Fabregas on Kante...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/euro-2021/2021/06/14/humble-funny-great-little-dark-side-real-ngolinho-kante/
It was Eden Hazard and I who gave N’Golo Kante his Brazilian nickname of N’Golinho when we were all at Chelsea together and I still use it to this day.
Obviously, it was a bit of fun but it showed how highly we rated N’Golo and how we appreciated some of the parts of his game that maybe other people didn’t see. Now everyone sees what an incredible player he is and, even if France do not win the Euros, N’Golinho is one of the greatest-ever players in his position.
If France, who are my favourites for the tournament, do win the Euros then there will be a very strong case for N’Golo to win the Ballon d’Or having already added the Champions League to his World Cup and Premier League titles.
I remember when he joined Chelsea, he was very shy, he wasn’t talking a lot. He had to move the ball a little bit quicker and always look forwards because sometimes it felt like he saw the pass forwards but he was not doing it, or at least was not taking the risk to find the little pockets where Eden, Willian or Pedro used to play.
N’Golo was very much the style of player that Antonio Conte wanted in midfield, someone powerful who could run a lot, who was aggressive and who could make good recoveries. But under Antonio, he improved a lot going forwards and passing forwards, and that took him to another level.
His dribbling could surprise you. He’s seen as a defensive midfielder who makes all these tackles and recoveries and it’s fantastic, but sometimes we wouldn’t see him lose the ball. He can run with the ball, break lines and dribble, and sometimes, just because it’s him, we don’t appreciate these things. So that’s maybe why we started to call him N’Golinho. He’s one of the most complete midfielders in the world, for sure.
I remember N’Golo made an assist once for Eden at Bournemouth. He played a long ball over the top and Eden beat the keeper and scored. We used to train that a lot, a lot, a lot, nearly every day, and the day after when we were re-watching the game and analysing it, Antonio was so happy with him because it was exactly what he wanted.
N’Golo is a quiet, shy boy, but once you get to know him you can have a lot of fun with him and he’s a very funny guy when he’s in the mood and at certain moments in training. He used to come on the back of the bus, playing games and cards or whatever it was, and have a laugh.
Everybody knows he is a really good human being. One day, we met in the morning, we were playing at night, and everyone was ‘where’s N’Golo, where’s N’Golo, we’re starting the meeting’ and normally he was always on time. Eventually, he arrived and everyone started clapping and Antonio said ‘what’s happened?’ And he was telling us that he’s had a car crash and some people couldn’t believe it was him and they were taking pictures and he wanted to be polite. His car was all damaged and the wing mirror had to be taped back on, but he still stopped for photographs, even though it made him late!
But N’Golo has a little dark side as well that I like, which I still see now when I watch him on television. He doesn’t lose his temper, but, If you watch, you will see that he does not mind fouling an opponent or getting a yellow card and he will not apologise or be nice to the other guy, he will just walk away. I like this and it gives a message to the opponent that N’Golo will not be too nice on the pitch. To be a really top player, you need this. If you are nice on the pitch, then they eat you alive and I smile when I see his darker side.
We saw this season that N’Golo is a big-game player with his incredible performance in the Champions League final against Manchester City and I could always see, like all the best players, that he could raise his game to another level for the big games. This is the sign of a big player. I remember two games against Manchester United that we won, one was the FA Cup final. The same day of the final, I think it was Ramadan and it was so hot that day. We were having lunch and I asked N’Golo if he would eat and he said ‘no’ because he was fasting and I was worried he might not be able to run. But he had a fantastic game and I still don’t know how he managed to do that, with the heat. It makes me respect him even more because I wouldn’t be able to do that and he had an amazing final.
It gives you a lot of security, insurance when you play next to N’Golo. The way he recovers, he never loses possession and his interceptions. We had a good understanding because I used to like the fact he recovered the ball and he’d release it quickly to me. He’s so, so smart and he knows how to make the most of his strengths. And when it was me and Tiemoue Bakayoko ahead of N’Golo, he was amazing as well. I could go forwards knowing that there was this superman behind me, running for all of us. It was actually incredible.
Maybe I can understand that without playing with him or knowing him, it was hard for people to appreciate how much he does and how good he is, but I think more and more people are realising that once you have N’Golo on your team your percentage chance of winning games and tournaments increases a lot. If you asked all of the big players in the world now if they wanted N’Golo in their team, they would all say ‘yes’ without a question.
Football was a little bit different when I played in the very good Spain and Barcelona teams, because then it was not so much about running. But, definitely, N’Golo could have played in those teams, he is that level. There is Claude Makelele and I played with a very good defensive midfielder with Spain, Marcos Senna, but there is no doubt N’Golo is one of the greatest in his position.
I’m not always sure how the Ballon d’Or is decided, often my pick is wrong, but as a friend and a team-mate who competed next to him for three years I would love it if N’Golinho got this award. He will have a big, big chance if he can help France become European champions after already becoming a European champion with Chelsea.
One thing I'd say is that it's disappointing that we haven't seen more of Havertz and Werner play together this season. When they did play together last season, they showed that they have good chemistry and understanding of one another's game (they also assisted one another a few times). Matt Law mentioned last week that some in the squad are surprised, for example, that Tuchel has played the CL winning trio of Werner, Havertz and Mount only once this season (I know there have been injuries and COVID but when they are all available). That was something that we could have built on but alas, we tossed that aside for Lukaku and we're now like kinda stuck with him in the squad.
No Lukaku and suddenly we looked less dysfunctional going forward, even if most of the moments came from transitions. But it will be back to the norm on Sunday.
No Lukaku and suddenly we looked less dysfunctional going forward, even if most of the moments came from transitions. But it will be back to the norm on Sunday.
No Lukaku and suddenly we looked less dysfunctional going forward, even if most of the moments came from transitions. But it will be back to the norm on Sunday.
No Lukaku and suddenly we looked less dysfunctional going forward, even if most of the moments came from transitions. But it will be back to the norm on Sunday.
No Lukaku and suddenly we looked less dysfunctional going forward, even if most of the moments came from transitions. But it will be back to the norm on Sunday.
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