Claudio Ranieri - Proud Man Walking

If anything surprised me at all, it was the number of people who had come out on a hot August afternoon to watch a friendly. There were over twenty thousand spectators in the stands. On the other hand, there were two factors at work here: the huge support given by Chelsea supporters anywhere and everywhere, which I was already familiar with, and the interest in our team shown by football fans generally, which I was coming to appreciate.

Three days later, and we had another friendly at Watford. Another win, and in terms of the scoreline an even more convincing one since we put four past them: Forssell, Hasselbaink, an own goal, and, finally, Duff. The boys were understandably a little tired after the work we had been doing, having trained twice the day before, morning and afternoon, but generally speaking their physical condition was very good, and the squad was taking shape as I wanted – indeed as we had all hoped, me and my staff, and the management. One particularly important aspect of the game against Watford was that we had Manu Petit back too, after the operation he underwent during the summer. Here is a player few can match for character, and for his influence on the field. He has won so much in his career, always leading from the front, and I know that if he stays fit, if I make the best use of him physically and psychologically, he can make a difference to this team. He only came on for 20 minutes to replace Lampard, but it was a significant return nonetheless.

For me and for the team, all this was a stimulus to be converted into success. For the press, it was a pressure situation. Pressure? Pressure is what I had at the start of my career with Campania Puteolana, when there was not enough money to pay wages, and unsavoury-looking types would be seen hovering around the ground. Pressure is something the Italian press know how to generate, when thirty or so journalists from newspapers, radio, commercial and network TV turn up at the training ground every day. When the fans are heavily opposed to what you are doing. When you are expected to get results while your club chairman is selling players instead of buying them. All this is pressure, but there is no pressure in having a team full of medal winners at your disposal and a chairman like Roman Abramovich who (on the basis of everything that had happened so far, obviously) always had a positive attitude and continued to bring in fabulous players. In any event, I knew well enough that a good start was needed, especially if we were to avoid idle rumours springing up from outside. And a good start meant doing well in our first two away games: the Champions League qualifying round, and the opening Premiership fixture at Anfield.

We knew our objectives, the difficulties we would face in pursuing them, and how we intended to go about things. We knew all our Premiership opponents. What we did not know yet was who we would be facing in our first Champions League fixture. So, because I prefer to leave nothing – but nothing – to chance, the next day I went over to Budapest to watch the match between Zilina and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Israelis had more to their game, but allowed their opponents too much space. The Slovaks were better organized and quick on the counterattack. The fixture was being played at a neutral venue and this probably helped Zilina, who in securing a draw were the surprise winners of the tie. So now we knew who our opponents would be. For my part, and with all due respect, I had seen enough to know that if we avoided doing anything silly we would go through to the group stages. This was the same day that the signings of Joe Cole and Seba Veron were announced. Could I sleep more easily now?

More training, and then I was off on another trip. That Saturday, Liverpool were entertaining Valencia, and for me this was an occasion not to be missed. The excuse – a perfect one – was to take a look at the Reds, who we would be playing the week afterwards in the first fixture of the new Premiership season. In reality I was killing two birds with one stone, as they say, since it was also a chance to see my former club Valencia again. Ah yes, the best wish I can make for myself is that when looking back some day, the memories of my time in London will be as happy as those of the time spent at the Mestalla Stadium. The Valencia job was something that happened almost by chance, when I rather set off into the unknown to replace Jorge Valdano, who had been sacked (and who now, of course, is general manager at Real Madrid and one of the most influential men in football). It turned out to be one of the most wonderful experiences of my career, and of my life. The club, but more especially the people of Valencia, captured my heart. Life can be magically unpredictable and irrational, but for whatever reason, they took to me straight away (and perhaps it was fate that led me to return to them). True enough, we won only a Spanish Cup while I was there for my first spell, but for a footballing town that had won nothing for so long, it was a significant success. I initiated the policy of loaning young players out to pick up experience in the lower divisions, just as I ended up doing at Chelsea. I did this, for example, with youngsters like Albelda, Gerard and Curro Torres, who were to return a few years later as key components of the subsequent La Liga-winning side. They appreciated at Valencia that I had laid the foundations for a new era at the club, and I have always regretted not having stayed longer the first time to reap what I had sown. I left because of a misunderstanding with the club. I had the feeling that Valencia did not want to invest in the squad. To win a La Liga title, two or three more players were needed to make the step up in quality, and at that particular time the club could not spend.

And so I found myself going to Atletico Madrid. This was a difficult experience as Atletico had hit a sticky patch at the time, but there were absolutely no regrets as I enjoyed working with the colourful and eccentric Jesus Gil and his family, even if I never finished the job I went there to do. As far as Valencia is concerned, perhaps in a certain sense I was happy to have been wrong, because they went on to some great achievements, winning a La Liga title and a Spanish Super Cup, and have appeared in no less than two Champions League finals, and as a supporter of theirs I was delighted. I am sure there are many in Valencia who support Chelsea too.

I was able to meet up again at the Liverpool game with, among others, Dr Jorge Candel, who is not only one of the best doctors I have ever come across in my career but also a wonderful person, and with Amedeo Carboni, a player who should be an example for any professional to follow. He’s nearing 40 now, but has always been one of the best defenders in the game and is absolutely indispensable. Not only on the field but, as the saying goes, for his influence in the dressing room as well. Off the pitch, he is surrounded by marvellous women – no lie, this, because besides having a special partner in his wife Giacinta, he can also boast four adorable daughters!

Valencia won the match against Liverpool 2 – 0, and I was happy for a number of reasons. Among other things, I received a splendid piece of news the same day. We had completed our purchase of Adrian Mutu from Parma. Maybe Adrian was not particularly well known in England at the time, but in Italy people were well aware of his worth. In my eyes, he was just the man we needed: a forward, though without being an out-and-out striker. I was looking for a fast and tough player who would never stand still; a player with superior ability to score goals, but equally, one who knows how to deliver the final pass. He had all these qualities, what we in Italy call a ‘second striker’. He had just had a good year with Parma, for whom he also scored plenty of goals, but now we were offering him the chance to make a big leap in quality with us. We paid a lot for him, almost £16 million, but I know he was also worth a lot. A thought occurred to me on the way back to London. We were in Italy when Glen Johnson was signed. I was on a flight to Malaysia when they told me that the negotiations with Duff and Bridge had been concluded. I was in Budapest to watch the Zilina game when Veron and Cole were brought in, and now here I was at Liverpool when the Mutu signing was agreed. And remembering that I had received a call in France, on my way from Rome to London, telling me that Chelsea Football Club had been bought by Abramovich, I can only come to the conclusion that I ought to travel much more in this life!