Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic is proud of his record in the Champions League.

This season - one in which the Blues are trying to defend the European crown - marks a decade since Kovacic's Champions League bow, and good reason to reflect on what it takes to climb the highest summit in club football.

"Ten years is a long period of time, so you learn a lot," says Kovacic to the club's website.

"I learned that you need to have a lot of patience to get to the top, and not only in football. That leads me to the Champions League games. You have to have patience and work hard in order to win the biggest trophies.

"I think that Chelsea were a great example. We started the tournament last season with a lot of patience without much pressure, and we ended up achieving what very few people expected – to win the Champions League. That's a lesson I learned.

"Patience is the most important thing because, when you have that and when you work hard, you achieve the biggest things."

He added: "Each season goes hand in hand with pressure, especially when you play for a club like Chelsea, who are serial trophy collectors with their eyes on the prize at all times. Last year we won the Champions League, but this year we have to prove ourselves again.

"We want to be at the top, and that goes for the Premier League as well. So yes, the pressure is always there, but it's also nice to see that people have high expectations of you. The pressure doesn't kick pleasure out of the equation."