TheDailySoccerNews.com

Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and John Terry have been ruled out of England’s opening Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland with injuries.

After the 2-0 win over Stoke, Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti said Lampard will have a hernia operation next week.

And a Chelsea statement later revealed Terry is out due to problems with his right hamstring and glute muscles.

Bobby Zamora and Peter Crouch are doubts for the games next Friday, 3 September, and Tuesday, 7 September.

But the absence of key Chelsea pair Lampard and Terry will trouble England boss Fabio Capello more ahead of the matches against Bulgaria at Wembley and in Basel, the team’s first competitive action since their 4-1 defeat by Germany in the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup. (continue reading…)

Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou both scored twice as Chelsea thrashed Wigan.

Florent Malouda gave Chelsea the lead when he tapped in after Frank Lampard’s deft flick was saved by Chris Kirkland.

Anelka added a second shortly after the break when he fired in from inside the area and then nodded in his second before Kalou slotted in his first goal.

Didier Drogba then crossed for Kalou to head in his second and Yossi Benayoun rounded off the scoring as Wigan conceded their 10th goal in two games.

Although the scoreline was emphatic, for the first half-an-hour Wigan’s simple gameplan of beating Chelsea to the first ball had frustrated the visitors who had won their opening league game 6-0 against West Brom.
Had Wigan possessed Chelsea’s confidence in attack then nobody would have begrudged them taking an early lead.

Unfortunately, Roberto Martinez’s side lacked invention in and around the area, and their best efforts on goal during that early period came from distance and Hugo Rodallega’s traction engine of a foot. (continue reading…)

Didier Drogba threw down the gauntlet to title rivals Manchester United last night as his hat-trick helped Chelsea to a 6-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge.

Florent Malouda also scored twice as the champions picked up where they left off last season to record the biggest opening-day win of the Premier League era.

Chelsea, who broke the 100-goal barrier last term, also had Frank Lampard on the scoresheet and have now scored an incredible 29 goals in their past five home games.

‘I want to score a lot of goals and make history,’ said Golden Boot holder Drogba, who claims he feels fitter than ever after summer hernia surgery. ‘We had a difficult preseason but this was a good start and everything is perfect at the club.’

Chelsea lost four of their five recent friendlies but after swatting aside newly promoted Albion are hungry to show they can improve on last term’s Double success.

And manager Carlo Ancelotti kept everyone grounded, describing the win as ‘nothing special’ and promising to improve a lot as his World Cup players return to fitness.

‘This team can show this kind of play, scoring a lot of goals. We had a difficult pre-season, but now everything has come back to be OK. (continue reading…)

Portuguese club Benfica say they have agreed an £18m deal to sell Brazil international midfielder Ramires to Premier League champions Chelsea.

The deal is subject to the 23-year-old - who has won 16 caps for Brazil - passing a medical at Stamford Bridge.

Ramires joined the Portuguese giants last summer for £6.2m from Cruzeiro.

He will become the second player to join Carlo Ancelotti’s squad this summer following the arrival of Yossi Benayoun from Liverpool.

Benfica say the deal amounts to 22m euros, which equates to about £18.2m at current exchange rates.

Ramires, whose full name is Ramires Santos do Nascimento, was praised by Brazil boss Dunga after strong displays in the opening stage of the World Cup in South Africa. (continue reading…)

Chelsea have confirmed that Joe Cole and Michael Ballack are to leave the club on free transfers this summer.

Cole, 28, will depart at the start of July after the Premier League champions reportedly said they would not offer the England midfielder a fresh deal.

Germany midfielder Ballack, 33, who has been with Chelsea since 2006, will also not have his contract renewed.

Chelsea also said right-back Juliano Belletti will be leaving when his deal expires at the end of this month.

Cole joined Chelsea from West Ham for £6.6m in 2003 and is in South Africa preparing for the World Cup.
His departure from Stamford Bridge will surprise many as he is expected to play an important role for England manager Fabio Capello in South Africa.

“We would like to thank him for his dedicated years of service and wish him well in his future career,” read a Chelsea statement.

He struggled to hold down a starting berth in the Chelsea team during the 2009/10 season after returning from a serious knee injury last September.

Cole made 26 league appearances and scored two goals in the campaign - including a vital strike in the 2-1 victory over title rivals Manchester United in April.

