Willian's interview with Chelsea magazine: "I would have joined a samba band if I was not a footballer"
Chelsea are on top of the table, and things couldn’t go much better for Brazilian midfielder Willian than they already are at the club who recently spoke to the Official Chelsea Magazine for an interview.
“I’m feeling my vibe,” he told the interviewer. “I guess I’d say my vibe is to be happy at all times. I like to smile a lot and I always try to be happy, joking around and stuff. I admit that I’ve always been a bit shy, that’s my character – I’m a shy guy – but, when I’m with the guys here, I like to play games and joke around, especially with the other Brazilians.”
Always the good vibe
Willian had signed for Chelsea last year during the summer, signing a five-year contract with the London club.
“I always want to feel happy, whether I am with my friends and family or out on the football field for Chelsea. So, it’s quite simple – things that make me happy give me good vibes,” he said. “This was something I was prepared for when I signed for Chelsea because I could see in the games I watched on the television just how intense the matches are in this country,” he says.
“I knew I needed to be ready to put in a lot of hard work at the very least. I also realised that if I was going to hold down a space in the team then I would have to run my heart out in every single match I play.”
Never did my homework
The Brazilian midfielder spoke about this childhood in Brazil and recalled how he loved playing football on the streets of Sao Paulo.
“I have to admit that I never did my homework – my sister would do it for me!”, says Willian. “But I was a well-behaved student. I attended every day and my grades were actually quite good. The days I remember best were the ones which involved physical education, because that obviously meant we were going to play football.”
“We played on the streets every single day. To be honest, we didn’t notice the difficulties of the bumpy surface because we didn’t get to play on grass very often. For us, that was what we were used to.”
“We’d create our goalposts using whatever we could, it didn’t require much thought – flip-flops or maybe building bricks were most common. We’d always find a solution; we were just happy to be able to go out and play football with friends and neighbours,” he adds.
”It was a lot of fun, although there were always arguments – but what I would call arguments between friends. Just silly, petty stuff, but the kind of thing that happens when you all want to win. I wasn’t involved in too many of them because, as much as I love to win, I don’t like to fight or argue.”
How joining Shakhtar made him a better player
Willian made an early move in his career after he had joined Shakhtar Donetsk back in 2007 after coming through the Corinthians youth system.
“Sometimes things happen and we don’t really appreciate them. And then something else happens somewhere else; then another thing, and another. I don’t know if its luck or fate but, eventually, everything makes sense,” he explains. “[Moving to Europe] wasn’t really something I had thought I would do at that age – and certainly not to go somewhere which didn’t have one of the major leagues.”
“My dad, who was managing my things at that time, wanted me to go to Italy, Spain or England. Shakhtar Donetsk were very keen to sign me and invited me over. They convinced me and I’m really happy with the decision I made.
“I think it makes me appreciate every day at Chelsea – it makes you stronger if you have an experience like the one I had at the age of 19. I am a stronger man because of it and it’s something I will always carry with me.”
Weather in London is not so bad after all
Having played in Ukraine during his developing years, Willian evolved into a far stronger player than his Brazilian teammates who are always critical of the cold weather in England.
“The winters were very, very, very cold,” he reveals. “Sometimes Oscar and Ramires will be talking and I’ll hear them say, ‘Today, it’s so cold’, and I’ll stop them. ‘Man, are you crazy? This is nothing, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve been to Ukraine!’ It helped toughen me up, that’s for sure.”
That toughness may not apply to a bone-crunching challenge or a confrontation with an opponent, neither of which are in Willian’s nature, but there is certainly a steeliness to his mentality on the football field. He brings a calmness to the occasionally madcap Barclays Premier League, as if back on the streets of Sao Paulo kicking the ball around with friends.
His life at Chelsea
Since joining Chelsea from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala for £30 million, Willian has done well to fit in Jose Mourinho’s side.
“I might be older, but I am still playing with my friends – just different ones to when I was a kid,” he says. “There is pressure, of course – it’s always going to exist, especially when you are playing for a big club. I just try to remain calm on the pitch. I try to play not only with my feet, but also with my head. You need to pass a lot of tranquillity onto the pitch to achieve the best results.”
“It helps me stay calm when I look around the dressing room before a game. Everywhere my eyes go, I can see quality. It makes you feel more relaxed because you know that, if you make a mistake, you have 10 other guys who are going to help you. Likewise, if one of them makes a mistake, I’m going to try to help them.”
“I’m always looking to improve every part of my game because I can never stop for one second and think that I am good enough and that I don’t need to try and improve,” he adds. “So, every training session I am trying to make sure I’m a better player.”
Mourinho wants me to score more
Willian just has one goal this season for the Blues this season, and he insists that the boss wants more off him.
“One thing I have in my mind is to score more goals – I am desperate to get on the scoresheet more often. Sometimes the situation of the game means I am not able to get into the right positions, but it’s one thing that is definitely at the back of my mind,” he said.
“Mr. Mourinho has told me this before. He knows, and I know, that I should get more goals. I’m very happy with my all-round game and my form so far this season, but I’ll be a lot happier if I am scoring, more goals. That would be good for the team as well.”
What if Willian wasn‘t a footballer
Before concluding the interview, Willian was asked about his other interest, and what would have he become if he wasn’t a footballer.
“I love music – it’s such an important part of my life,” he says. “So, if things hadn’t have worked out for me in football, I think I’d have tried to join a band. I play the pandeiro, which is like a tambourine. I really like hip-hop, but I think I’d have got into a pagode band [a form of samba] instead.”
The latest edition of Chelsea magazine is on sale now. You can download a digital version to view on your tablet here.