Willian
opens up to Sky Sports about his journey to Chelsea from Brazil via Ukraine,
the secrets of his free-kick success, the lowdown on Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3
tactics and what the Blues need to do to win the Premier League…
We're in the dugout at Cobham FC, the Surrey side who play at the lowest
level of semi-professional football in England, just down the road from
Chelsea's manicured training base. The dressing room is clean enough but
cosy too. As Willian prepares for a training session, he has time to reflect
on unfamiliar surroundings.
Ever seen a changing room like this one? "Never in England," he tells Sky
Sports. "This is small." Not that it's completely alien to the Brazilian who
grew up in the city of Ribeirao Pires in Sao Paulo state. What were they
like there? "Worse than this one," he says as thoughts drift back to the
start of a journey that's taken him to the Premier League.
Willian's homeland has been on his mind of late. Earlier this month, he paid
tribute to the victims of the Chapecoense disaster and their families upon
scoring Chelsea's winner against Manchester City.
Brazil is his country. But it's one he had to leave soon after his 18th
birthday in pursuit of his goals. There are frequent trips back, even a
World Cup there in 2014, but most of his memories are of his childhood. The
days in Sao Paulo when he played only for the love of the game in his old
Topper boots.
"I've got many memories but I don't even remember when I started," he says.
"It's difficult when you start to play football. My boots were much worse."
And what of the pitches? "They didn't even have grass." However, he resists
the romantic notion that this helped his technique. "No! It was difficult,"
he insists.
A childhood friend of Chelsea team-mate David Luiz - "I brought him back!
He's just the same, he never changes" - Willian's story since then is a
modern one. For some, Brazil is a footballing cauldron but the global
reality of the game's economics meant that the player had to head for the
ice cold of Eastern Europe to progress his career.
It's a familiar route for Brazilian footballers but one that demands
commitment. Only the strong of mind and body truly flourish. "It was
difficult because everything was changed," he recalls of his move to
Shakhtar Donetsk. "It was totally different. I am living in Sao Paulo and
then I'm in Ukraine living in a small city called Donetsk. There's the
weather, the language.
"I went there with my family. That helped a little bit and I ended up
staying there for five-and-a-half years. It was important there that I had
so many Brazilian players. There were guys like Fernandinho and Douglas
Costa and they helped me a lot. It was difficult because it was very cold
there. I think it was sometimes minus 20 or even minus 25."
Willian readily admits that the experience toughened him up. Perhaps it also
explains why he was able to maintain his standards while so many at Stamford
Bridge suffered such a damaging dip last season. Amid the worst ever Premier
League title defence, Willian had the best goalscoring season of his career
and picked up the club's player of the year award.
"I was happy with my performances last season but it is difficult when the
team doesn't go the same way," he admits. "But I always try to do my best on
the pitch. Last season I was good but this season I want to do much better.
I have to improve and I think I can do it. Of course, this season the team
is much better and playing with more confidence."
The results bear it out. After a slow start under Antonio Conte, a formation
switch sparked a dramatic upturn in form. Chelsea have won 11 Premier League
games in a row. There was the 4-0 win over Manchester United, topped next
time out at Stamford Bridge by the 5-0 victory over Everton. Tottenham were
beaten too. And then there was that win at City.
Willian keeps returning to the word "confidence" when asked to explain the
turnaround, citing the performances of Victor Moses at wing-back - "he's a
great player, so powerful" - as an example, but it's the decision to adopt
the 3-4-3 that's seen Moses accommodated that's been the catalyst for that
confidence.
"We have changed it a little bit," he explains. "There's more freedom. I
have more freedom to play. I can move inside, I can go to the left and to
the right and I think it's much better. The new formation helps players like
me, helps Diego [Costa] and helps [Eden] Hazard in front. We can move around
as we have that freedom."
Not that freedom on the pitch should be interpreted as a lack of control by
Conte. Life under the Italian is anything but easy. "It's intense," says
Willian. "He likes to work. We train hard. Sometimes it's two hours of
intense training. We always have a plan going into the game and we have to
trust in the plan. We've done that.
"The way we are training makes us more confident in the games too. We can
run and put pressure on the opponents. And when you win game by game, this
brings even more confidence. We have to keep it going. The target is to stay
together and to play together. If we trust in our team-mates then we have a
great chance to win the title this season."
Chelsea's absence from Europe will help. "We have a whole week to train so
there's more training," adds Willian. "There's no rest. Sometimes he gives
us one day. But we like the way we train and we trust the manager. But we
miss the Champions League. To play Champions League is good and that's why
we are working hard this season to get back."
Willian isn't afraid of hard work, he's shown that already. And after a
journey that's taken him halfway around the globe, he's finally feeling at
home. "I like to play for Chelsea and I like to live in London," he adds.
"My family like it as well so I hope I can stay here many years. I think the
best moments of my career are coming up."
Willian trains fast in Nike Football Training apparel, built for speed
with revolutionary AeroSwift technology. Visit nike.com to explore the
collection
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