SOCCER:CARLO ANCELOTTI has insisted he would be prepared to drop Fernando Torres for the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Manchester United on Tuesday and has rejected suggestions he is under any pressure to select the British record signing for such a high-profile fixture.
Torres is enduring his worst scoring sequence in six years and is without a goal for Chelsea in 617 minutes of football since his move from Liverpool in January.
There was a murmur of disagreement around Stamford Bridge when Ancelotti opted to withdraw Didier Drogba rather than the Spaniard as his side trailed 1-0 with 20 minutes remaining on Wednesday night, a substitution that fuelled suspicions that Torres is effectively untouchable.
Asked whether he would contemplate leaving the 27-year-old out for the tie, Ancelotti said: “Why not? I have to choose the best line-up. There’s a lot of competition up front and anything can happen.
“Fernando might not start against United, of course. This is my job. I have to choose the players, not comparing the players with what money the club paid for them. I have to choose the line-up looking at the training sessions, the condition of the players and their spirit.
“Fernando knows this very well. Roman’s so intelligent he’d never ask me to pick a certain player. He’d never ask me to do this.”
John Terry hinted this week that the size of Torres’s transfer fee must feel like “a big weight to carry” though Ancelotti, who now has a fully fit squad from which to choose, was keen to look beyond the record fee.
“Don’t judge a player by the money he earns or the amount the club paid for the transfer. Judge by his behaviour on the pitch. He had good behaviour before he came here and he has fantastic behaviour here now, as a worker, not just to score. He is the complete striker: he likes to move, attack the line, go one against one, be up front, and is smart in the box.
“He’s relaxed – obviously I don’t know what he feels like inside, but outwardly he’s confident in training, likes a joke and to have fun, and I don’t see him afraid or worried. He has to be strong. Maybe this is the first time this has happened in his career, but he is calm and not worried. He’s doing everything he can to score. We just have to be patient with him.”
Chelsea know their only remaining chance of silverware hinges on overturning their first-leg deficit next week to progress into the semi-finals, though Ancelotti reiterated his belief that his own job prospects will not depend upon his side’s pursuit of a first European Cup.
“I don’t think the decision on my future at the club rests on whether or not I win the Champions League.”
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