Denis Zakaria: ‘They said I was like an octopus. It was positive – or I hope it was’
https://theathletic.com/3665342/2022/10/07/denis-zakaria-Chelsea-juventus/
Denis Zakaria wants nothing more than an opportunity to show Chelsea why he was called an octopus.
The Switzerland midfielder was given the affectionate nickname by appreciative supporters of Germany’s Borussia Monchengladbach, one of his former clubs.
“It’s because I have very long legs,” he says with a smile. “There, I used to win a lot of balls in midfield, so that is why they said I was like an octopus. It was funny and it was positive… or I hope it was!”
After starting out at Swiss clubs Servette and Young Boys, it was across the border at Gladbach that Zakaria forged his reputation. He scored 11 goals and created nine assists in 146 appearances, despite playing most of the time as a defensive midfielder. That form secured a permanent move to Juventus only in January of this year, yet he now finds himself at Stamford Bridge.
Zakaria was the last player to join Chelsea in what was a remarkable summer window for the club.
They spent a record £250million-plus ($279m) on players and it would have been more had they succeeded with offers for one of Edson Alvarez (Ajax), Ibrahim Sangare (PSV Eindhoven) or Romeo Lavia (Southampton) before the deadline.
With N’Golo Kante ruled out by a knee injury, plus the reality of the Frenchman and fellow 30-something Jorginho having less than 12 months left on their contracts, Chelsea’s new owners wanted to bring in another defensive midfielder to provide extra cover.
After having offers for the three mentioned above rejected, they moved to do a loan deal for Zakaria on deadline day.
There was little time to spare, and the official announcement only came at 1am UK time — two hours after the window shut. It was allowed to go through because a deal sheet (the Premier League website explains this is “where a club confirms a deal has been reached in order to allow for additional time to submit the remaining documentation”) had been submitted before the 11pm deadline.
“It was very, very late,” Zakaria says. “Everything happened in six hours, so it was very fast. It was crazy, because I finished training with Juventus and my agent called me. He said, ‘We have Chelsea (making an offer). Is that interesting for you?’. I was like, ‘Oh, yes. It’s Chelsea, you can’t say no’. After that, I got home and had to wait while the clubs agreed the deal and everything.
“In the end, it happened. Was I worried it would collapse? Yes, of course. It was really close. I stayed in a bureau in the (club) office in Turin until, I don’t know, maybe one hour after midnight. So yes, it was really close. But in the end, everything was perfect.
“It’s an amazing feeling that a big club like Chelsea wants you. It means you’re doing a great job and you’re a good player. It gives me more power to give my best, to feel better in myself.”
An option to make the move permanent for £30million is included in the loan deal, but Zakaria hasn’t had the chance to prove he is worth that sum yet. He has yet to get a single minute of action for Chelsea, although it should be highlighted Chelsea have played only five times since he signed.
Despite arriving a little more than a month ago, Zakaria is already serving under his second Chelsea head coach. Thomas Tuchel was in charge when he joined but was fired and replaced with Graham Potter, who had been Brighton boss, less than a week later.
“I didn’t speak directly with him (Tuchel, about joining Chelsea),” he adds. “I just know that he agreed with the deal, that he wanted this deal. For me, it was clear that when you can have a trainer like Tuchel, it is a big opportunity for a player. He is a big, big (name as a) trainer and I was really happy to have the chance to train with him.
“But yeah, after just some days, it was already finished. It was disappointing for him, of course, and for me. I think he is a good trainer and he could have helped me a lot. But we have a new trainer now and I’m really happy also. I will give my best to be the best and to help the team.”
The 25-year-old wasn’t naive and knew what kind of challenge he was facing before the shock of Tuchel’s departure.
As someone who has followed Chelsea throughout much of his life — his biggest idol is club royalty Didier Drogba and he reminisces fondly about watching the club’s 2012 Champions League final win on TV with his brother — he knows all too well the calibre of players he is competing against for a place in the team.
Even with Kante on the treatment table, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher have all been played in central midfield instead of him. Then there are all the internationals occupying the other positions.
To emphasise the point, he picks out Hakim Ziyech as an individual who has impressed him so far — the Morrocco international has played just nine minutes in Potter’s first three matches in charge.
“I never saw a left foot like it,” he says. “Oof, it’s crazy. Then there is N’Golo, he’s an amazing player. He’s a little bit back with the team (after his injury). We trained together. I can see the quality. N’Golo, I think, is an inspiration for every midfield player. What he does is incredible, amazing. And I’m really happy to have the chance to play with him also, to learn from him, and I will take every minute to be better with him.
