EXCLUSIVE: Pain from 2008 still hurts… Avram may reject Chelsea invite to Munich

|

UPDATED:

00:37 GMT, 16 May 2012

Life, says Avram Grant, is timing. Four years on from taking Chelsea to within a penalty kick of the Champions League title, Grant is sitting in a riverside restaurant in Belgrade, Serbia, discussing the 'hurtful' memories of his time at Stamford Bridge.

He has not yet decided whether he will take up an invitation to see if Chelsea can go one better in Munich on Saturday, but you feel he will not be able to stay away. Unfinished business, perhaps.

The parallels are certainly intriguing. A new man has, once again, taken over during the season and stands on the cusp of winning the prize Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, still covets most of all.

Roman's choice: But Avram Grant insists he didn't ever want the job as Chelsea manager

But should 'interim coach' Roberto Di Matteo fail to add the Champions League to the FA Cup, there will surely be yet another new face trying to master the job that Grant continually stresses is 'not just about football'.

Grant, who has just left Partizan Belgrade after leading them to a fifth consecutive league title, said: 'When we came so close against Manchester United, what Alex (Ferguson) said that it was the best Man United ever is even more hurtful. I was very disappointed.'

History reminds us that John Terry missed the spot-kick that would have made Chelsea the champions of Europe, before Nicolas Anelka's failure to convert his penalty gave Manchester United the honour.

Plenty to smile about: Grant has just led Partizan Belgrade to a Serbian league title

'People forget about Anelka,' said Grant. 'John Terry always says to me, “Why do people always talk about my miss”

'I say, “If you had not missed nobody would speak about it”.'

Grant, now 57, can smile about it now, in that laid-back way of his that garners favour with some and prompts others to label him hapless. The Israeli speaks very quietly and calmly about that night in Moscow and does not blame Terry, only saying he 'did his best'.

But he reveals the Chelsea captain, who will miss out on Saturday's final after his idiotic red card against Barcelona, was not even supposed to be one of Chelsea's penalty-takers four years ago.

Triumph: The Israeli has left his job despite leading the club to its fifth consecutive title

'Terry was not on the list. But because Drogba was out (sent off) we changed it because (Salomon) Kalou needed to be the fifth and then, because it was the deciding penalty, JT wanted it. He did his best. I thought yes (he would score). But JT missed and Anelka missed again and that was the end of the story. Finish.'

Abramovich's European dream was finished and so was Grant's tenure as Chelsea manager. He insists he never thought the two outcomes would be linked; only that he knew he must somehow do better than his illustrious predecessor, Jose Mourinho.

'It's not easy for an unknown manager to take a team from “The Special One”,' said Grant. 'I knew it was a big risk. I knew that people were expecting me…' He trails off, not wanting to say the word 'fail'.

Bold claim: Grant insists Chelsea played the best football of Ambramovich's reign under his stewardship

'Look, I didn't want the job. I wanted Jose to stay. But he left and then Roman asked me to take the job. I knew that I needed to do better because he (Mourinho) was a big name. I also knew I needed to change the style of the football.'

Grant remains close to Abramovich and understands the oligarch's preoccupation with winning the Champions League, but believes the Chelsea owner's overriding obsession is to create a footballing side that people genuinely respect and admire.

'Of course part of this is to not even win the Champions League, but to be in the Champions League final. But first he really wants to build a team that everybody will respect the way they play.'

Old pals: Grant remains close to Abramovich despite being let go after the 2008 final defeat

This is Grant's real disappointment: his unwavering belief that he was the only manager Abramovich has sacked 'when the team was on the up'. He believes his Chelsea team played the best football the club have shown under the Russian's ownership.

'Mourinho was sacked when he was on the way down, even (Carlo) Ancelotti – first year he was champion, the next nothing. Not only this, but the football was not great.

'But Chelsea played very good football that (2007-08) season. I remember Henk ten Cate (Grant's assistant at Chelsea) said to me, “They will miss this football”. And I agree with him. They don't respect it. They miss the quality of football we played that year.'

Relaxed: Sportsmail's Laura Williamson chats with Grant and Partizan Belgrade president Dragan Djuric (right)

Grant believes Di Matteo's 'brilliant' success in Europe merits the offer of a permanent contract, whatever happens against Bayern Munich, but there is scant praise for the way Chelsea have played under the Italian – 'defensively, with counter-attack'. Instead, he applauds the mental strength of a group of players 'who come to big games and know what to do'.

'When you come to the dressing room you feel good with them. They are a strong team.'

So why had Di Matteo been able to harness this winning mentality, where Andre Villas-Boas failed Grant said: 'Villas-Boas knows a lot about football. But sometimes it's not just football. I saw he came with all these books, but you cannot read about experience in books. In Chelsea you need experience because you have to deal with problems. It's not just about football in Chelsea.'

Timing, it seems, is everything instead.