Schalke 04 v Chelsea:Avram Grant has come full circle. The Chelsea manager returned last night to this corner of industrial Germany where, some 30 years ago, he took his first tentative steps into coaching. "It was 10 minutes from here, in Duisburg," recalled the Israeli. "I was 22. It was a long time ago . . ."
This evening against Schalke, he will have an opportunity to show just how far he has come.
Chelsea are a side being moulded by the manager's philosophy. The attack-minded approach adopted since Jose Mourinho's abrupt departure in October has already shaken the former champions out of their early-season malaise and thrust them up the table.
Now they will attempt to secure progress into the knockout phase of this competition, although it would require Rosenborg to defeat Valencia, tonight. Nevertheless, this team remains a work in progress.
"That was my first coaching course, back in '77, and I spent five weeks here," said Grant almost wistfully. "Now I'm back to this area as the Chelsea manager. I'd like to do something here with a good style - we want to play good, attacking football - and this team is on the way to becoming 'Avram Grant's team'.
"All my life, I've liked to create things, but to do it step by step. You can't go four steps forward at one time. That's impossible. We are moving in the right direction."
The new man in charge certainly boasts the boldness to succeed. Chelsea's squad, delayed by traffic en route to the Arena AufSchalke, split into what appeared to be a first team and a substitutes' group at training last night, with Shaun Wright-Phillips demoted to the also-rans despite his encouraging display at Wigan on Saturday.
The England midfielder, who had previously been reduced to a bit-part role, is likely to make way for Joe Cole, himself omitted since the victory over Manchester City.
That much comes as something of a surprise, even against a German side who lost to the Bundesliga's bottom club, Energie Cottbus, last Friday and are considering the future of their own manager. Yet there is a momentum to Chelsea at present born of seven consecutive wins which should minimise any disruption caused by selections with the player at their core, Frank Lampard, resurgent and particularly keen to impress here.
The last time the England midfielder kicked a ball in this arena, he missed a penalty during the national team's ignominious World Cup shoot-out elimination against Portugal last summer. After four goals in his last two matches, he is in the form to make amends of sorts tonight.
"Frank is a strong character, as everyone knows," added Grant, who has welcomed Michael Ballack to action with the reserves and is hopeful of having the Germany captain available within a month.
"I have full confidence in Frank and I would be happy for him to take a penalty here. He's missed penalties for Chelsea in the past, but also scored one at Liverpool in a very difficult moment for the team. Everybody makes mistakes sometimes. But what's important is the character, and the quality of course. And Frank has both. I know I'm not objective, but I have been a national coach and I'm sure if Frank and John Terry had played in the game against Russia, the result would have been very different."
That could be construed as a criticism of Steve McClaren for leaving Lampard on the bench for 79 minutes in Moscow, but such is Grant's current standing he feels he can publicly question the England manager
He has come a long way since Duisburg and, tonight, his team can prove it.
