Chelsea winger Willian has been interviewed by Brazilian outlet Sportv this week.
As players don’t speak so often to Sportv as they do to ESPN Brasil, this interview had several topics: Chelsea, transfer stories, change of manager, national team and so on.
Once again asked about the Barcelona transfer rumours, the player had to repeat that nothing got to him, although it wouldn’t be the first time the Catalan side try to sign him.
“This time nothing came,” Willian told Sportv. “If it arrived to the club, they did not pass me anything. In the past window Barcelona tried two or three times to sign me. This time I didn’t know anything. If it came to the club or my agent, I didn’t know anything. I still have my head at Chelsea.
“I think I’ve been playing a lot more this season. I started almost every game. We feel the coach has the confidence. Changed the team’s position a lot. He was able to fit the way he wants us to play. We play with a lot of ball possession, and we like it more. Take possession of the ball and play football. It’s pretty cool.”
Asked to talk a little more about Maurizio Sarri, Willian said: “He is a coach who enjoys a lot of ball possession, of giving few touches on the ball. The player holds the ball only close to the box in the one-on-one play. He likes to play fast. That’s why the people call it ‘Sarri-ball’.
“He is a coach who jokes a lot. When we arrive with the face more closed, he already asks ‘Smile’. He likes to see the player happy.”
Then, of course, he was asked to compare Sarri to Antonio Conte: “Every coach has his way of working. I don’t like to make comparisons. With Conte, our team defended much more. We stood behind the line of the ball, seeking the counterattacks. With Sarri, we have the ball more and we control the game more.”
Always quizzed if he’s returning to play in Brazil someday, Willlian is not very interested in it: “I like it here, my family too. We are very happy here. We have the possibility of having an English passport. It’s something I think about and I really want to. Why not go on living here when I finish my career? It’s worth thinking about it.”
It doesn’t sound like Willian has any plans to leave England, or Chelsea, in the immediate future.
