Ranieri still in Blues' corner
Former manager Claudio Ranieri has stoked the flames ahead of this weekend’s titanic Barclays Premiership clash with Arsenal by backing Chelsea to pull off a stunning double.
Ranieri, who led the London club to the runner’s-up spot last year domestically and a semi-final place in the Champions League, believes they can go further this time around and claim English and European crowns.
The Italian, now in charge of reigning Spanish champions Valencia, said the combination of their European successes last season – including a 2-1 win at Highbury to oust the Gunners – and new boss Jose Mourinho’s achievement in winning the Champions League with Porto can lead them to great glory.
“Chelsea must be one of the favourites for the Champions League because Mourinho has won it before and my players had a good experience last year,” Ranieri told the Evening Standard.
“It’s possible for them to win the Champions League and the Premiership, why not?
“Chelsea are very strong. We did a very good job last year putting the foundations in place and they’re continuing to progress.
“I believe they will win the Premiership this season. I’ve never gambled in my life but if you told me to go to the bookmakers I’d gamble on Chelsea.
“I think football is cyclical. There was the Manchester United cycle, the Arsenal cycle and the Chelsea cycle is coming.”
Chelsea are five points clear at the Premiership summit and finished top of their Champions League group.
Last season Arsenal’s unprecedented supremacy left the rest trailing but Ranieri does know how to beat Arsene Wenger’s team, having achieved the feat in that European quarter-final.
“We knew very well that Arsenal had three top, top players – Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires – and we had to stop them playing,” Ranieri added.
“I wanted to fight with them face to face, not sit back and wait to see what was going to happen.
“You have to play football against Arsenal – if you sit back and defend they will punish you.
“I knew we’d beat them sooner or later and when I saw the Champions League draw I thought this could be the moment.
“When they beat us in the league I told Roman Abramovich that the moment would come and eventually I was right.”
