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Cole keen to set record straight

After missing out two years ago, Chelsea FC defender Ashley Cole is determined to finish on the winning side against Manchester United FC on Wednesday evening.

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole
Chelsea defender Ashley Cole ©Getty Images

As if the memory of losing a UEFA Champions League final were not painful enough, Ashley Cole is offered regular reminders of that dramatic night two years ago by one of his own team-mates. Then at Arsenal FC, Cole was 14 minutes away from claiming Europe's top club prize when Samuel Eto'o struck FC Barcelona's equaliser. The dream quickly transformed into a nightmare when, five minutes later, Juliano Belletti crashed in the winner.

Belletti banter
Cole and Belletti have since become team-mates at Stamford Bridge, and as Wednesday's showdown with Manchester United FC grows nearer, the subject of the 2005/06 final has been frequently aired on the Chelsea FC training ground. "It's hard not to [discuss that game] when you've got Belletti here talking about it all the time," Cole joked. "It's one of the best trophies ... and as a player it's one of the biggest games you can play in. If I play it'll be another great achievement in my career."

Injury problems
The 27-year-old left-back seems certain to start for the Blues at the Luzhniki Stadium, unlike two years ago when he had been sidelined for much of his final campaign at Arsenal. "I didn't expect to play [against Barcelona]," Cole said. "I had been injured all season ... luckily enough I had the chance to play in it. Now it has come around again and we have another opportunity to go there and win."

Sound preparation
Preparations could hardly have gone better this time around. Cole has played regularly throughout the year and has been able to focus purely on Moscow since the Premier League season ended last weekend. "It's a really important game and you can do more in training, more set-pieces and things like that," he said. "But on the other side you have a little bit longer to think about it which is not a good thing in football. I think it's best to get the game under way and enjoy it. We know how they play and we'll go over a few tactics and how to stop them."

'Great achievement'
Chelsea's 2-1 win over United last month ultimately proved insufficient in the title race, yet Cole is reluctant to place too much importance on domestic results. "For this game all the stats go out the window," he insisted. "We're disappointed at how we lost the league but this a totally different thing. We've got to go there focused on winning because it would be a great achievement for the club."

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