Jose Bosingwa Interview

[EskWeston 696]

Chelsea's newest right-back may patrol the touchline, but he hasn't been out on a limb away from the pitch as he tells chelseafc.com. When it comes to players from abroad settling in quickly, you have to say the odds are stacked heavily in favour of a smooth acclimatising in José Bosingwa's case.

For a start, a quick count around the Cobham scene gives a total well into double figures for the number of native Portuguese speakers among players and coaching staff.

And then you can add French speakers to those José can converse fluently with, his bilingual ability down to his Congolese birth and early upbringing.

But for all the easy introductions and early chats, nothing makes a newcomer feel more at home than friends and acquaintances around, and for José, there were a few already at Chelsea on the day he signed.

On that mid-May afternoon, he was not to know a very familiar team-mate from club and country matches was soon to join him on the pitch, nor that his international coaches were about relocate to Stamford Bridge.

'It is always easier to go to a club where you have people that you know so I was very pleased when I heard that Mr. Scolari would be the manager and Deco would be my team-mate,' José says, confirming he is already feeling part of it all.

'It was much, much easier to come here and know there were other Portuguese players who play here for about three or four years. They make it easier for you. They know where everything is, they know how things stand, they know the club.'

José cannot yet claim to converse freely in English but with Scolari insisting the local language is the one used throughout training, he is improving fast.

But more than any language barrier, one of the main causes throughout football when a big signing struggles to shine early on must be changing demands - the times when a manager asks a newcomer to modify the usual way he plays; alter the natural style that made a good reputation in the first place.

For José, not only is his new manager one who shares similar thoughts on how a full-back should play, he is a manager who clearly has faith in the player.

Interviewed on chelseafc.com the day he signed, the Portuguese international was unsure whether he or Valencia's Miguel would be first choice right-back during Euro 2008. The new Chelsea man played all three meaningful games.

'From the very beginning at Chelsea, he [scolari] told me I was going to be the very same player I had been at Porto and with the Portugal national team.

'That is my identity and style and if I didn't play that way, it wouldn't be me. I am very happy that I am able to be myself and play the way I am and that is how it is always going to be from now on.'

But for all the advantages, seen or unforeseen, in choosing Chelsea, it hasn't been complete plain sailing. Just 21 minutes into his first pre-season match in China and after a very lively start, José was forced to come off.

Recovery

A small tear in his thigh was diagnosed and his tour was over. No sooner had it begun than he was flying home alone. The medical department predicted he would be healed in time for the season opener but with so much normal training missed, would he be in the right condition for selection?

The answer was yes as he played 83 minutes of the fluent 4-0 win over Portsmouth.

'Obviously the injury was very difficult because I had just arrived, the pre-season had been going well and I had this set-back,' he acknowledges.

'It was very difficult because you arrive at a new club, you want to work well, you want to show your best and I had to leave everybody behind and I had to come back here to have treatment.

'I had the support of the whole medical department here which was fantastic. They did help me to recover as quickly as possible so I could be ready to start the first game and help the team to do well.

'The injury was a little bit annoying but I had to deal with it and now it is okay.

'It was a memorable moment for me to be playing my very first game for Chelsea in front of the Chelsea fans. It was really fantastic, a great game, and I will never forget my moment. I was very happy because the team played well and won the game.

'The victory against Wigan was very, very difficult,' he adds by way of contrast.

'Wigan were playing very behind [the ball] and they were defending well and they wouldn't leave any space behind the team for myself or Ashley Cole to go forward.

'The opposition forwards, Heskey and Zaki, and they would really block our runs going forward and it was a bit difficult so we had to stay put in our place.

'It was a very physical the way they played their game, they tried to get the ball forward as quickly as possible and try to block our own style of game. It was difficult for us so I was happy that we won.'

Unfortunately the same cannot be said of league match number three when Tottenham blunted the Blues attacking edge and became the first to share points this season.

For José and his fellow defenders, there was at least the knowledge that Tottenham's goal was their single shot on-target. For all the talk of adventure from the back, the Chelsea rearguard is still as tight as any so far. All of last season's Barclays Premier League top four have conceded a single goal.

Further work towards team improvement on the pitches of Cobham is currently on hold, the international calendar rendering the campaign as stop-start as the Earl's Court one-way system on a home match day.

Reunited

At least while away, José will still be able to hone his understanding with the likes of Ricardo Carvalho and Deco, the latter as likely to nipping around to his left, supplying passes to run on to for country as for club.

'It is great to play alongside Deco. He is a very intelligent player and in technical quality, he is above the average player and being that way, he helps the rest of the team to have better quality,' says José. The two overlapped for a season at Porto as well.

'When we play together, it is easy to play with him. On the pitch we communicate well and it is really great to have him in the team because although Chelsea has great quality, with Deco in the team, we have even more.'

José was speaking in the canteen at Cobham after a long lunch spent chatting to the healthy Portuguese contingent in the reserve team squad. He was in no hurry. He was feeling at home.

Soon to fly south (Portugal play World Cup qualifiers away to Malta on Saturday and then in Lisbon against Denmark on Wednesday), it appears he won't feel too homesick when preparing to return.

'I do like London very much and it is a bit strange because I thought I would miss Porto more because Porto is my town.

'I lived there for a long, long time and I thought it was going to be difficult to leave but I now have a house in London, I have been to many places in town, many restaurants, but I still want to enjoy the things like theatres that London has got to offer.

'I love Porto but it is surprising, I am enjoying London very much.'

Source: Chelsea FC