Saha scored the fastest ever cup final goal when he drove home with just 25 seconds on the clock to put Everton ahead.
But Chelsea fought back and goals from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard gave Guus Hiddink's men a deserved 2-1 win.
The victory saw Cole collect his fifth FA Cup winners' medal, and become the first man to win the cup five times since the 19th century.
The England full-back won the cup three times during his time at Arsenal, and has now added two victories as a Chelsea player.
Everton went ahead through Louis Saha's early strike, but goals from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard took Guus Hiddink's Chelsea to victory.
"I look back with a lot of pleasure in getting the team to the final," Moyes said. "Chelsea were the better team on the day, I can't argue with that
"Lampard is a big player who scored big goals and that's what he's done today. I thought we had our best spell after he scored, but the better team won.
"The margin was narrow in the score, but there were bigger margins on the pitch.
"Last year was the semi-finals, now the final, so hopefully we'll win something next season. The team's been progressing year on year, whether we won or lost this was progress."
"Again today, the team has shown once more that they react always and that's why I like to work with this team," Hiddink said.
"Of course [I will miss them], we talked a lot about this. It was not just an inbetween job.
"I loved it so much, I enjoyed so much working with big stars, but these big stars they knew exactly what it's all about,. I think they showed in the Premier League, in the Champions League and now today that they have a lot character.
"This is one of the biggest [achievements in my career], the Champions League final was a long time ago.
"But winning the FA Cup in the Wembley of world football, that's something you cannot believe."
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink celebrates with the FA Cup
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (centre) applauds his team as they lift the FA Cup.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink lifts the FA Cup.
England manager Fabio Capello (left) shakes hands with Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink (right) as he collects the FA Cup Trophy.
Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck (left) celebrates with manager Guus Hiddink after winning the FA Cup.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink (right) and assistant Ray Wilkins (left) celebrate after the final whistle.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (right) applauds his team as they lift the FA Cup.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink salutes the fans after the final whistle.
Chelsea celebrate with the trophy after winning the FA Cup.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink celebrates with Ashley Cole (left) at full time as Everton's Steven Pienaar (right) is left dejected.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich watches the action in the stands.
Chelsea's Frank Lampard (right centre) and John Terry (left centre) lift the FA Cup.
Chelsea's Frank Lampard (right) and John Terry (left) lift the FA Cup.
Chelsea's John Terry (left) and Ashley Cole (right) celebrate with the FA Cup.
Chelsea's Ashley Cole celebrates with the FA Cup.
Chelsea's Didier Drogba (centre), Ashley Cole (right) and Florent Malouda (left) celebrate with the FA Cup.
Chelsea's Michael Essien plays with a camera after the final whistle.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink (centre) celebrates with his players after winning the FA Cup.
Chelsea's Didier Drogba (left), John Terry (centre) and Frank Lampard celebrate with the FA Cup.
Chelsea's Didier Drogba (second left), John Terry (centre) and Frank Lampard (right) celebrate with manager Guus Hiddink after winning the FA Cup.
Chelsea's Michael Essien celebrates with the FA Cup
Chelsea's Franco Di Santo (left), John Obi Mikel (top), Alex (bottom) and John Terry (right) celebrate after the final whistle.
Chelsea's Alex (right), John Terry (top) and Michael Ballack (left) celebrate after the final whistle.
Chelsea's John Terry (left) and Frank Lampard (right) celebrate after the final whistle.
Chelsea's Frank Lampard (left centre) celebrates with teammate Didier Drogba after the final whistle.
Chelsea's Frank Lampard (left centre) celebrates with teammate Didier Drogba after the final whistle.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink celebrates after the final whistle.
Chelsea's Frank Lampard celebrates with the FA Cup.
Frank Lampard scored a stunning winner as Chelsea came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 and win the FA Cup final at Wembley.Lampard fired home from 25 yards to give Chelsea their fifth FA Cup triumph and provide departing manager Guus Hiddink a glorious send-off.
Louis Saha struck with just 25 seconds on the clock to put Everton ahead, before Chelsea drew level through Didier Drogba's header midway through the first half.
Chelsea's superiority told in the second half and after Lampard struck, Hiddink's men should have been awarded a third goal when Florent Malouda's long-range effort hit the bar and went over the line.
Everton were making their first cup final appearance since 1997, but David Moyes's side came out of the blocks firing and could not have got off to better start in searing Wembley heat.
When Steven Pienaar found space on the left, his deflected ball was headed into the path of Saha by Marouane Fellaini.
