Thomas Tuchel has sat down in an in-depth interview after Chelsea landed in Orlando for the second part of their pre-season tour of the United States, discussing how the opening weeks have gone as well as the arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
The boss is overseeing his second pre-season in charge of the Blues which sees Chelsea currently across the Atlantic for three matches, the first already being played as they came out with a 2-1 win against Club America in Las Vegas.
It's been a positive start to the camp for Chelsea ahead of the 2022/23 season which gets underway in a few weeks.
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Chelsea have welcomed Sterling and Koulibaly to the club, with Tuchel extremely complimentary of both, while other arrivals are expected this summer.
Tuchel has been impressed by the squad's application and desire, believing everyone has a 'big, big chance' to impress to stake a claim to be a part of the team next season.
He is demanding 100 per cent from his players, many of whom have uncertain futures in west London.
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Thomas Tuchel sat down with Chelsea TV in a long interview, with every word the Blues boss said below:
On pre-season:
“It’s very challenging. Changing the third time our time zone. Totally different feeling of temperature, very, very demanding Players are struggling with the heat.
“We give maybe more time, space, time to drink, more breaks. We cannot hide from the fact we are in pre-season and have to somehow put time in our legs. We don’t adapt!"
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On team:
“We are very happy. We have a very strong, hardworking, very nice group of players. They like to be with each other. They are very ambitious. It is very nice to be around them. It’s a long time now we are together and still there’s a whole week to go. It’s a very nice group of characters so we are very happy.
“For me that’s very important. It’s the foundation to push yourself. The level of respect, ambition, the level you can leave your ego in the dressing room or even in hotel. Maybe you don’t have one! This is very important to build a strong group. Football is and always will be a team sport. For this you need a certain atmosphere and this is what we try to create. The combination with the staff is very ambitious but respectful.”
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On Raheem Sterling:
“He knows so many players already so it is not hard to be welcomed in the group and feel welcomed. Going forward he does a lot of individual work because he came late and with not a lot of training in his legs. He’s in the transition part, steps into team training but everything is fine.
“He brings intensity and repetitive intensity in some matches. Not even some weeks or in some matches but over years in the Premier League. That’s the key. He’s a guy who threatens you with dribbling, with runs, super intense with the ball. That’s what he is. He's been outstanding in the league we compete and that’s why he’s huge for us.”
On Raheem Sterling elevating others:
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“I hope so. It’s a new standard. A standard for him to produce in a new shirt, new stadium, new environment. That’s his challenge. I think he will be a huge influence on other players. He’s the new benchmark.”
On Kalidou Koulibaly:
"Very pleased. We wanted these two players (Raheem Sterling) and we got these two players. This is fantastic. It’s exactly what we believe we need. Kali combines a level of quality, talent, personality, strength in set pieces, offensively, defensively, header, and physicality. It’s rare to find. He played so many matches on the highest level. He knows already some players from national team like Edu and Jorgi from Napoli. I hope he can make his way very quickly to the team, feel well. He is now training half individual, half with the group.”
On players leaving:
"It’s never easy and I did not like to do it because everybody deserves to stay with us. We had a very big squad already and then players came additionally on top and some players like Kova are fit to train again. We cut it down and sent some players to the second team also in America. Very difficult decision because nobody deserved to go. I would have loved to have had people here. Tino, Harvey, Billy trained on a very high level and it would have been nice to see them in some matches. In the end we had to take the decision to keep the quality high in training and decided on 24 players maximum."
On pre-season:
“It’s a very short period of time and of course for some players we know what we can expect and demand. They have earned our trust in the last seasons. They show up in training, willing to fight for their place. For many players it is not an evaluation on a daily level but then there are players coming in, experienced players like Emerson, Kenny (Kenedy) are now fully fit. Then there are loan players like Ethan Ampadu, and you name it, who you have a new impression every single day. That's the challenge in pre-season, also the fun. The group needs to find its structure over and over again. We are trying to be part of the process and it’s nice.”
On Ethan Ampadu's return:
“For all of them. Malang did (impress), Trevoh did in last pre-season. Out of ‘nothing’, they earned their spot, their place in the squad and played a huge role in the season for us. Everybody has the chance now to show up. The big part of it is the players here are a nice group, open group, make it very easy to feel welcome and show your best level. It is not always like this, it makes the group special. This is why the youngsters and players like Michy Batshuayi, who feel new in the group, have a big, big chance. They are responsible for what they make out of it. Now they give 100 per cent. This is what we demand.”
Topics: Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly
Matthew Debono