After all the spending and speculation, tonight the serious business begins for Chelsea. In the unglamorous surrounds of northern Slovakia, an expensively assembled squad face their first competitive test. Claudio Ranieri said yesterday that he felt he was in charge of a new club, and the Italian will hope before this Champions League qualifier that his side's old habits in Europe have died.
Ranieri has seen Chelsea knocked out of the Uefa Cup by lowly opponents in the past three seasons but slipping up against MSK Zilina is unthinkable. Not so much because of the financial implications of failing to reach the group stage of the Champions League, which seemed so vital before Roman Abramovich, but because reputations and futures are more at stake than ever now that the Russian has found £75m of loose change for signings.
Zilina's tiny ground and the 2-hour coach journey that Chelsea took from Bratislava have given this trip a similar feel to those on which Ranieri's team have been embarrassed in the past. Yet the coach looks at Juan Sebastian Veron, Joe Cole, Damien Duff and other costly additions and senses he has moved on.
"I feel I am with a new club," he said. "And also for some players I am a new coach. This is a new Chelsea. The old Chelsea could only afford to sign one or two players. Now our life has changed."
Ranieri says it will take time to assimilate the recent arrivals but the players know they must shed their reputation as European under-achievers immediately. John Terry called this a chance to "quieten a few people down", aware that plenty of neutrals hope Chelsea fail after their summer spending. He intends to make up for defeats to St Gallen, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Viking.
"We've let the fans down, the club down and ourselves down," he said as he looked back on the past three European campaigns. "This time we're going to put it right and go on a good run in the Champions League. Everyone realises how important this game is."
Abramovich did not purchase Chelsea to see them in the Uefa Cup and this is the first of many high-pressure games for Ranieri. Asked whether some of his players might be nervous, he replied: "If they are nervous I should shoot myself." He was joking but there is a serious side to the idea that he has a gun to his head.
No one seriously believes Ranieri's job is at risk in this tie but, for all the coach's suggestions that patience is required, he will be judged quickly.
Terry said the players were determined not to let down the Italian. "I know and we all know that we owe the manager a lot," he explained. "He gave me my chance and has done a lot for the players here. If we can reward him with qualifying, it would be good for him and good for the players.
"The players want to do very well for Claudio. We all respect him as a manager and he's a very good coach as well. He deserves to stay at Chelsea. I know there's been a lot of speculation about Sven-Goran Eriksson but the manager's done superbly in the last three years to get us where we are with no money. Now he's got some money and hopefully he can take us that step further."
Terry added that Champions League experience was "vital" for his England chances and he is sure to play here because William Gallas is absent. How Ranieri will juggle his expanded resources is otherwise unclear, though "the tinkerman" has found an appropriate place to start. Zilina is famous for its tinkers and a history of the city's tinkering is in the local museum.
The striker Adrian Mutu is ineligible but Chelsea's other new signings are available. Ranieri hinted that Cole and Veron were unlikely to share centre ground this season, though he believes they can feature in the same midfield. He expects Zilina to pull everybody behind the ball and play on the break. But this is all about Chelsea.
Zilina (4-5-1, possible): Trabalik; Konecny, Zabavnik, Labant, Stas; Barcek, Strba, Sninsky, Bazik, Durica; Sabus.
Chelsea (4-4-2, possible): Cudicini; Melchiot, Terry, Desailly, Bridge; Geremi, Lampard, Veron, Duff; Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink.
