Chelsea will be seeking to prove tonight that nothing beats experience. This might seem fanciful given that AC Milan, their opponents in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge, won the European Cup three times in six seasons not so long ago.
Yet though while Chelsea have never previously competed at this level in Europe, several members of their team have campaigned in the Champions League wearing other colours, Milan's among them.
Principally Chelsea will be looking to two such players, Marcel Desailly and Didier Deschamps, to guide them through the opening group phase with close assistance from Gianfranco Zola, Dan Petrescu and Frank Leboeuf.
Having spent several seasons strolling through the foothills of the Cup Winners' Cup, Chelsea no doubt feel they are ripe for greater things. Group H may not be the most demanding of the eight but with Hertha Berlin and Galatasaray to come Chelsea cannot afford to be beaten this evening.
"For the image of the club and the confidence of the players we have to be capable of playing at the same level as Milan," declared their manager, Gianluca Vialli, yesterday. "If we come off the pitch realising that we can do this that would be great. If we get a result it would be even better."
Certainly Chelsea have the nous to take on Milan in a battle of wits. As Alberto Zaccheroni, the Milan coach, observed: "They are an English side but their mentality is more Italian. I think Vialli was wise to bring in experienced players from Serie A."
What remains to be seen is whether the patient, possessive play and shrewd passing patterns which cause opponents so much frustration in the Premiership League will cut much ice with a Milan side brought up to play in a similar fashion. This may not be the Milan of Marco van Basten but they are an emerging force again.
During the summer Zaccheroni spent £23 million on Serginho, a Brazilian left wing-back from Sao Paulo, and Andrei Shevchenko, the Dynamo Kiev striker who had many clubs licking their lips last season.
The goal-scoring combination of Shevchenko and the German Oliver Bierhoff is rich in potential and will surely test Desailly and Leboeuf this evening. George Weah is suspended but would have been on the bench anyway.
Chelsea, who have yet to concede a goal at home this season, should not lose but to win they will need to start taking a higher proportion of their chances and a lack of explosive pace up front is still a problem. Certainly Milan would not be unhappy with a draw.