Reports surfaced during the season that Cole’s future was in doubt as contract negotiations over a new contract stalled, with suggestions that the player and his representatives angered Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich with their hard-line stance over wages. (continue reading…)

CARLO ANCELOTTI has admitted for the first time he would like to see Fernando Torres at Chelsea.

SunSport revealed yesterday Blues striker Didier Drogba is keen to link up with Liverpool’s Spanish ace.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich is also willing to splash the £50million needed and Ancelotti said: “It’s not only Drogba - I would like to play with Torres. He’s a very good player.

“But this is not an issue for now. He is a Liverpool player and is a good striker but we have two fantastic strikers and this is not for this moment.”

Ancelotti is on the brink of winning a second trophy in his maiden season.

But the Italian has praised the work of his Pompey counterpart, Avram Grant, while admitting Chelsea’s victory at Fratton Park two months ago was the turning point of their season.

He added: “That game was an important game for us because it was a difficult moment.

“At the time they didn’t have much motivation but, on Saturday, they have a lot of motivation in the final.

“Avram is a very good coach. He was here in Chelsea for one year and did a very good job.

“And also this year, Portsmouth have had a difficult year but he did well to take them to the final and get his players to go out with strong, strong motivation.”

Chelsea  and Manchester City are being offered the chance to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a deal that would create a new British transfer record.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta is keen to offload the Sweden striker and has reportedly recruited agent and close friend Pini Zahavi to find a buyer willing to pay in excess of £40million.
Chelsea and City have been targeted as the likeliest takers in England and are about to be sounded out, following a clear signal both clubs are looking to strengthen up front.

Chelsea are still concentrating their efforts on trying to prise £70m-rated Fernando Torres away from Liverpool and will wait to discover their prospects of landing the World Cup-bound Spain striker before considering the merits of Ibrahimovic.

City have the funds to meet Barcelona’s asking price but will carefully weigh up whether the 28-year old’s occasionally sullen demeanour and fitful flair meets their requirements.

The £32.5m City paid Real Madrid for Robinho remains the record fee by a British club, but Barcelona will hold out for significantly more than that for a player they signed from Inter Milan for £40m plus Samuel Eto’o.

New Juventus president Andrea Agnelli wants to take Ibrahimovic back to Turin but is reluctant to pay more than £35m, prompting Laporta to try and guage interest levels elsewhere in Europe. (continue reading…)

Chelsea won the Barclays Premier League with an eight-goal spectacular on Sunday and warned Manchester United this was just the start of their quest to dominate English football.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti and captain John Terry vowed to bring more silverware to
Stamford Bridge, starting with the FA Cup on Saturday.

‘After the first year, I hope to stay here a long time and win a lot of titles,’ said Ancelotti, after watching his team beat Wigan 8-0 and become the first Premier League team to score 100 goals in a season. ‘We have the opportunity to win the Double and I hope my players can after these celebrations.’

After lifting the trophy, Terry said: ‘I’ve been hurting inside for three years seeing Manchester United lift it. I can promise you, every one of us has sat there and watched it. It’s their turn to watch today. We need to do what United have done and maintain it for a few years.’

Chelsea finished the season with 103 goals after a second-half hat-trick from Didier Drogba, who threw a tantrum before the break because he was denied the chance to take a penalty.

Drogba had started the day vying with United’s Wayne Rooney to be the Premier League’s top scorer. He won the race, finishing with 29, but that did not stop him arguing with Frank Lampard about who should take the first-half spot-kick.

‘That’s what makes Didier Drogba the way he is,’ said Lampard. ‘He’s hungry. It was 1-0 and I’ve been taking the penalties all season. But there was no problem in the end. We’re a team and it was nothing.’ (continue reading…)

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba believes the storm surrounding John Terry helped the side really come together as a unit.

Captain Terry was under some harsh media scrutiny after details of his affair with the girlfriend of former Chelsea and England teammate Wayne Bridge came out in the public.

Drogba believes that the furore created at the time helped the squad really unite and turn their season around.

Speaking to France Football magazine, he said:”We showed solidarity between us just as we’ve always done each time the club is in the middle of a storm.

“I think it was a key moment of our season because we were losing points on the field and Terry was not performing as well as usual.”

Drogba himself has enjoyed a sensational season at Stamford Bridge and is in the running along with Wayne Rooney for winning the Golden Boot.

I think it’s been by far my best season here… ending the season ahead of Rooney in the scoring charts would be the icing on the cake,” said the Ivorian.

“It still can be a good season because only six teams have completed this double in England until now. If we achieve that, we’ll make history.”