At his first news conference with the London club, the Italian manager spoke in comfortable English and littered his responses with quips.

He initially deadpanned that Terry may not remain captain – amid speculation the defender may accept an offer from Manchester City - but then quickly declared he was joking. "John Terry is a symbol of this team," Ancelotti said. "He will be captain next season. He said he wants to stay forever and we want to keep him for ever. Now there is a question of Manchester City, but for Terry there is no price. Terry will be at Chelsea forever."

Ancelotti is Chelsea's fifth manager in less than two years, and how long he lasts will largely depend on his ability to deliver the Champions League trophy. And Ancelotti - a two-time winner in his eight years at AC Milan - knows it. "I am here for this, to win the Champions League," he said. "I think this is the great competition in the world."

Ancelotti is replacing Guus Hiddink, who reached the semifinals last year. In less than four months, Hiddink revitalized the team after Luiz Felipe Scolari was fired midseason, and won the FA Cup before returning to coach Russia full time. Ancelotti was unveiled by Chelsea on Monday almost exactly a year after Scolari, a World Cup winner with Brazil, was hailed as the manager to repeat the successes Jose Mourinho achieved between 2005 and 2007. While Mourinho won the Premier League twice, he could not get beyond the last four of the Champions League. His successor Avram Grant was fired despite reaching the 2008 final, and Scolari struggled to steer the Blues out of the group stage before being let go.

Ancelotti said Chelsea would not try to match the spending of Real Madrid, which has spent more than euro200 million in the last month on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. "Chelsea does not necessarily have to have the best players," Ancelotti said. There is still uncertainty about whether Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Andriy Shevchenko will remain with the club. Ancelotti indicated that Shevchenko is the most likely to leave. "Shevchenko will come in London on July 9 and will work with us in preseason and at this moment we speak with him to find the right solution for us," Ancelotti said. "Carvalho and Deco are Chelsea players. If in the future a player wants to go, they have to speak with the club and we take the right decision for the player and for us."