29 July,2009 09:36 AM IST | | AFP
As Carlo Ancelotti put Chelsea's stars through their paces for the first time, the Blues boss quickly realised the way to win over his new charges.
It would have been understandable if even a manager as experienced as Ancelotti felt a little nervous when he arrived at Chelsea's state of the art training complex in the leafy Surrey countryside in early July.
Just weeks earlier the Italian had left the comfort zone of AC Milan, a club that had consumed his life for the last eight years, to coach outside Italy for the first time.
As if that wasn't daunting enough, Ancelotti must also have observed with some trepidation how several of Chelsea's senior players played a key role in Luiz Felipe Scolari's abrupt exit last season.
If a World Cup winner like Scolari could be treated with disdain, then even Ancelotti's credentials at Milan may not impress a squad still entranced by the magic of Jose Mourinho.
But it took Ancelotti just a few minutes of his first training session to understand that the way to the hearts of his new squad was to make them work and then more work some more.
Whereas Scolari's laidback regime infuriated players used to Mourinho's rigorous training, Ancelotti is schooled in the techniques of his former club's famous Milan Lab.
Milan's army of sports scientists and fitness gurus had helped extend the careers of, among others, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Clarence Seedorf and Alessandro Nesta well into their 30s.
For Maldini and company in Milan, read Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Nicolas Anelka in west London.
Just like his days at the San Siro, Ancelotti has found a group of players growing long in the tooth but still with a ferocious desire to succeed.
They are committed to sweating for the cause and Ancelotti intends to use the lessons learned in Italy to ensure they stay at the top for several years yet.
"I found a very good team with quality and a very good mental attitude to the job," he said. "They work and concentrate very hard. I like it and it is a surprise because I didn't expect to find it. I am very happy because teamwork is the most important thing to win.
"The training is very hard. Here the players run very hard. I will try to know them better."
All that hard work will count for nothing if Chelsea don't end Abramovich's quest to make his club champions of Europe.
After losing in the semi-final or final of the Champions League five times in the last six seasons, Europe's elite club competition has developed into something of an obsession for Chelsea.
Ancelotti's pedigree in Europe - he won the Champions League twice as Milan coach in 2003 and 2007 - convinced Abramovich that he was the man to continue Guus Hiddink's successful regeneration of a squad in danger of collapsing under the weight of too many egos last season.
However, Milan's lacklustre record during Ancelotti's last two seasons suggests Abramovich has taken something of a gamble giving the job to the 50-year-old.
Ancelotti must hope Abramovich remains in his corner if results are slow to come.
The Russian has gone through three managers since Mourinho left in September 2007, but his hands-on approach to persuading John Terry to snub Manchester City's big money offer is an indication that the tycoon is fully behind his new manager.
The emergence of City and Real Madrid as the close-season's transfer super-powers has made it harder than usual for Chelsea to corner the market in big spending.
But Daniel Sturridge, an England Youth striker snatched from City, and Russia midfielder Yuri Zhirkov have already made impressive contributions on the club's pre-season tour of America.
