Cech targets Europa League for Chelsea clean sweep
Thursday 14 February 2013
Petr Cech wants to help Chelsea win the Europa League and put the Blues into a group containing only Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Barcelona as sides to have won the Champions League, Europa League and now-defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup, the Daily Mirror has reported.
Chelsea won the Champions League last year in dramatic fashion, beating Bayern on penalties in their Allianz Arena to claim their first trophy victory, having previously won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971 and 1998.
But Chelsea became the first holders of the Champions League to be eliminated at the group stage when they finished third in a foursome also featuring Juventus, who beat Celtic 3-0 at Celtic Park on Tuesday, and Shakhtar Donetsk, who drew 2-2 with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
Cech however remained positive at the prospect of competing in the Europa League, with Chelsea’s first opponents Sparta Prague, the club at which he began his career. That, combined with the history-making possibilities the competition provides, has led to Cech calling on his teammates to win the tournament.
“We know we should have been playing earlier this week. But you can always find positives in a negative moment,” Cech said. “It’s not great that we’re playing in the Europa League, but we are now involved and we have the chance to win a ¬competition the club has never won. We can win it and become one of the teams who have won every competition - it is an opportunity to make history.”
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