AC Milan defender Gianluca Zambrotta expects Carlo Ancelotti to deliver the Champions League to Chelsea.

The former Juventus and Milan coach has won Europe's premier club competition twice as a player and twice as a coach while he also lost one final during his eight-year spell on the Rossoneri bench.

The Champions League remains the holy grail for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the appointment of a man who once claimed the competition forms part of his DNA is a clear signal of his intentions for next season.

And Zambrotta, who played under Ancelotti at both Juve and Milan, believes Abramovich could not have made a better choice, even if he regrets losing the man who has made such an impression on his own career.

"I am sorry above all to have lost a great personality in the coach (Ancelotti) for what he has given to everybody," said the Italy international.

"He has already won everything there was to win and has a wealth of experience."

However, Zambrotta claims there is one way in which Ancelotti can improve.

Ancelotti is embarking on his first adventure outside of Italy and, if his first official interview as Chelsea coach yesterday is anything to go by, he still has a lot of ground to make up in his grasp of the English language.

"Above all, he needs to improve his language skills because I heard him talking and his English is still a bit at schoolboy level," Zambrotta told Sky television with a wry smile.

"Joking aside, he is a great coach and I don't think there is much advice you can give him."

One of Ancelotti's main strengths is building a strong team spirit and bringing harmony to the dressing room.

Zambrotta is well placed to attest to the kind of relationship the Chelsea players can expect to build with him next season, and the reaction to his departure, announced in the dressing room after Sunday's 2-0 win at Fiorentina, confirms how much he will be missed.

"There was a bit of sadness and emotion, particularly on the part of the elder players, from (Gennaro) Gattuso to (Andrea) Pirlo, to (Massimo) Ambrosini," revealed Zambrotta.

"It was a touching moment - like being in one big family."

Paolo Maldini also left that family at the weekend, concluding, at the age of 40, a career which has spanned two and a half decades.

He played alongside Ancelotti before spending the final eight years of his career as his captain and he feels the former Rossoneri coach deserves as big a place in the club's history books as he himself now occupies.

"Milan must always show recognition for Ancelotti for the many successes they had together," he said today in Florence, where his son Christian was taking part in a youth tournament.

"Stories end in either a good or a bad way and Ancelotti's story with Milan ended very well."

Like Zambrotta, Maldini too feels the language barrier is the only one Ancelotti needs to now overcome to enhance his reputation with the Blues.

"Now he has got to improve his English," he said. "I am sure he will make improvements in this aspect and am convinced that, come July, he will know how to speak the new language better than he does today."

Milan are now working on building up a new family and president Silvio Berlusconi, while recognising the achievements of Ancelotti, believes it is time to move on.

"Cycles open and close in football, but our relationship with Ancelotti was perfect and I have a very friendly and affectionate bond with him," he said.

"I cannot wait for a new season for Milan with a new coach and I wish Carlo the very best of success with Chelsea."