After a whirlwind past couple of months for Willian, in which he courted controversy with an Instagram post, flirted with interest from two Spanish giants and delayed his return to training at Cobham, the Brazilian winger seems to have finally settled at West London.
Recently, Willian revealed that Maurizio Sarri’s arrival was the main reason why he chose to stay at Stamford Bridge and with the 29-year-old starting for the Blues’ in their first two league games under the former Napoli schemer, it seems to have put the previously unsettled Brazilian under a better mood. In a candid interview, the winger proceeded to shed light on who has been impressing at Cobham’s training grounds before revealing the more distinctive quirks of his teammates in the dressing room.
Willian firstly talked about the two midfield signings of the club, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, saying they have been the most impressive players during training. “Everyone has been training well but I would say Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic have been very good,” said Willian in an interview posted on the Chelsea website. “They both bring a lot of quality to the team.”
The Brazi international also lauded the qualities of his international teammate David Luiz, saying the big-haired defender will play not only as a goalkeeper but as a striker too, when called upon. Quizzed on which outfielders can play as an emergency goalkeeper, Willian said: “Maybe David Luiz, he’s crazy enough to be a goalkeeper. If we had to put an outfield player in goal during a game I’m sure he would nominate himself.”
Then when asked on which defenders can make good strikers, the 29-year-old cited his Brazilian compatriot once more. “Again, David Luiz. He used to play as a midfielder when he was younger, but he was quite attacking, so I think he would be good up front.”
When Chelsea slump to a dismal loss – something that was quite familiar during their last season under Conte – Willian revealed the seasoned defensive trio of Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta as ones responsible for reminding the squad to keep their heads up. “I would say players like Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta, they have good leadership qualities and are good in those situations.”
Keeping the action up at the dressing room, the Brazilian then lifted the lid on some of his teammates’ oddities. Despite being a scary defensive presence on the pitch, Antonio Rudiger has been revealed by Willian to be the squad’s resident party animal with the centreback frequently taking over the tunes. “Toni Rudiger, he’s the DJ,” said Willian.
? Antonio Rüdiger shows off his dance moves after an amazing week!
?? Makes Germany's World Cup squad
? Wins FA Cup with Chelsea (his first club trophy)
? Is Man of the Match in the FA Cup finalpic.twitter.com/FJcjv8XmBQ— DW Sports (@dw_sports) May 21, 2018
He also said the German is the loudest before revealing, unsurprisingly, that N’Golo Kante is the most silent of the bunch. “He’s very shy and quiet,” said the Brazilian of the French midfielder. “You could see that even when he won the World Cup, he didn’t want to pick up the trophy, it was unbelievable.”
The 29-year-old then opened up on the group’s social media activities. Quizzed on who takes the best photos on Instagram, Willian answered: “I don’t know who takes the best but we don’t have too many players who put stuff on Instagram all the time. I have an account but I only use it every now and again.”
And when asked who of the Chelsea players should fans follow on social media, Willian, who has since explained it was his daughter who was responsible for that emoji-filled social media post, didn’t choke on his answer: “Willian,” said the winger before bursting into laughter.
