New Delhi, Nov 8 — Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso is eager to see his side return to European competition next season, saying the club's ambition is to regularly compete against the continent's top teams despite appreciating the benefits of having a less congested schedule this term.
Chelsea have enjoyed additional time on the training ground during the opening months of the campaign, with no European commitments on their calendar, as they failed to qualify for UEFA Champions League 2026-27. The extra preparation time has allowed Alonso to implement his tactical ideas and build stronger relationships with his players since taking charge.
However, the Spaniard admitted that he would happily sacrifice those longer training weeks for the demands of European football, including the prospect of playing three matches in a week.
"The ambition is to be back there (in Europe). We want it to be just one season that we are having long weeks. The aim, the desire, the hunger is to have busy weeks, to have to deal with three games a week, and that we'll see each other much more. It's not that it hurts now, because you deal with it, but this is where we want to be," Alonso told club media ahead of Chelsea's Premier League trip to Sunderland.
Chelsea have made a reasonably encouraging start to the Premier League season, collecting 16 points from their opening nine matches to occupy fourth place in the standings. Their latest assignment is against Sunderland, who have returned to European football for the first time in more than five decades.
Alonso, a two-time UEFA Champions League winner as a player, understands the demands of competing at the highest level in Europe. He made 119 appearances in the competition during his playing career and believes Chelsea have the quality to return to that stage.
"We want to be playing in Europe, in big stadiums, having top teams in Europe because I think that we can be there, but we need to earn it to be there," he said.
"We like football and, unfortunately, we can only comment (on what has taken place during a European gameweek). The feeling is that we want to be there, but we need to deserve that," Alonso added.