Chelsea midfielder Willian has given an interview to Globo Esporte on Tuesday. The chat was pretty interesting, with the player talking about old and new teammates, grieving for his mother and his thoughts on the future.
One of the most interesting topics was when Willian being asked to explain what the relationship is like between Diego Costa and Antonio Conte.
The duo attracted a lot of attention last month, when after an alleged training ground disagreement, Costa was forced to sit out a Chelsea match.
“Easy, easy,” said Willian. “The temperament of the two is a bit difficult, but they are very good people.
“For those who don’t know, Diego Costa seems like a tough guy, who wants to fight, but that’s on the pitch. He always tells us, ‘I’m like that on the pitch, I cannot change. If I were to play against my mother, that would be the way I would be’ (laughs).
“So, he’s a guy who wants to win, he wants to fight, he fights for all the balls, he wants to score, and that’s cool. Off the pitch is a guy who is always joking and talks to us. There is no problem between the two.”
Speaking of Ramires and Oscar, both Brazilians who left Chelsea to join Chinese clubs, Willian still doesn’t know if he’d consider going the same way: “It is hard to say. It’s a very personal decision, it belongs to each player. A lot of people judge the players that go there, but only us, players, we know how this football life is difficult, fleeting and very fast.
“So in making this decision, we end up thinking about our future, our children and family. I don’t know if I would go or not. What I can say is that I’m happy at Chelsea, I feel very good there, like it’s my home. It’s practically my house, I’m going to be here for four years now.
“I have the affection of everyone there, I am well adapted to the city, my family loves to live in London. It’s a difficult change, so it would have to be a thought-out decision made with my family.”
Having lost his mother a few months ago, the midfielder revealed his struggles during the period, but his mental and physical recovery should mean the return of his good form at the club: “Yes, I feel much better today.
“Of course, longing for her will always exist, I have no doubt. And the memories of her… The pain passes, but the longing stays. But today I feel better mentally and physically. I lost weight, lost 4kg after my mother’s death, so it was difficult to get back. But today I feel much better.
“I lost 4kg without doing anything. It was something that made me a little worried because it shook me a lot. Mentally I got very bad, but thank God today I feel much better. Family and friends gave me a lot of support, and it helped me a lot. Now I’ve recovered the 4kg.
“I know she’s certainly in a better place than ours. I know she’s very happy. I hope to keep my mother happy from here, knowing that someday I will find her in eternity too.”
Willian’s outlook can only be a positive thing for Chelsea and it sounds like the Brazilian is coming out the other side after a very difficult period of his life. Not ruling out a move to China, and certainly sounding like he’d consider it, it’s likely Willian would only be looking at such a move further down the road.
For now, he’s getting back to his best, on and off the pitch.
