#PLStories- Willy Caballero reveals ‘debates’ with manager Ruben Selles about leadership role #SAINTSFC
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Willy Caballero reveals ‘debates’ with manager Ruben Selles about leadership role #SAINTSFC

March 9, 2023
The Spanish boss has praised the Argentine shot-stopper as part of a group of senior players who have stepped in to help lead the team through a tumultuous season. Caballero, James Ward-Prowse, Theo Walcott and Kyle Walker-Peters are among those stepping into the breach as Selles calls on academy staff to help coach the senior side. Saints remain in the relegation zone of the Premier League in a campaign which has seen three first team managers and three new coaching teams. Don't miss a moment with our Saints morning briefing email. Caballero, speaking in an interview with The Athletic, has opened up on the positive dynamic he looks to bring to the dressing room. “My job is to help all the players because they have a different view from being on the pitch,” he said. “That’s why they ask me what I see during the first half. “I always reach out to one or two guys, but there are some that come to me and ask me questions. It’s beautiful because that role has helped me to grow. Caballero continued: “Ruben, as a Spaniard, asks me what I see. We sometimes get into debates about what we can do to help the team improve because the second half is often when the game changes.” Caballero is the third-choice goalkeeper at Saints with Gavin Bazunu retaining the number one shirt following a summer move from Manchester City, and with Alex McCarthy given a new contract last summer too. Great to chat with Ollie Wright (20) after he spent months working in the first team.🔜 He'll look for a loan move this summer but must lead a young B team first. Inc:😇 #SaintsFC since U10s.🚌 Premier League trips.👨‍🦲 Learning from Caballero.🔴 Bristol City/Saints links. — Alfie House (@AlfieHouseEcho) March 7, 2023 The Argentine initially joined as short-term injury cover for McCarthy and Fraser Forster in December 2021 but has gone on to make five appearances for the club. “It’s been clear since I signed my contract what my position would be,” Caballero admitted. “But I’ve always said to the club that I will be here every day, training as I am the No 1 — because I want to be. “It’s the only thing that makes me wake up in the morning at 7 AM to drive an hour and a half to come here. But the reality is I’m the third choice; I have to fight really hard to get another opportunity. “I am enjoying it but I’m going day by day. I was crazy when I left Chelsea in 2021 and tried to find another club. But I’m not another crazy guy right now.”
#PLStories- Southampton goalkeeper Willy Caballero signs new one-year contract #SAINTSFC
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Southampton goalkeeper Willy Caballero signs new one-year contract #SAINTSFC

July 2, 2022
SAINTS goalkeeper Willy Caballero has signed a one-year extension to remain with the club for the upcoming 2022-23 season.  The former Chelsea and Manchester City stopper turns 41 in September, but will likely act as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s third or fourth choice.  Alex McCarthy and summer signing Gavin Bazunu will tussle for the number one shirt, while Caballero acts as back-up and offers his experience and mentality to the group.  He will continue to work alongside goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparkes, who is part of a seven-man coaching including manager Hasenhuttl. On signing his deal, Caballero said: "The feeling is to be ambitious, to be part of this team, to create a really great atmosphere here, to convince myself and to convince the players that we can do something together – something nice, something big. “If I am thinking just that I can help them grow, it would be a comfortable situation. But I am here to compete with everyone, as I have done in the past and as I have done from the first day, because that is my way to train and feel football.” Mateusz Lis, who also arrived at St Mary’s this summer, could potentially go out on loan – acting as a ready-made replacement for Caballero at the end of next campaign.  Caballero signed for Saints initially as emergency cover while both McCarthy and new Tottenham Hotspur keeper Fraser Forster were unavailable for Hasenhuttl in December.  The Argentine impressed during his one-month stint, and earned a contract to the end of the season. Saints then revealed, in the retained list, that negotiations were under way for another new Caballero deal.  After confirming his stay, Hasenhuttl added: “Willy proved to be a valuable addition to our goalkeeper group last season, both on the pitch in the matches that he played and on the training ground, where his experience is massive for us and the other goalkeepers. “He is an amazing guy who brings a lot of personality to the dressing room, and we are very happy he has decided to stay with us for another year.” A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo. Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website. You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more. Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself. Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News
#PLStories- Willy Caballero surprised after hearing praises from Ralph hasenhuttl #SAINTSFC
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Willy Caballero surprised after hearing praises from Ralph hasenhuttl #SAINTSFC

