Chelsea loanee Eduardo Carvalho is featured in a big interview made by Portuguese newspaper Record today.
Talking about his whole career and his current spell at Dutch side Vitesse, the goalkeeper had a lot to tell, including that he’s not worried about finishing his career in his home country.
Record kept part of the interview only to talk about Chelsea, where Eduardo has made it pretty clear he knew what his situation at the club would be when he signed for the Stamford Bridge side in 2016.
Asked about the few chances to start for the Blues, Eduardo told Record: “I went to Chelsea at 34. Until then, there had never been a chance to go to England. It was a dream I had. I went to the fight, but unfortunately I did not have the opportunities I wanted, also because of the talent and the level of demand that existed. But it was a challenge for me.
“If I had not gone, I’d still be wondering what it would have been like. An invitation from a club like Chelsea you don’t not refuse. I went, I worked and I think I have the respect of people. This is also why I was given the opportunity to find this solution. Even though I did not play, I showed I was a valid option, should the opportunity arise.”
On what his reaction was when he became aware of Chelsea’s interest, Eduardo said: “It was through Gianluca Spinelli, who had worked with me at Genoa. When he came to Chelsea, as goalkeeper coach of Antonio Conte’s technical staff, he proposed the situation to me.
“I did not take long to think, honestly. I spoke to the president of Dynamo Zagreb, he even offered me better terms and more years of contract, but the dream of England, coming through the door of Chelsea… As I said, at the age of 34. If I was younger, I might have thought differently. When I went to Chelsea I knew it was difficult to play, but I could fight for opportunities. I don’t regret.”
Eduardo also talked about the atmosphere in English football: “The demands of a simple training and competition does not allow one not to work seriously and hard every day. You must always be 100%, otherwise it’s impossible to win in England, taking into account the quality of any team, from the last to the first. At Chelsea, only the pleasure of training with those players, with such quality and ambition… This males a player evolve and see football in another way.”
Eduardo claims that by being at a high level, Thibaut Courtois would have to work more: “It was a bit of that. Gianluca Spinelli knew what I could give in terms of training, delivery and spirit. And that also dignifies me as a goalkeeper. With so many he could sign, Chelsea chose me. And the fact that I could work with one of the best goalkeepers in the world was an incentive for me as well as learning.”
And the goalkeeper claims he doesn’t mind learning from younger players: “I can say that it was from the clubs where I found the best relationship between goalkeepers. Even today we talk to each other. Me, Courtois, Begovic, and then Cabalero. And also with the coaches, Spinelli, who is now at PSG, and Hilário. We had a lot of work and a lot of respect. I absorbed a lot of training, approaches to games, and experiences in the conversations we had. It was enriching for me, since I want to work in the area. In the Netherlands I work on different positioning, I have to be stronger in one to one; in England the goalkeepers have to be stronger on the line, catch more shots, for example.”
