Chelsea driven on by pain of previous near-misses

Chelsea driven on by pain of previous near-misses Frank Lampard and John Terry said that Chelsea’s successive failures in the Champions League have made them even more desperate for success in Wednesday’s final against Manchester United.

Chelsea went out at the semi-final stage three times in four seasons, once on penalties, and also lost in the last 16 to Barcelona. For Lampard, it is not enough just to have reached the final at last.

“We’ve achieved a lot and been very close many times and every year we missed out made us more hungry,” the midfielder told a news conference on Tuesday.

“But we know that a losing finalist is pretty much forgotten in the history stakes.”

Terry, sitting almost within touching distance of the magnificent silver trophy that will be up for grabs on Wednesday, voiced similar sentiments.

“When you look at the trophy, it’s something we’ve worked hard for over the last four or five years to do really well in but haven’t succeeded in getting this far, and the big prize is that trophy there.

“We have come close and the disappointments have been hard to take over the years but finally we are here, we have a fully fit team and we want to make the most of it,” added the captain.

Terry will play with a special support after he suffered a partial dislocation of his shoulder in Chelsea’s final league game on May 11.

“It’s awesome, the biggest game I’ve been involved in and I just want to get my hands on the trophy,” he said.

Lampard dismissed the latest round of speculation about his future, with a club spokesman also chipping in to say there had been no contact from AC Milan, and said he felt very much a part of the club.

“I’m very happy at Chelsea and the club and I have both said we want to talk about the contract in the summer but my mind is completely on this,” he said.

“Tomorrow is going to be a defining moment for a lot of the players in our team. We’ve got some players who have already won the Champions League and a lot who haven’t, including me.

“But it’s not about me. My defining moment will be if I can be among my team mates and the squad and the staff lifting the cup.”

Chelsea’s Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has remained in the background during the build-up to the game but Lampard agreed it would be fitting if the club’s finest hour took place in Russia’s capital.

“For the owner, who gave us the chance to be here, it’s nice touch that we are in Moscow,” said Lampard. “But when the players go on the pitch there will be no sentiment.”

Photo: Chelsea's Frank Lampard stretches during a training session at
the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.