Ståle: - We have finished talking now

Europe’s media descended on PARKEN on Monday afternoon for a pre-match press conference ahead of FC Copenhagen’s UEFA Champions League tie with Chelsea. Sitting before the cameras were FCK head coach Ståle Solbakken and winger Jesper Grønkjær:

by Joe Short

- I think this has been the longest preparation ever before a game. This is like the 22nd press meeting for this game or something like that. It’s a big game for Copenhagen; it’s a night that we have looked forward to for a long time. Since 10 January we have prepared purely for this game and this game only, so hopefully my players are ready to go tomorrow, Solbakken opened.

- We are in fine shape. I think we are also smart enough to give Chelsea a very good game tomorrow. We have confidence here in PARKEN, and I think we need to take that confidence with us and go out and play more or less our normal game. We will try to control the game – which we know will be difficult – but we won’t take much consideration of Chelsea’s game and go out and play ours.

- Our game is to have the ball, to create chances out of our own play; and not just take advantage of mistakes from the opposition. So, I hope that after a long break from competitive games we can show our best side and be close to the level of play we had before Christmas. We haven’t had the opposition in our friendly games of the same level as Chelsea, but we have looked good and our players are comfortable at the moment.

Solbakken played down the hype over the game, admitting that some of the optimism from members of his squad was amusing more than anything else:

- We have finished talking now. We have done all we can do. It’s just light preparation from now on. I think some of my players are so daft they think they are a better side than Chelsea. Some players who have only just come to the club have only lost once or twice with us, so they think it is possible. The confidence is very high in the team, but we also have a clear view that something can happen like that against Marseilles last year, where we were by far the best team for 70 minutes but we let in three goals in the last 20 minutes; so maybe Chelsea’s 120 minutes in the FA Cup will affect their legs a bit and even the game out.

- There is an optimism in this club that is reflected in the fans. Seven or eight thousand travelled to the Nou Camp and really believed that we would beat Barcelona away, and in a way it’s the same feeling now. We should benefit from that experience in a positive way. We know we could sit here tomorrow and be really disappointed, but we really don’t know where we are at the moment in relation to competitive games.

- We are not scared. We are looking forward to it and I will be very surprised it if is not an even game; if there’s one-way traffic. I don’t think there’s any problem with the confidence of my players.

Jesper Grønkjær, a former Chelsea player himself, reflected his manager’s comments that time was almost up for talking:

- We’ve been talking for four or five weeks now about the same team and about who should play or not. There’s been a lot of interviews which is quite normal now when you only have one game to come over the winter. I think we all – including our manager – is probably a bit fed up with talking now, and we just want to play. We’re looking forward to going into a full stadium tomorrow.

- Obviously we’ve got great belief in the squad. I think on the whole we want to fight for the win. We will try to score and give it a good go tomorrow, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

- This is going to be a special night. Like Ståle said, we’ve finished talking and now just want to play. To have a chance tomorrow we have to play our own game, otherwise it’s going to be hard. We will try to hit our top form.

Out on the PARKEN field, Zdenek Pospech offers his thoughts to the upcoming clash:

- It’s been quite difficult because the Superliga starts later than the Champions League, so we’ve been preparing especially for this game. It’s a big game for us. It’s been difficult to get back into the same routine, especially for me because I need more games to get back to full fitness. We have tried to do our best over the winter to keep our defensive shape.

- Rosenborg was a good game. However it’s still not enough, because our opponents haven’t been at the same level as Chelsea. This is the Champions League; it’s always going to be tough. We know what to expect on the night from Chelsea, so we have to play the same as we did against Barcelona.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti held his club’s press conference shortly after, and had this to say about his Danish opponents:

- Copenhagen played very well in the group stages. They are a very good team with fantastic organisation. They work very hard on the pitch as a team, which is a difficulty we could face, as they work for 90 minutes as a unit. They play with tempo, and we want to do the same. This therefore will be a game with balance. We are here to play our game and to do everything to win.

Chelsea Club captain John Terry was available to discuss the pleasure of meeting Grønkjær on the pitch again:

- It will be very nice to see Jesper again. He played a very big part in where we are today, and we thank him for that. He is part of Chelsea’s history; we know how dangerous he is with his pace and crossing ability. So, he’s another one we have to look out for.

- The pitch here is very good and the fans are fantastic, having played here two weeks ago for England. There hasn’t been much football on it over the last few months, so the surface will be good to play on. It is good as we will be able to get the ball on the floor and play our own football.