di Matteo warns that every opponent in Europe this season will have extra motivation to beat the defending champions and admits his team got a rude awakening when they were hammered 4-1 by Atletico Madrid in last month’s Super Cup final.
He said: “Our start in Monaco was very slow and when you are playing against the big teams you need to be in the game right from the kick-off or you will get punished. But when you are in a big club like Chelsea there is always pressure to win more trophies.”
Skipper John Terry has been passed fit for tonight’s game after jarring a knee in Saturday’s goalless draw at QPR.
And Fernando Torres will keep his place up front despite throwing a hissy fit after being substituted at Loftus Road.
Di Matteo said: “There’s no problem with Fernando. I made the change to try to alter the dynamic of the game.”
Yet Chelsea’s achievements last season did not impress Juve skipper Gianluigi Buffon.
The Italy keeper, who saved from Ashley Cole during England’s penalty shootout defeat at Euro 2012, said: “When Chelsea were expecting to win the Champions League in the past they always failed.
“But when they started to struggle and their star was fading, that’s when they actually win it.
“That is what is so beautiful about football. The one who is considered the strongest doesn’t always win.”
