Di Matteo admits UCL win key

Chelsea's astonishing triumph back in May not only saw it end its agonising wait for European Cup glory but it also saw it avoid the ignominy of failing to qualify for this season's competition.

Hazard revealed before signing for Chelsea that the victory over Bayern Munich had convinced him to choose it over Manchester United and Manchester City, while fellow playmaker Oscar would doubtless also have thought twice about joining a club that was not in the Champions League.

Di Matteo agreed, saying: "They want to be involved in the biggest club competition in the world so it would have been extremely difficult to attract these players."

Chelsea's win was equally vital in convincing Roman Abramovich to hand then caretaker manager Di Matteo a two-year contract but the Italian dismissed this.

"No, no - it was never about myself," he said, also playing down what his success meant for the image of the club around the world.

"What's important for us is that it gave us the opportunity to be involved in it this season and to try and defend the title as well.

"In terms of how the external environment sees us, I don't know.

"We are not really looking back. We are trying to live in the present and future.

"There's always new challenges every season.

"A club like Chelsea will always try to win trophies and be successful.

"It's not looking back at what you achieved - that's done and dusted."

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed a manager must win the Champions League more than once to be remembered as one of the great sides.

"I always have respect for what Sir Alex has to say," Di Matteo said.

"Certainly, to win it is very important. But how many times you have to win it to be remembered, I'm not sure."

Di Matteo refused to look too far ahead, insisting his first target was to qualify from Group E, starting with a victory against Juventus on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning AEST).

The Italian champion arrived at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday on a 42-match unbeaten run in Serie A, a sequence that has coincided with the arrival of Italy playmaker Andre Pirlo.

Insisting Juve were not a 'one-man team', Di Matteo said: "Obviously, he's a very important player for them and dictates a little bit their game, so we will certainly have to make sure we control him, that's for sure.

"He had a fantastic tournament for Italy.

"He's a talented player and, since his switch to Juventus, he's shown again, he's an extremely great player we'll have to be careful about him."