Saha took his opportunity superbly, fizzing a volley past Petr Cech from just inside the box to give Everton a sensational lead, and in so doing record the fastest goal in FA Cup final history.
For a brief period Chelsea looked shell-shocked, but Hiddink's men soon gathered themselves and began to assert real pressure on the Everton goal. On 13 minutes Drogba's persistence on the left led to a chance for Michael Essien, but he blazed his shot over the bar from 20 yards.
Everton were defending in numbers, but they could do nothing to stop Chelsea pulling level through Drogba on 21 minutes.
Nicolas Anelka started the move, drifting across from right to left before playing in Malouda on the touchline.
The impressive Malouda set himself, before curling in an inch-perfect cross that Drogba headed powerfully past Tim Howard to make it 1-1.
Chelsea continued to press, but in committing numbers forward always looked susceptible to the counter-attack.
Saha released Tim Cahill on the half-hour mark, but Cech was alert to the danger and just got there ahead of the Australian.
The final chance of the half fell to Chelsea's Ashley Cole, who got in behind Tony Hibbert, but fired well over the bar from a tight angle.
Chelsea came out for the second half in dominant mood.
On 59 minutes Malouda put Anelka through on goal, but the Frenchman's lob sailed over the bar with Howard beaten.
Everton struggled to create chances, and when Saha headed over from Leighton Baines's cross on 67 minutes, it proved their last genuine opening.
Five minutes later Chelsea found a winner, when Lampard twisted away from Phil Neville and shot left-footed past Howard from 25 yards.
Soon after Malouda's spectacular effort struck the underside of the bar and bounced out - only for replays to show the ball clearly crossed the line.
In the dying minutes Everton pressed hard for an equaliser, but it was Chelsea who continued to threaten - Anelka chipping over the bar after being sent through by Lampard.
Chelsea held on and deservedly claimed their first trophy for two years, in so doing handing man-of-the-match Cole a record fifth FA Cup winners' medal.
Cristiano Ronaldo has opined that Barcelona did not deserve to beat Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League.Carlo Ancelotti’s wonderfully detailed descriptions of his clandestine meetings with Roman Abramovich have opened the door to another world, but as he romanticises the Chelsea owner’s spy-style antics the AC Milan manager appears to have overlooked one crucial factor. Much like James Bond films any story involving Abramovich tends to contain one hell of a body count.
Ancelotti will not be punished for his indiscretion – despite revealing far more than any other Abramovich’s employees have ever dared in the six years since he bought the club – but whether his reputation survives intact after working for him at close quarters remains to be seen. Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari have all been discarded by Abramovich in the last five years, with only Guud Hiddink leaving the club on a high.
In his new autobiography, Preferisco La Coppa, Ancelotti attempts to paint a flattering picture of Abramovich, praising his timidity, knowledge and hunger, but by revealing snatches of his conversations with the Russian he ends up doing precisely the opposite. “I find I can chat easily with Abramovich,” Ancelotti writes, to his obvious surprise, though it is unlikely the relationship will be so cosy if Chelsea fail to beat Burnley at home next season, (as Scolari did in this season’s Carling Cup incidentally.)
The most revealing passage of dialogue in the book comes from a secret meeting at the King George V hotel in Paris last year, in which Abramovich was expressing frustration at Chelsea’s failure to win a trophy last season. Ancelotti is impressed by what he perceives as the billionaire’s hunger and determination to succeed, but as a potential employer Abramovich comes across as hopelessly impatient and impossible.
“We’ve just lost the League and the Champions League final, I can’t be satisfied,” he tells Ancelotti, overlooking the fact that he sacked the most successful manager in the club’s history a month into the season and appointed a novice in his place, who somehow contrived to get the team to within one penalty kick of winning the greatest prize in the game. If Avram Grant was expected to win everything in half-a-season when pitted against a far superior Manchester United squad then God knows what demands will be made of Ancelotti before he finally signs his contract.
While Abramovich’s disregard of Grant’s achievements comes as little surprise – he had just sacked him after all – his attitude towards some of the club’s players is profoundly shocking, even allowing for the fact that he thought he was speaking in private. “Chelsea have no personality,” Abramovich complains to Ancelotti, a grievous insult to the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and many others, who by dint of their commitment and professionalism kept Chelsea in the hunt for honours to the bitter end last season in spite of the suicidal actions of the club.
