Joe Cole Eyes Champions League Glory With Chelsea

Joe Cole has expressed his desire to help Chelsea claim their first Champions League title and thus wipe away the memories of their near-misses in recent years.

The Blues came within a single spot-kick of winning the prestigious tournament in 2008, when John Terry's ill-timed slip on the newly laid Luzhniki Stadium pitch allowed Manchester United to steal victory.

The west London club were only seconds away from a rematch with the Red Devils in Rome a year later, only for Andres Iniesta to send them packing with an injury-time winner at Stamford Bridge.

And while Cole insisted that Chelsea were fully committed in their pursuit of domestic success, he confessed that conquering Europe was the number one goal.

The England playmaker said in The Mirror: "The Premier League is very important but, for this club, the Champions League is a massive target for us. We haven't won it yet. We've come very close in the last five years and maybe should have won it on one or two occasions. We've come very close.

"That remains the aim, to win it. We've got everything else: the players, the manager, the set-up, the experience. Everything's fantastic.

"If Chelsea are building itself as a club with genuine claims to be the biggest club we can be, as big as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, then you have to win trophies. And you have to win major trophies. The Champions League will help us as a worldwide club to show we're here to do business."

Cole could only look on from the stands as Guus Hiddink's side crashed out to Barcelona on away goals in last season's semi-final, having ruptured his knee ligaments in January.

"That was the most difficult game for me to watch," he said. "I was convinced it was going to be our year. It didn't happen for us, and it hurt like it hurt every other Chelsea fan.

"But that's in the past. That's been and gone. Now it's a new season and a fresh chance to go on and win it."

Mick Maguire, Goal.com UK