Soccer: Mourinho eyes Chelsea
'Won't say' why he dropped Balotelli
16 March, 13:33
(ANSA) - London, March 16 - Jose' Mourinho says he's glad to
be back on the Inter bench for Tuesday's Champions League last
16 second leg against former club Chelsea where the Nerazzurri
are looking to defend a 2-1 lead."I'll give all I can to influence the team," said the Portuguese coach, who has served out a three-match touchline ban for insulting gestures in a Serie A game against Genoa last month.
"I've viewed and re-viewed the video of the first leg seven times, stopping and even fast-forwarding to get the best idea of how to approach this 'little final'," he said.
Asked how he felt about returning to Stamford Bridge where he won two Premier League titles and England's top cup competitions as well as reaching two Champions League semi-finals, he said: "I've met a lot of old friends, and I was happy to see them".
"But don't confuse my emotional state with my will to win," he warned reporters.
"It would be really special for me to knock out Chelsea and take Inter beyond the barrier of the quarter-finals where it has always fallen in recent years".
Mourinho was handpicked by Inter Chairman Massimo Moratti two years ago to replace Roberto Mancini and deliver Inter's first European crown since the mid-1960s.
Asked about the formation, Mourinho refused to say whether Samuel Eto'o or Goran Pandev would partner Diego Milito up front.
And he dodged questions about why Mario Balotelli had been left out of the squad.
"He won't play, that's it. I'm not going to talk about him," he said.
Italian media have speculated about a possible row between the pair over Balotelli's commitment to training and even about a possible quip the teen striker made about the recent recovery by Inter's cross-city rivals AC Milan.
AC have closed to within a point of the Serie A leaders as Inter have notched up four draws and a loss in their recent games.
Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti says he's confident of reversing the first leg defeat.
"We're in good form," said the Italian coach, who is as sparing with words as his Portuguese colleague is loquacious.
Chelsea needs a 1-0 win to go through. Pundits say an early goal for the Blues might prompt Inter to expose itself to counter-attacks.
The match is expected to hinge on the early impact of Chelsea's attacking trio of Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka on Italy's formidable defence of Maicon, Lucio, Ivan Cordoba and Walter 'the Wall' Samuel.
