Draw recalls past pain for Chelsea

Champions' League: Tel Aviv trip in third qualifying round would offer Ranieri's team reminder of humiliating exit from Uefa Cup two years ago

Chelsea sharpened their teeth for the new season yesterday with an emphatic 4-1 win over Malaysia. When they return to meaningful business, in the Champions' League third qualifying round next month, avoiding a kick in the teeth will be their main priority.

They could face a second tricky task against Israeli opposition in three years as they seek a place at European football's highest table. They will have to overcome either Maccabi Tel Aviv or MSK Zilina of Slovakia to get there, something even Roman Abramovich's billions cannot guarantee.

The champions of Israel and Slovakia face each other over two legs on 30 July and 6 August in the second qualifying round. Chelsea will play the winners in the third-round first leg on 12 or 13 August, away, and then a fortnight later in the second leg at home.

Chelsea have a dire record in Europe in the last three years but the humiliation at the hands of Hapoel Tel Aviv two years ago in the second round of the Uefa Cup will be foremost in their minds. Chelsea lost the first - away - leg of that match 2-0 after six players failed to travel due to security fears. The game was played the month the 9-11 terrorist attacks in America. Claudio Ranieri's team were then held 1-1 at Stamford Bridge as Hapoel secured the best result by any Israeli team in European club football.

Progression to the group stage of the Champions' League will be Chelsea's minimum target in the wake of the Abramovich's takeover. The Russian businessman has already spent £34m on players since his arrival in London last month but it is not the money that matters. Although a successful run to the later stages of the knockout phase would probably earn Chelsea about £20m - no small pivo to an ordinary club owner - to a billionaire whose aim is glory, only silverware is likely to suffice.

At least one potential headache surrounding a tie against Tel Aviv seems likely to be avoided. Israel's representatives in last season's Champions' League, Maccabi Haifa, were prevented from playing any of their matches in Israel last season for security reasons. There has been no indication from Uefa, the European game's governing body, that this policy will change, so any away leg for Chelsea against Tel Aviv would probably be on neutral territory.

Ranieri said last night that he was not concerned about which of Zilina or Tel Aviv his side would have to face. "It is important to be in the Champions' League, it is not important the name of the opponent," the Italian said. "I have watched too many matches at Highbury with Arsenal against other teams in the Champions' League," he added cryptically, probably meaning that even perceived "minnows" can cause trouble.

Asked about facing an Israeli team and whether or not he was concerned that some of his players may refuse to travel, he joked: "That's why I buy 22 players." He declined to go into details about transfer targets, preferring to talk about yesterday's win, which came courtesy of goals from Frank Lampard, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Glen Johnson.

"The first half was very, very hard," he said. "The Malaysia team played very well and had good skills," he added of yesterday's opponents, who are ranked No 116 in the world, which is two places higher than Guinea but two below Swaziland. Israel, who regularly call upon the services of players from Tel Aviv, are ranked No 44 in the world.

"I want to play in the Champions' League, against whom it is not important," said Ranieri, whose European journeys with the Stamford Bridge club have all, thus far, ended in ignominious failure.

Shortly after he took the reigns in 2000, Chelsea were eliminated from the first round of the Uefa Cup by St Gallen, then struggling in the Swiss league, who started that year's tournament as 600-1 outsiders. Despite taking a 1-0 lead from the first leg on their travels to the second, Chelsea were ineffective away from home and lost to goals by the unheralded Sascha Muller and Charles Amoah.

To make matters worse, as the St Gallen fans, including the former world No1 women's tennis player, Martina Hingis, cheered their side's success from the stands, Roberto Di Matteo suffered the horrific broken leg which was to terminate his career.

A year later came the farce involving Hapoel, after a "will they-won't they" saga over which Chelsea players would make the flight to Israel. In the first match, away, the Londoners were holding their hosts 0-0 until the 89th minute but somehow contrived to go home two goals in arrears. They conceded another at home in a 1-1 draw to go out 3-1 on aggregate.

Chelsea's third European "campaign" under Ranieri (more of a day trip, really) was last year and also ended in Uefa Cup defeat, 5-4 on aggregate against Viking of Norway. The first leg at home saw a 2-1 win but Chelsea lost the tie overall having led on away goals for much of the second half of the second leg. Erik Nevland, formerly of Manchester United, scored the goal which sent them packing.

After that defeat, Chelsea's financial problems reportedly started to bite. Those were the days when revenue from a Uefa Cup run actually meant something more than small change.