It could turn ugly but Ashley Cole will be happy so long as he finally wins

 
16 May 2012

Ashley Cole will have no remorse if Chelsea win the Champions League playing ugly.

The Blues go into the final against Bayern Munich at the German club’s Allianz Arena as heavy underdogs despite knocking out last year’s winners, Barcelona, in the semi-final.

Chelsea were criticised in many quarters for their style of play against the Spaniards as they defended for the majority of the tie — Barcelona had more than 70 per cent possession in each match — and relied on hitting their rivals on the counter attack.

Interim first-team coach Roberto di Matteo is expected to use the same tactics on Saturday, especially as he is without John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires through suspension.

But Cole is adamant that lifting the cup for the first time in the club’s history is all that matters.

“Football is about winning games and if we have to do it ugly, you do it ugly,” said the left-back. “Football is about winning trophies.

“Do fans want to see a great footballing team or someone who is picking up trophies playing ugly? For me I’d rather play ugly and win every trophy you can. I think I can say that about all the players here.

“You have to give us credit [for the win over Barcelona].

“Of course, we rode our luck at times but not many teams can beat Barcelona.

“We had a great game plan and credit must go to the coaching staff who studied their game.”

Cole has been a Champions League runner-up twice, firstly as part of the Arsenal team that lost 2-1 against Barcelona in 2006 and then with Chelsea when they were beaten on penalties by Manchester United two years later.

He is determined to come out on top this time and said: “When you’re walking out before the final and you’re actually walking past the trophy and you think you’re just 90 minutes away from lifting that, it’s a great feeling.

“I’ve been one penalty away from lifting it. It is hard to take knowing I’ve been so close twice. Hopefully, it will be third time lucky for me.”

Meanwhile, veteran defender Paulo Ferreira has told Di Matteo he is ready to help ease the club’s defensive crisis.

Chelsea could be without Gary Cahill and David Luiz, as well as Terry and Ivanovic, because the duo are struggling to return to fitness after hamstring injuries.

Ferreira, who won the competition with Porto in 2004, has played just nine games for the club this term. He is expected to leave in the summer after spending eight years at Stamford Bridge but would love to come to his team’s aid one more time.

The 33-year-old said: “I hope so [to play in the final]. It will be wonderful for me because it will be my second one.

“For most of the players that have been here for a long time and the new ones, we deserve [to win] it for what we have been doing for the last years.

“I try to give my best every time the manager needs me to play. In training I try to be as professional as I can because it is important to be ready if the manager needs me. That is what I’ve done this season and I’m happy for the chance to play a few games and now, let’s finish well.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in