LONDON: As Carlo Ancelotti put Chelsea's stars through their paces for the first time, the Blues boss quickly realized the way to win over his new charges.

It would have been understandable if even a manager as experienced as Ancelotti felt a little nervous when he arrived at Chelsea's state of the art training complex in the leafy Surrey countryside in early July.

Just weeks earlier the Italian had left the comfort zone of AC Milan, a club that had consumed his life for the last eight years, to coach outside Italy for the first time.