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WC's curse is Chelsea's gain

AFP, Paris
jl Chelsea's players were
J celebrating I only last month I a hard won J P r e m i e rLeague title, but now several are experiencing the pain of missing the World Cup finals because of injury.
Chelsea's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti could be forgiven for smiling broadly at the thought that he will have a relatively fresh squad when they start their title defence in August.
However, the affable 50-year-old Italian - who appeared in two World Cups including the Italy side that lost to Argentina on penalties in the 1990 semifinals - would also feel deeply for Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and John Mikel Obi.
All three have been definitively ruled out of the finals which get underway in South Africa next Friday.
And Ivory Coast's iconic captain and striker Didier Drogba, whose goals propelled Chelsea to their title success, is battling desper-
ately to overcome a fractured forearm he suffered in Friday's friendly against Japan.
That three of the quartet are Africans is especially cruel as Africa welcomes the World
Cup to the continent for the first time.
The absences of Essien, Mikel and in all probability Drogba will have a major impact on their respective sides as the African teams do not have the strength in depth to replace such players whereas Germany have several who can fill in for Ballack
For Drogba and Ballack it means theendoftheir dreams of bowing out on the international stage at the highest profile event of the sport -Drogba will be 36 and Ballack 37 come the 2014 edition.
Another reason for Ancelotti to be upbeat about the upcoming season is that Ballack is being increasingly advised to retire from international football.
That could see him play an increasingly more influential role at club level like Paul Scholes has at Manchester United since retiring after Euro 2004.
"Even if he (Ballack) is a little bitter, you have to recognise when enough is enough,” said Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, who won 35 caps for Germany in the 1970s.
"I don't think it is wise to
see the European Championships of 2012 as a major objective."
Hoeness said Ballack's bitter disappointment of missing his third World Cup finals is understandable, but he does not see Euro 2012 as an enticing proposition, especially as Ballack will be nearly 35.
"If it were a World Cup, I would understand it,” said Hoeness.
"But Euro 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine is not exactly the sort of dream event which keeps me awake at night with excitement.”
Ancelotti too could also benefit from Drogba believing that the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and all the qualifiers involved is an international campaign too far, and devotes himself to at last capturing the Champions League trophy, which has proved so elusive to him and his generation of Chelsea players.
That would go some way to sweetening the bitter pill that the Chelsea quartet have been forced to swallow in the past fewweeks.