Congratulations Thomas, but it sounds as though you won’t be able to have supporters at Stamford Bridge for the home leg of the quarter-final…
“Thanks for ruining my evening! I was in such a good mood, can we speak about it when it’s confirmed?”
It has been confirmed…
“Let’s wait for the confirmation of the confirmation. Let’s see, today I’m happy that we are in the last eight. There were a lot of things to overcome, so I’m so happy and so proud. So let’s see. It’s the first thing I hear now. In three days we play Middlesbrough in the cup, then we have the national break, and then I’ll think about a good answer. The fans are outside right now and it was brilliant to be with them.”
Has the situation around Roman Abramovich and the club’s ownership galvanised you, do you thrive under this pressure?
“We are all competitors and I always experienced from day one, once I was part of the family, a very competitive spirit and a very competitive club. I think Chelsea are so clear as a club about what they demand of every employee and every player: play your role, play to the limit, and take responsiblity. This is what Chelsea is about and it sharpens your mentality and brings out the best of you. It’s normal to do it on a daily basis and because this mentality is installed over years and years, decades, it plays a big part as to why we can stay focused and produce results as we do at the moment when things are uncertain and unstable around us. It’s already there and we live it on a daily basis, of course. We try to encourage and support the players in the best way possible, but still I am very proud that they can do it like this. Everybody plays a huge part at the moment, the staff and the 80 people who work at Cobham. It’s good and we are competitive. We want to be competitive no matter what. It’s a big test at the moment.”
You don’t allow excuses?
“There’s always a thin line between reasons why things maybe are a bit difficult and giving excuses. It’s about responsibility. We have the responsibility and I think everybody feels very privalaged. So we take the responsibility we have, that once you work for Chelsea this is what you do. You adapt to the level of talent, be it player, coach or member, or staff. Once you work for Chelsea, you work at the limit. It’s what you do on a daily basis and it’s what helps. We stick together and try to overcome the situation together. I am very proud, very happy.”
Is there a side you don’t want to face in the quarter-finals?
“I want us to be the team nobody wants to play. This is the role we see ourselves in this round of eight. It’s a big step to do it again, again, and again. We fight for the top four places in the toughest league maybe in the world right now and we fight in the last eight again [in the Champions League]. So this brings out the best in us and we want to be the team nobody wants to play against. So let’s see what happens.”
Importance of Cesar Azpilicueta during this tough period behind the scenes?
“He is maybe the perfect example to describe, as a person and leader, what I tried to explain with a lot of words at the beginning. He is just doing what he is doing and he’s doing it in good times and bad times. He is doing it over and over again. No matter if he has a personal period when he maybe suffers a bit and isn’t playing regularly, or if he has to play as a wing-back which maybe isn’t his best position, but he is there and lives on a daily basis what it takes to be Chelsea captain. He is a legend already at the club and this is what we need. I don’t think we need extra, extra, extra at the moment. We just need a reliable attitude, reliable teamwork, and a reliable spirit. This is what we have and Azpi is a huge part as a captain.”
Has he helped in talking to the players?
“I don’t know. I don’t get too much involved if Azpi is talking to the players. I think he does what he always does and the effect we see now is the product of what we put in on a daily basis. Azpi is a huge part of this.”
There was a lot of criticism for Chelsea yesterday for their statement about Middlesbrough, do you think the club just need a bit of quiet at the moment?
“That was our responsibility. Not mine and the team because let me put it like this, we love to play in front of spectators and I don’t think spectators of our opponents should suffer from the consequences. So I think the proposal was withdrawn and it was absolutely the right thing to do because that was from our side and hopefully, it was not meant like this. It was not the very best idea to put it like this. We love to play in front of spectators. Me and the team were not involved in this decision and I’m happy that it was withdrawn, very happy.”
