Zola on Loftus-Cheek, Liverpool, his managerial ambitions, Blues youngsters and monitoring Lampard
Chelsea assistant boss Gianfranco Zola spoke about a number of issues at a media conference on Tuesday ahead of the Blues’ Carabao Cup game against Liverpool at Anfield. Here’s what the Italian had to say.
On standing in for boss Maurizio Sarri
“I think this chair is for Maurizio. I think I need to lift it up a little bit!”
On the Liverpool cup tie
“It is an important game. We are Chelsea Football Club and we want to play in all our games and try to win all of them. So we’re going to take it seriously.
“It’s not the Premier League, but because of who we are and what we are we want to play the games as best we can and we are going to do that tomorrow.”
On facing Liverpool again this Saturday
“Personally I think as Chelsea we are very clear that we want to win both of them if we can and we are going to try to do our best.
“Of course the game on Saturday is going to be huge. It’s going to be important because of the type of game, it means a lot.
“But tomorrow we are going to be competitive and then we’re going to see what it’s going to be like on Saturday.”
On whether Chelsea will rest players
“We will see. I think it is an opportunity to see players who did not have many games so far.
“So there is an opportunity, but there will still be a good team.”
On Ruben Loftus-Cheek
“Ruben has had an injection and still recovering. It is very unlikely he will be able to be a part of the game.
“The same for Rudiger and Pedro. They are recovering well but it will be tough for them to be part of the game tomorrow.”
On whether Eden Hazard will play
“It looks like the more he plays the better he gets. We have another training session to decide that. I think Eden is going to be part of the squad.”
On how Hazard can get even better
“I think Eden has done magnificently in the World Cup and is a player that is getting better and better and I don’t think, in my opinion, has reached his full potential.
“I believe that he can use his skills even in a better way. I totally believe this and I think this year the team and Maurizio are happy to really help him reach his full potential.
“As you play and you have more experiences, you play at a high level for a long time, you get better and better and you know how to use your ability in a better way – in a more efficient way.
“It’s a process that he’s going to do himself. Of course we’re going to try to help him be more effective on the pitch and I think the way we try to play will benefit him a lot because we try to play in the opposition’s half.
“The closer we keep him to the goal the more we can get him to receive the ball around the box, the more effective he can be.
“It’s about giving him the opportunity to use his ability in the best area of the pitch, which is close to the goal.
“The whole team is playing that way and he will take a lot of benefits from that. Plus, he will learn how he can be more effective.”
On Gary Cahill
“It is totally understandable that Gary is upset. And we want him to be upset (about not playing). It means that he cares.
“But he’s being a top professional. He’s doing everything correctly and he just needs to be patient because he came (back from the World Cup) late and players that were here did very well.
“He will have his chances and then it’s down to him to take those chances in the best way.”
On being back at Chelsea
“For me this is a dream of a situation. Everybody knows how much I care about this club and it’s a great opportunity.
“I’m glad for that and very, very, very grateful. But now there’s a lot of work I need to do to deserve that and that’s what I’m trying to do and I’m trying to do even more.”
On whether he would like to be a manager again
“I’m here totally at the disposal of Maurizio and I really hope I can give the best of myself for him to be successful.”
On learning from Sarri
“For me it’s a new world. He opened a big world in front of me. I thought I knew a lot about football. I was wrong.
“It’s been great as an experience. Plus, obviously I am enjoying the person and also his staff. We are working very hard together.”
On whether he’d have enjoyed playing under Sarri
“I tell you I would have enjoyed it a lot, because if you see the stats, so far we play the majority of games in the opposition’s half so you get a lot of balls, touch a lot of the ball – especially our strikers – and they touch a lot of the ball in the last 20 metres, which is where a striker with my qualities would have enjoyed it very much.”
On Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu
“Callum has done extremely well. He’s one of the players that has probably impressed the most along with Ethan Ampadu.
“They are both players that have a bright future here. They are both in contention for tomorrow. They are both in the squad and we will see.
“Callum and Ethan are the future of this club and we are going to take care of them.”
On whether Hudson-Odoi is first-team material
“Without a doubt. Don’t forget that when we played in the Community Shield he was put in front of players like Victor Moses, so if he didn’t have value in our consideration then we wouldn’t have done that.
“He has a future but he’s in a very competitive team with a lot of players and he has also to be patient and wait for his opportunities and when they come then take them in the best way.”
On Frank Lampard managing Derby
“We are following Frank’s progress in the Championship. Plus it’s a championship that I love very much. Hopefully he will do well and so far he’s been doing OK, so I’m very pleased for him.”
