Thiago Silva finds second youth at Chelsea

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Chelsea defender Thiago Silva

To those who worried that the Premier League game was too fast for Thiago Silva, he first replied that “age was just a number”. But it is above all on the pitch that he provides a brilliant answer to the sceptics. After a period of adaptation, in October he was one of the greats in Chelsea’s three clean sheets. He was also nominated for Player of the Month. Better still, in November, he scored his first goal, with a header of course, against Sheffield. And he returned to the Champions League victoriously against Krasnodar and then against Rennes. “He exudes a lot of serenity and calm. Technically it’s strong, observes Yann Gboho, the young striker from Stade Rennes who was impressed by the Brazilian defender during the first leg at Stamford Bridge. He is also imposing, he is really the complete defender. »

No wonder Thiago Silva, 36, celebrated his 92nd selection with the Brazilian national team last week against Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier. He is still the captain with the secret hope of taking part in the World Cup in Qatar. “He plays good matches, he manages well and prepares well. We can see why he has had an incredible career so far. We are happy to have him with us”, Franck Lampard admires. And the player returns the compliment to his coach. “At Chelsea, it’s different for me. It’s a championship with a different intensity of play. But I would like to thank Lampard for the confidence he has shown in me. » And if Édouard Mendy, the former goalkeeper from Rennes, displays such prodigious statistics (12 matches, 10 clean sheets, 2 goals conceded) since his arrival at Chelsea, Thiago Silva is no stranger to it. Rennes’ offensively aware and knows what an Everest it is to score a goal at Thiago’s Blues at the moment.

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The comparison between different competitions

If you had a choice, in which European championship would you like to play? Thiago Silva has had the opportunity to play in Serie A, Ligue 1 and Premier League. And although he didn’t really give his preference this Monday in a press conference, he was able to see all the differences that remain between these three visions of football. “I had a big apprenticeship in Italy. In my opinion, it is one of the best schools for defenders. Then there is the French championship, which is a bit more physical and a bit stronger. Even though PSG has a strong domination over its opponents, we played in a more exposed way because we had to take risks”.

The reputations, at least that one has in France, of these three divisions are thus held. Thiago Silva played for AC Milan from 2009 to 2012, then for Paris Saint-Germain from 2012 to 2020, and arrived at Chelsea this summer.His three seasons in Italy have given him all the keys he needed for the so-called “stronger” championship that is Ligue 1. And after just a few weeks in the Premier League, he already felt he was one notch above it again.

One thing is certain, the Auriverde international has won both in Italy and in France. His playing intelligence, his knowledge of movement and his physical dominance, perfected to the extreme with the rossoneri, enabled him to play in Ligue 1 for several years.

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