Like many vastly wealthy men, Abramovich comes across as a spoilt brat with impossible demands, who is chasing a dream that cannot be realised. Even more worrying than this however is his continued faith in Andriy Shevchenko, whom he laments about not being the same player for Chelsea, a slide he is anxious for Ancelotti to correct. (Ancelotti’s response at Milan was interesting incidentally, revealing him to be far more of a pragmatist than Abramovich – Shevchenko started just two Serie A matches this season).
For all his attempted flattery, the real truth about Ancelotti’s fascination with Chelsea is contained in a single word, when he describes the Abramovich’s offer as “indecent.” With a £6million-a-year salary on offer Ancelotti could accept the job as early as next Monday, but he should not allow himself to be blinded the money and the intrigue as history shows that life in the hot-seat at Stamford Bridge is no picnic.
Like many ambitious moguls who have confronted 007, Abramovich is not so timid when it comes to pulling the trigger.
The Toffees' goalkeeper claims his team can make departing Blues boss Guus Hiddink's final game a miserable affair.
Howard said: "We've got a lot of togetherness, we fight for one another, we're not easily bullied - we like to scrap and fight - we play good football at times but our biggest attribute is our belief in the system that we play.
"We've got a strong belief in each other to not give up. United are a great team who play attractive football and they can grind out results as well.
"But one of our qualities is that, for better or worse, we always have that real fight and grit about us and it's certainly something we're going to take into the final."
The midfielder played under Hiddink for a year when the Dutchman took charge of the Australia national side in 2005.
Cahill reckons the departing Chelsea boss is one of the best tacticians of his generation and holds him responsible for the turnaround in the west Londoners' fortunes since he replaced Phil Scolari in February.
The Everton ace said: "Guus went to Chelsea and cleaned up what was a pretty messy situation.
"I've got a lot of respect for him, for the calibre of the man that he is and the stature he holds within the game.
"I've always said he's pretty much a genius in what he does if you look at his track record and what he's done with South Korea and Australia."
But Cahill reckons this weekend's showpiece between the Toffees and Chelsea could be a shut-out.
He added: "I can't see it being an open game because both teams will be cautious.
"All finals are pretty tight but it'll probably get more open towards the end with a few tired legs at the end of a long season.
"But we're a very fit team, we've been training very hard the last four weeks to be a really strong team.
"It's going to take a set play or something special to open up the game and break the deadlock."
The Blues finished third in the Premier League, and were knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage by eventual winners Barcelona, albeit in controversial circumstances, and Lampard wants to see some tangible reward for the team's efforts.
"It's very important we win something for the confidence of the club and take something away from the season," he told Sky Sports News.
"It was hard to miss out on the Champions League, but as you get a bit older you realise you can't win everything.
"The adrenaline of going out and playing football is kind of a 'get-out' sometimes from a lot of things outside.
"I get an adrenaline rush out of training as well as playing, so this season has been great for me in those terms.
"Even though we haven't won anything yet this season, when I've been running out, I've been feeling on top of my game."
The Englishman is also fully aware of the special place that the world's oldest knock-out competition occupies in the hearts of his fellow-countrymen.
"The FA Cup final has always been special," he added. "I know there are always other competitions during the season so your focus can be on various things, but once you get to this stage you realise what a huge occasion it is, not just for your own and the opposition fans, but on the worldwide stage.
"Everyone watches the cup final and it will always be a massive event. Our form since Guus Hiddink took over has been championship-winning form, and we only didn't go to the Champions League final because of things that happened on the night (against eventual winners Barcelona). Our performance over the last five months has set the standard."
Bayern Munich have reaffirmed their stance that midfielder Franck Ribery is not for sale.
The in-form Frenchman has been consistently linked with a move away from the Bundesliga, with Chelsea the latest club to be linked with the former Marseille star.
The 26-year-old's contract with Bayern still has two years left to run on it, but general manager Uli Hoeness recently admitted Manchester United had made a 'casual inquiry'.
Reports in England today (Thursday) suggest Chelsea are also chasing the France international, but Bayern press officer Markus Horwick has dismissed it as pure speculation.
'This is once again an absolute hoax,' he said, referring to one report that the player had already agreed terms with the Stamford Bridge side.
'Our stance has not changed: we would like to extend Ribery's contract, not sell him.'
Outgoing Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink believes Carlo Ancelotti would be an ideal candidate to succeed him, but has one piece of advice for him.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is ready to test AC Milan's resolve over Andrea Pirlo.
Gazzetta dello Sport says Abramovich is prepared to offer mega bucks for Pirlo, who would follow coach Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea in the summer.