“But every player is really amazing in this team. I can say that here the quality of the players in training is one of the best I’ve seen. Of course, Juventus is also really good quality. But here, at Chelsea, I have to say it is really an amazing-quality team. Also, you improve yourself in every training (session). I came here to improve myself and that’s why I feel like it will be a good decision to come here.
“It is not easy to be on the bench. Like every player, I want to play. But yes, we have to train hard and prove ourselves. In the end, when you have a chance to play, you must prove yourself in that moment.
“I spoke with the new coach (one-on-one, as all the players did soon after Potter took over) but it was the first meeting to see where my position was and to get to know each other. After that, we’ve not had the time to speak again, but we will have the time to speak in the future. In the end, I have to work 100 per cent on the pitch and in training. After that, we’ll see.
“In the first meeting, he (Potter) said he likes the style of player I am. In training, he is pushing every player, which is good. We have a lot of games (before the World Cup break begins on November 13) and I think every player will have their chance. It’s in that moment the player has to take their chance and play well. After that, you see what happens. I am training hard to be ready for that moment and be ready to have a place in this team.”
When asked if his aim is to play at a level which will convince Chelsea to make his loan permanent, Zakaria replies: “Of course. If you don’t do good, you don’t have the chance to stay. Chelsea is a big club and if you’re not good enough, you can’t stay at this club. I am here to prove I deserve to be here, that I am a good player and I can help the team. We will see what happens at the end.
“I hope only the best for Juventus. I hope they can win the title in Italy and I would be very happy for that. Juventus is a big, big club, like Chelsea. I learnt a lot there, with big, big players. And I can only be grateful for that because they gave me a lot of chances and everything. I am a fan of Juventus and I follow Juventus, of course. But now I am a Chelsea player, so I’m focused here and I want to give my best to help the team. For me, I’m a new player, but I feel like I’ve been here one or two years already.
“It was not an easy solution (to join Chelsea) but in the end, I am a player, I need also this challenge to be better. For me, I am better when I take challenges. To change everything, like language, is not easy, but I think I can do it.”
While he hasn’t had the chance to speak to Drogba yet about how to make an impact at Chelsea, he has had a conversation with another of his heroes — Claude Makelele, who won five major trophies with Chelsea between 2003 and 2008 and now works as a mentor in the club’s academy, so is a regular at their Cobham base.
Zakaria plays the same role Makelele starred in. The latter also knows the difficulties of joining Chelsea from abroad, having moved from Real Madrid for £16.8million 19 years ago.
“Claude is very funny, a very good guy,” Zakaria says. “He is also a big legend and I will take any advice from him. I’ve seen him two or three times. We don’t really have the time to speak about football and everything. But if I have the chance, I will take every advice because he was in my position and knows how to play it.
“I am a really flexible player. Yes, I can adapt myself. That’s also a good part of me. But I am a midfield player first. I can play in a lot of positions, but I am a midfield player.”
After he joined, Tuchel spoke about Zakaria being able to play wing-back — which came as news to the player.
“Oh, no, no, no,” Zakaria replies. “I didn’t know (he said that)! OK, I can run fast, but I didn’t know I can play in that position. In the past, I played as a central defender in a three, in the middle, that was a position I have played. But in the end, I was always a No 6 or a No 8.”
Zakaria has another motivation for forcing his way into Potter’s first XI as soon as possible.
The World Cup starts on November 20 and he wants to represent Switzerland in it. He won his 41st and 42nd caps in the Nations League games last month, although only as a late substitute in matches against Spain and the Czech Republic. A lack of minutes at club level going into a major tournament is obviously not ideal for impressing coach Murat Yakin.
“Of course, we speak to each other and have a good contact,” Zakaria says of Yakin. “They follow what we do in the clubs. It is important for me to have some game time before the World Cup. You have to work to have your chance. I work on my side and will give my best to be ready for it.”
No interview with a new Chelsea player would be complete without asking them if they have performed their initiation song — a tradition brought in by former captain Dennis Wise in the 1990s — in front of the other players yet.
Zakaria’s face lights up.
“It was (Ivory Coast band) Magic System’s song Premiere Gaou,” he says. “It was a hard but funny night. I wasn’t the only one. It was all the new players, which was good. Maybe someone will say I wasn’t the best but, for me, I was the best!”
All Zakaria wants at Chelsea now is to be given the chance for someone to praise his ability with a football.