March 30, 2022
WILLY Caballero admitted “I don’t know, but it’s good to hear your manager speaking well” when asked what he had done to make Ralph Hasenhuttl such a big fan of his, soon after arriving at Saints. The Austrian boss was immediately impressed with the back-up goalkeeper, who signed for the club on an emergency short-term deal as cover for absent Alex McCarthy and Fraser Forster in December. So much so, Hasenhuttl revealed that he convinced the 40-year-old Argentine to stay at Saints for the rest of the season, adding: “Willy is a fantastic character who has freshened up our goalkeeper group massively.” Caballero made two appearances in the Premier League during the initial one-month stay, going on to start in the FA Cup fourth and fifth rounds too. Asked by the Daily Echo why he thinks Hasenhuttl has had such a strong affinity with him, Caballero explained: “I don’t know, it is good to hear that and to listen that your manager has been speaking well of you. “I can only say that I arrived with a lot of energy and desire, not because of my situation because I am that, very positive, but also because I believe in a way of training, a way to achieve. “Everything I have achieved in the past was with hard work and strong mentality, I started to be myself since I arrived here and maybe it’s about that the manager speaks that way.” He continued: “He’s a really good manager, very passionate and he shows this every training, every video after a game in the debrief on what we can improve, what we can do better, how we can win the next game. “The philosophy of training is also really good. Of course, we didn’t win the last couple of games but we were doing really well for a period of time, a lot of games where we got points against fantastic teams and that is because we are training very hard and we improve a lot of things. Hopefully they are back soon because we need it.” Caballero got the call from Saints goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparkes, after seeing McCarthy injured in the bizarre draw with Brighton at St Mary’s. He had been training with League One side AFC Wimbledon throughout the season to stay fit and ready for when the next opportunity presented itself. However, the decorated former Malaga, Manchester City and Chelsea stopper did not think it would come again at the level it did. “Honestly I did not imagine this opportunity but I did imagine other opportunities,” he admitted. “That was finding a proper team and showing what I can do. “To be honest with you, because I couldn’t find a team in the summer when I left Chelsea I didn’t think (there would be) a chance to go to a Premier League team, because I was four or five months a free agent. So I was looking for a Championship team or something like that, but maybe because I didn’t lose a day of training God gave me this opportunity, this gift. “To be here right now is fantastic, after all the time I spent without a team, and I am enjoying every second.”
#PLStories- Goalkeeper Willy Caballero reveals Southampton summer signings Valentino Livramento and Armando Broja were on Chelsea’s youth academy radar #SAINTSFC
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Goalkeeper Willy Caballero reveals Southampton summer signings Valentino Livramento and Armando Broja were on Chelsea’s youth academy radar #SAINTSFC

March 17, 2022
GOALKEEPER Willy Caballero revealed he and other experienced players at Chelsea “commented on a lot of positive things about Valentino” Livramento, while he was just an academy starlet. The 19-year-old former Cobham defender has enjoyed a breakout Premier League season following his permanent move to Saints last summer. With 23 matches of experience in the country’s top-flight has already come an England under-21 debut, of which he could be called up again when the squad for this month is announced on Friday. This time last year, Livramento was just another promising youngster – on the finishing stretch of a strong season that saw him crowned the Blues’ academy player of the year. Tino Livramento could be set to return to the squad to face Willy Caballero's former side, Manchester City, this Sunday (Pic: PA) Although not yet known to most of the St Mary’s faithful, he was already on the radar of future Saints teammate Caballero. "No, not really. I had met Oriol Romeu once,” the 40-year-old responded, when asked if he had any friends in the Saints squad before joining as emergency cover in December. “And I knew Valentino Livramento and Armando Broja from Chelsea,” he continued. “Because they were in the academy but with the COVID situation, we couldn't train together." Caballero was on the books at the London side between 2017-2021, after joining from Manchester City. Armando Broja played for Chelsea throughout pre-season (Pic: PA) “But I knew about them. Unbelievable. When I was at Chelsea, we commented on a lot of positive things about Valentino, with his potential and projection. And he did really well since the first game (here at Saints).” Although Livramento made an immediate impact with a Premier League start on the opening weekend of the season, after just 45 minutes of pre-season action, Broja’s introduction was a slower burn. The Albanian international had to cut his teeth in the EFL Cup on his debut, while manager Ralph Hasenhuttl called on the youngster to improve his physical outputs for a Premier League start – which first came in October. "With Broja, we - and when I say we - I mean experienced players, because we sometimes spoke about some of the academy players and there were some doubts, but he is unbelievable and he is doing really well,” Caballero added. Goalkeeper Willy Caballero has featured in the FA Cup for Saints this season (Pic: Stuart Martin) “He is scoring goals and helping the team here and he believes in himself that he can be a good striker (in the Premier League), so that is fantastic." Broja was named on the same bench as Caballero by Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, when the striker was handed a Premier League debut with a five-minute cameo in a 4-0 win over Everton, in March 2020. That was the attacker’s only appearance for the Blues’ senior side, although that could change if the six-goal Premier League forward returns to his parent club at the end of this season.
#PLStories- Ralph Hasenhuttl reveals Willy Caballero could be set for longer stay at Saints #SAINTSFC
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Ralph Hasenhuttl reveals Willy Caballero could be set for longer stay at Saints #SAINTSFC