Pirlo, 30, insists he is happy at Milan, but is close to Ancelotti and wouldn't reject a move to England out of hand.
Chelsea captain John Terry has said his side are focused on winning the FA Cup to send Guus Hiddink away with some silverware.
Hiddink's reign as Chelsea stand-in boss ends on Saturday after they face Everton in the FA Cup final and Terry says his team-mates are eager to win a trophy for the Dutch manager.
Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery is reported to be on the verge of agreeing a stunning £43million move to Chelsea.
The French international winger had been heavily linked with a switch to Manchester United this summer, but reports are now suggesting that he will sign a deal at Stamford Bridge, after the two clubs agreed the mammoth fee.
The Blues are said to be reluctant to offer more than £90,000, although discussions are at an advanced stage and there are no suggestions that the deal is in serious danger of breaking down.
The 26-year-old Ribery currently earns around £134,000-a-week in Germany but is apparently desperate to leave the Allianz Arena, and may be persuaded to lower his wage demands.
If the Londoners do close the deal it will considered be a bitter blow to Premier League rivals United, who have long wanted the Frenchman as a potential replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Ronaldo's apparent willingness to stay at Old Trafford after the long-running saga over his prospective move to Real Madrid means that Sir Alex Ferguson has cooled his interest .
Ribery has also been linked with Real in recent months, while Barcelona dropped their interest after talks with Bayern over a possible deal were made public.
Guus Hiddink will see out his final game with Chelsea in the FA Cup final knowing he has the full backing of Roman Abramovich.
Hiddink will be hoping to end his brief spell with the London club on a high by beating Everton at Wembley on Sunday.
No matter the outcome, though, the Dutchman has already had a pat on the back from the club's billionaire owner.
Meeting at the club's Cobham training ground after their controversial UEFA Champions League exit to Barcelona, Abramovich told Hiddink he should be "proud" of his contributions during his short stay at Stamford Bridge.
"The club has not spoken to me about staying because we knew what the situation was," said Hiddink.
"They know I have this full-hearted commitment in Russia and Roman is taking a lot of responsibility over there as he does here.
"After the game against Barcelona I was not in the best state of mind but then I had a conversation with him a day after or so at Cobham and I was still angry.
"But he told me to be proud because I had made a good impression worldwide with how we played against Barcelona - especially in the second game.
"Roman added that I should not be negative and be proud of what the team and I have achieved here."
Keen to leave on a high, he added: "It would be perfect to have some silverware. A final is never an anti-climax situation for a club - you have to be in the final. We are very happy to be there."
Hiddink spoke to defend the current squad at Stamford Bridge, whilst admitting that the club may need to strengthen certain areas.
"I've enjoyed very much being here and working with the players," he said. "They responded very well and they are still very eager to get a lot of prizes next season.
"The board and management know that every season you have to renew the squad a bit. But the existing squad, although some are over 30, still have the ambitions to do a lot of things.
"But what I have experienced now is that these players, if you have a very direct working relationship with them, then they respond.
"When I came here I didn't not expect that. I expected I would have to fight against big names to get them on the right track to perform but there was no such fight needed."
The two clubs are believed to have agreed the fee and Blues are now thrashing out terms with the 26-year-old French international midfielder.
Ribery is holding out for a bumper £125,000-a-week salary AFTER tax but Chelsea are reluctant to offer more than £90,000 a week.
If the Londoners do close the deal it will be a bitter blow to Premier League rivals Manchester United, who have long wanted the Frenchman as a potential replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Full-back Patrice Evra revealed in The Sun that he was hoping to persuade Ribery to join United.
Carlo Ancelotti has revealed astonishing details behind his clandestine talks with Roman Abramovich, including plans to sign Franck Ribéry and Xabi Alonso to improve a Chelsea team that, the Russian owner despaired, had “no personality”. The indiscreet disclosures in Ancelotti’s autobiography could not have come at a more delicate time, with the Italian on the brink of joining Chelsea — but only if he hears next week that he is no longer wanted to coach AC Milan.
Ancelotti says that, emotionally, he felt at times this season that he had already made the move to Stamford Bridge and claims that, for Abramovich, working with him would be a relief after employing José Mourinho — or “his Mourinhoness”, as Ancelotti scathingly refers to the Portuguese.
“I confess that at certain points in 2008-09 I watched my DVDs of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba,” Ancelotti writes. “I was already the coach of the boys on paper. I thought, there are worse things in life than me and Abramovich together. The worst for him had already been and gone. He had already worked with His Specialness, Mourinho.”
