Thiago Silva never imagined himself playing in England.
As a ball-playing centerback, the Brazilian had watched English Premier League games over the years and it just did not appeal to him.
“My impression of the football played was one of long balls, high balls, long-distance shots,” he said.
Photo: AP
“My preference was to play football with the ball on the ground,” he said.
So how, at the age of 36, has Thiago Silva ended up at Chelsea in perhaps the last big move of his distinguished career?
“Over time, I have seen that the league has developed tremendously,” he said on Tuesday at his presentation as a Chelsea player.
“There’s a lot more technical quality, a lot more teams playing with the ball on the ground, fullbacks attacking in the area,” he said. “Little by little, the Premier League has won me over. Anyone who knows me can confirm that. At 36, I am arriving to play in the best league in the world.”
Thiago Silva’s last competitive game was for Paris Saint-Germain in a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in last month’s UEFA Champions League final in Lisbon.
Contrast that occasion with his likely debut for Chelsea, a low-profile EFL Cup match against Barnsley, a team from England’s second tier.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said that he was ready to give the experienced centerback some minutes in yesterday’s game, as the Brazilian builds up to full match fitness after a short off-season.
Bigger tests await Thiago Silva in the Premier League, and he does not see himself struggling in what is widely regarded as the most physically intense division in the world.
“Age is just a number on your document. Physically, I feel very young, I am very well prepared for this and I have been preparing my whole life,” he said.
“People who know me know how much I love my work and that I put in 200 percent. This is a great opportunity that Chelsea and Frank Lampard have given me. I don’t want to let them down,” he added.
Thiago Silva is likely to provide some much-needed leadership and experience to a Chelsea defense that have appeared naive at times since Lampard joined last year.
He sees his role at Chelsea as not just a player, but a mentor for a young team who are trying to gel after the club’s off-season spending spree of more than US$250 million.
“I think with all the experience in my career and everything, I think it’s important to show to the younger players that just playing the matches isn’t enough,” he said.
“They need to be prepared and ready to be in the best state possible. They need to see how important it is to win things, because I think people who are winners are remembered,” he said.
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
Taiwan last night defeated Cuba 2-0 in their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 Group B game at the Taipei Dome and finished the group second. At the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, South Korea yesterday defeated Australia 5-2, while Japan last night won 11-3 against the Dominican Republic. On Sunday, Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome to advance to the Super Round. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champions and Group B winners Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the
Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome last night to advance to the Super Round of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 tournament. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champion and Group B winner Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the off. After taking a walk to first base, Taiwan’s Chen Chieh- hsien (陳傑憲) then stole second before Tseng Song-en (曾頌恩) drew a walk to first in the top of the first inning. Chen then
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
RSS