December 24, 2021
MANAGER Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed Saints have it in their minds to extend the contract of keeper Willy Caballero. The 40-year-old former Chelsea stopper was parachuted into the St Mary’s side’s squad on a one-month deal as emergency cover for injured Alex McCarthy and Fraser Forster. The former Argentina international has played for Hasenhuttl’s side in games against Arsenal and Crystal Palace. And with his current agreement set to expire on January 5, Caballero’s time on the south coast could be longer than initially agreed. Asked whether there was a chance Caballero could stay for longer with Saints, Hasenhuttl said: “Yes, there is a chance definitely because in this moment and situation you never know how quick it goes, with COVID that you lose a few players. “It would make sense definitely. We have this in our mind, to extend his contract. I am sure he can help us longer term. “It also shows on the pitch that he can help us. “He's played two games and, especially against Palace, you can feel that he is getting better with every game he gets more self-confidence. This is what you need when you step in as a new goalkeeper.”
Nathan Tella
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Nathan Tella reveals Willy Caballero has looked good in training with Southampton squad #SAINTSFC

December 9, 2021
NATHAN Tella is excited to see new signing Willy Caballero in action, with the goalkeeper having made a good early impression at Saints. Caballero, 40, arrived at the club this week on a one-month deal, following injuries to the club's two most senior goalkeepers in Fraser Forster and Alex McCarthy. That left Harry Lewis as the only other first-team keeper on the books, the 23-year-old having not yet made his Premier League debut. Caballero was a free agent, having left Chelsea over the summer. The Argentina international's glittering CV includes a long career in Spain, before spending three years at Manchester City and four with Chelsea. He was the penalty shoot-out hero in winning the League Cup with City, before claiming FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League glory during his time at Stamford Bridge, albeit as an unused substitute in those finals. Asked how Caballero had settled in at Saints, his new teammate Tella told the Daily Echo: "He’s trained with us the past two days. He’s looked very good. "It’s nice to have someone there as well with a lot of experience. "He’s here to help us pick up points and get back further up the table, where we feel like we deserve to be. "It’s just nice to have him because we’ve got quite a young team, quite a young defence and it will be nice for him to just pass that experience. "He communicates a lot to the back four, which is good. That is something we need. "I’m looking forward to seeing him play at the weekend, if he plays." Caballero could debut for Saints away at Arsenal on Saturday (3pm).
#PLStories- Willy Caballero delighted to join Southampton on one-month deal #SAINTSFC
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Willy Caballero delighted to join Southampton on one-month deal #SAINTSFC

December 7, 2021
SAINTS have announced the signing of experienced stopper Willy Caballero on a one-month contract. The former Manchester City and Chelsea man is set to arrive at St Mary’s as emergency cover, after Alex McCarthy and Fraser Forster both picked up injuries in the past week. Caballero, 40, has been a free agent since his deal at Chelsea expired in the summer. Capped by Argentina five times at senior level, he has been training with AFC Wimbledon in a bid to keep up his fitness. Speaking to Goal back in August, Caballero revealed why he decided to leave Stamford Bridge. "Some people didn’t understand why I turned down a contract as a third goalkeeper," Caballero said. "I believe I am playing at this age because I have always been motivated. "As a third goalkeeper last season, I found it really tough. It was my first season as a third-choice goalkeeper. “I was losing my motivation at Chelsea. I believe for this reason to not renew with Chelsea, to try to find a new challenge to keep that passion alive inside." Caballero could now get the chance to become a temporary number one at Saints over the hectic festive schedule. He arrives to boost the goalkeeping department, with only Harry Lewis in his way as fully fit competition for a starting spot in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s starting XI. Caballero could make his debut for Saints on Saturday, with a trip to Arsenal in the Premier League. His most recent senior game came for Chelsea in the top flight at West Bromwich Albion in September 2020. Across his career in England, Caballero has played 34 games in the Premier League keeping 11 clean sheets. His deal at St Mary’s is set to officially expire on January 5.