Later, in a meeting with Adriano Galliani, the Milan director, Ancelotti writes: “We looked up at the television and there was his Mourinhoness, comparing himself to Jesus. I thought, ‘Forgive him his sins, he knows not what he is talking about.’ ”
Abramovich has been pursuing Ancelotti for 12 months, but the 49-year-old still refuses to commit himself to Chelsea and reiterated yesterday that he would see out the final year on his contract at Milan if they want him to stay. It also remains to be seen how the Chelsea owner will react to the disclosure.
Ancelotti goes into great detail about his talks with the Russian, starting at an hotel near Geneva last year. “Abramovich wanted to know everything about me, my way of working, my philosophy,” he writes. “He was and still is looking for a team with a precise identity: ‘Like Manchester United, Liverpool, Milan, certainly not like my Chelsea.’
“While he was talking, my curiosity perked up. He wasn’t the monster that papers painted him to be. The first thing I noticed was his timidity. The second his great knowledge of football. The third his hunger, his bulimia: ‘Dear Ancelotti, I want to win everything. Everything.’ He made a great impression on me. An hour flew by during which we never talked about money.”
They had a second meeting at the George V hotel in Paris that Ancelotti describes in hilarious detail, comparing himself to James Bond as he is whisked across the French capital. “The manager of Milan is on a secret mission,” he writes. “I, like 007, on my own. Sat behind a driver with the face of a killer. More than a taxi, this is like a time machine, from Milanello [the Serie A club's training ground] to Stamford Bridge, from yesterday to tomorrow, from one devil (the rossonero) to another . . .”
It is at this second meeting that the men get into real detail about how they plan to rebuild a Chelsea team with which Abramovich had fallen out of love under Avram Grant’s leadership, even though they reached the Champions League final.
In the book — launched yesterday, and from which all proceeds are going to research a form of motor neuron disease that has afflicted two former footballers in Italy — Ancelotti writes that he told Abramovich: “ ‘President, your team is very physical, you have to put more quality in the middle of the pitch.’ I gave him two names, Franck Ribéry and Xabi Alonso, players that would have made him very happy.
“He thought of a third name, that of Andriy Shevchenko, who was close to his heart it was easy to see. ‘I can’t understand why he’s not playing, because since we brought him to England he’s not the real Sheva, he’s in difficulties.’ ‘President, I can’t know the reason myself.’ We talk and talk and talk some more.
“I find I can easily chat with Abramovich. He doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable, not even when he says with a low voice: ‘We’ve just lost the Champions League final, and the league, I can’t certainly be satisfied. Chelsea don’t have a personality. I have the ambition of winning every competition in which my team takes part, but this is a team that at the moment I don’t recognise.’ ” Ancelotti describes how, fearful of being spotted in Paris, he wears dark glasses and checks the streets “like a secret agent” for photographers, only to bump into Luciano Spalletti, the Roma coach, who was also being interviewed by Abramovich.
“I laugh,” he writes. “ ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘No, what are you doing?’ I laugh. I laugh again. I feel like I am in a supermarket. Everyone here to talk to this chairman, and maybe we’re his shopping list.”
Soon afterwards Ancelotti received a call from Galliani, who had been tipped off about the talks. He told him that the club did not want him to go. Ancelotti agreed to stay, but negotiations with Chelsea have continued into this season and the Italian has been having three English lessons per week “to prepare the ground” — not that he is showing any evidence of being fluent, with all interviews conducted in Italian yesterday.
The mixed signals continue with Ancelotti insisting yesterday: “If Milan ask me to stay, I’ll stay.” Silvio Berlusconi, the president, has been critical of Milan’s performances this season, with the team going into the last game this weekend still to secure Champions League qualification.
Ancelotti has previously been “on the brink” at Milan, almost moving to Real Madrid in 2006 and then Chelsea a year ago. But this time Berlusconi is known to be eyeing up alternative coaches, notably Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, playing legends at the San Siro.
The president may decide it is time for a change of regime after eight years of Ancelotti, who has won two Champions League titles during that time. Rijkaard has also been spoken to by Chelsea, but he would prefer to go to Milan than to London.
Ancelotti’s future — and a saga stretching back more than 12 months — will be resolved on Monday. Chelsea are resigned to Saturday’s FA Cup Final being Guus Hiddink’s farewell.
The Italian’s jobs:
- Carlo Ancelotti was born in 1959 in Reggiolo and owns the farm where he grew up, a 75-minute journey from AC Milan’s training ground.
- He made his Serie A debut with Roma in 1979 and became a kind of Italian Darren Anderton: a talented midfield player whose career was beset by injuries.
- Ancelotti won 26 caps for Italy, as well as Serie A titles with Roma and Milan, twice. He moved to the San Siro in 1987 and won two European Cups in four years. In 1995 he made his coaching debut with Reggiana in Serie B, joining Parma a year later and steering them to second place in Serie A. Sacked in 1998, he took over at Juventus in 1999.
- In 2001 he was appointed Milan coach and has led the club to one Serie A title and two Champions League triumphs. Popular with the players, he is considered to be approachable and unpretentious — he has operated for years without an agent. He comes across as less aloof than Fabio Capello but more serious than Claudio Ranieri. But without a good command of English, how would he fare in the Barclays Premier League?
The AC Milan chief revealed he held TWO clandestine meetings with Abramovich last year.
He admits he agreed to become Blues boss two months ago even though he has yet to sign a contract and hints he may STILL yet stay in Italy.
He also reveals how Abramovich says his side have 'no personality' and dreams of becoming like Manchester United, Liverpool or Milan.
The revelations will be hugely embarrassing for Russian billionaire Ambramovich, who fiercely guards his privacy. In his book Preferisco La Coppa, Ancelotti said: "The manager of Milan is on a secret mission. I am on my own like 007. Sat behind a driver with the face of a killer.
"I'm already in Paris going to Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea - who's looking for a new manager.
"We've already seen each other once, a couple of weeks ago. In Switzerland, in a big hotel in Geneva. I don't remember the name.
"Everything was organised by Charlie Stillitano, a friend from the US who works in football. He knows Peter Kenyon, the executive hand of Abramovich at Chelsea, who has expressed the wish to meet me.
"I was on holiday relaxing after the bitterness of failing to qualify for the Champions League with Milan.
"Abramovich came after me, it's a good sign but how many bodyguards!
"They are the ones who accompanied me to the Big Chief and to Kenyon. Their team was completed by a lawyer and an interpreter.
"We sat down and greeted each other cordially and started to talk. Always about football and only football. Abramovich wanted to know everything about me, my way of working, my philosophy. He was and is still looking for a team with a precise identity: 'Like Manchester United, Liverpool, Milan, certainly not like my Chelsea.'
"While he was talking, my curiosity perked up. He wasn't the monster that papers painted him to be.
"The first thing I noticed was his timidity. The second his great knowledge of football. The third his hunger, his bulimia: 'Dear Ancelotti, I want to win everything. Everything.'
"An hour flew by during which we never talked about money."
Ancelotti also recalls how he bumped into Roma boss Luciano Spalletti before the Paris meeting, even though he does not mention him by name. Ancelotti said: "So here we are. The George V in Paris. Me and Abramovich, Act Two.
"Yesterday, a few minutes away from here, Massimo Moratti met Jose Mourinho. I didn't want to have the same end. The road is free, nobody suspicious, I can enter.
"I bump into a dear colleague and friend. I laugh. 'What are you doing here?' 'No, what are you doing?' I laugh again.
"I feel like I'm in a supermarket. Everyone here to talk to this chairman, and maybe we're on his shopping list.
"I go to meet him one floor up. He's waiting in a conference room and has the same people he had in Geneva around the table. I immediately make one thing clear. 'I have a contract with Milan. An eventual agreement with Chelsea can only happen if Milan is also in agreement.'
"Again we only talked football. How would I make Chelsea play in case they got me as a manager.
"President, your team is very physical, you have to put more quality in the middle of the pitch. I gave him two names, Franck Ribery and Xabi Alonso.
"He thought of a third name, that of Andriy Shevchenko, who was close to his heart. 'I can't understand why he's not playing, because since we brought him to England he's not the real Sheva.'
"President, I can't know the reason. We talk some more. I can easily chat with Abramovich. He doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, not even when he says with a low voice: 'We've just lost the Champions League final, and the league, I can't be satisfied.
'Chelsea don't have a personality. I have the ambition of winning every competition in which my team takes part, a team that at the moment I don't recognise.'
"He thinks so much about the results and the beautiful game. Another 40 minutes fly by. 'Thanks Ancelotti, we'll meet again.' No financial offer."
Ancelotti admits he has been taking English lessons for months to prepare himself for taking charge at Stamford Bridge.
But when asked whether he would be in Milan or London next season, he just smiled and said: "It depends."
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