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25.07.2009 Football News

Essien answers the burning questions

By ghanasoccernet.com
Essien answers the burning questions
25.07.2009 LISTEN

Essien answers all the questions The Chelsea midfielder speaks about Africa's burgeoning footballing passion, and returning from injury to help Chelsea's excellent late-season form.

 

John Obi Mikel, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and yourself, have all told us in the past that you all used to play in the streets on the dust with no shirts or shoes and that's how you learned the game.

Have the facilities in Africa improved with the popularity of football and the money that maybe comes with having players move to Europe?

I think it's just a little bit better, but if you're a kid in Africa and you're into football, you just want to play every day. It doesn't matter where; anywhere you go you can just play with other people or by yourself – you don't care if the facilities are good or not, you just want to play so it doesn't matter really. It's different in Europe than in Africa – we were unlucky not to have the facilities, but the lack of facilities does not stop us from developing our football. It's all about our desire and determination to do good in Africa at a young age and come to Europe to play, because once you come to a European team, that's when you progress more and you improve your game.

The countries surrounding Ghana in West Africa seem to be the most successful on the continent. Are they madder for the game in that region than other parts of the continent?

Yeah I think so – almost every kid wants to be a footballer. When I was a kid I looked up to our bigger players and we were looking forward to being like them when we got older, to be professionals one day.

I used to watch  players such as Eric Cantona and Roy Keane just like European kids, but I used to love the best west African players like George Weah and Tony Yeboah as well – I looked up to them because they were doing what I wanted to do. Weah in particular was an exceptional player who won many accolades. Tony Yeboah was also a special player who scored some great goals.

You returned to Ghana once again for international action at the end of last season. Having spent much of the campaign on the treatment table, you must have still been hungry for matches?

Yes because I didn't have much time off last summer and then I missed a lot of matches through injury. I think I was more fresh this time around and I wanted more games so I was looking forward to the international fixtures.

Your reputation back home is massive. In the documentary based on the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, 'Black Star: An African Football Odyssey', you seem to be at the centre of a kind of hysteria surrounding football both in Africa generally and Ghana specifically.  

How does it feel to be so revered and is it helping Chelsea's reputation in your homeland?

It feels good and it boosts your confidence. When you play in front of your home fans it gives you more energy and you want to do more for them to make them happy.

I think we have more Chelsea fans in Ghana than before because back in the day the people only supported [Manchester] United, Arsenal or Spurs. But now Chelsea have more fans than any of them I think, so it's good. The people there come together in bars and they have the football on a big screen.

In Ghana, when I was young, we only used to watch the Premiership so, yes, they know much about English football and the Champions League – they watch every game back home.

So there's a huge passion for English and European competition out there but is there anything bigger, maybe the World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations?

The Africa Cup of Nations Cup is like our World Cup in Africa – it's massive. Every time the players go back to their national teams they feel very honoured and happy to represent their countries. It's always special and we try to do everything we can for them.

Africans just love football, they just love it. I think it's the biggest thing in Africa, so anytime there's a tournament at home they put everything they have into supporting us. This summer we had a massive game in Mali and I was there, I was really looking forward to it.  

When did football grow into such a huge phenomenon in Africa?

I think it's been like that for ages but it's really massive now because we have more African players here in Europe than before. The people back home want to see how their players are doing and that's why it's become so popular. I think the Premier League is international now – before we didn't have many Africans playing over here but having so many here has helped to make the league more important at home.

Were you ever coached as a kid?
Not really. I had my first coach when I was 16 or 17, when I got in a proper football team. Maybe I play with more freedom because of that because when you are a kid you don't have someone watching you all the time saying, “Pass it here, pass it there,” you just play however you want to. We didn't have playing time either; we just played until we wanted to stop – for two or three hours some days.

Is football a way out of poverty in Africa, much like many Americans say boxing or rap music are their way out of a harder way of life?

Yes, I think that's a way for them to get away from where they come from. Rappers might be born into poverty or are from the ghetto and that is a way out for them. It's the same with football in Africa and, actually, I think there's a bit of the same feeling for boxing back home in Ghana, it's getting popular there too now.

If everyone wants to be a professional footballer, is it the most talented or the one who works hardest that will most likely succeed?

The one who works hardest I think because a lot of good players don't like to work and if you don't like to work you can't achieve what you want to, even if you are a good player.

But if you work hard, even if it doesn't come easily for you, you can become better and succeed as a footballer.  

You had to work hard last season, even when football seemed a long way off. How pleased were you that you managed to return to action in pretty much   top   form http://goal.com/en/news/596/exclusive/2009/07/24/1400228/chelsea-magazine-exclusive-lack-of-provision-doesnt-stop-african-## after such a long injury lay-off?

Yes, I would settle for that form because it's not easy to return from injury and play as normal. But I think I must be one of the lucky ones because I did a lot of work and when I came back I could play as I used to – it's not like this for every player.

During your lengthy rehabilitation, you must have become close to the medical staff too…

Yeah, we became close. It was such a long injury and I spent my time with the physios and the doctors so I want to thank them, especially Thierry Laurent, who was with me from day one until I came back.

They helped me a lot and the surgeon even showed me that my ligament is stronger than it was before, so when I came back I was not scared – I knew that I was stronger.  

Did they not warn you to take it easy or did you just ignore them?  

No, I didn't ignore them! From the beginning it was clear it was a bad injury and that it would take time to heal. But after four or five months my knee felt good, it felt like normal and I didn't feel like I'd had an operation or anything. So that made me stronger mentally and I could play as normal again, as if I hadn't had an injury.

Do you forget about the injury once you're playing anyway?

I don't worry about it because I'm the kind of person that when I'm on the pitch I forget about everything and just get on with my football and try to enjoy it as much as possible.

Your character changes on the pitch from off it because you're a shy guy who becomes a tough, uncompromising opponent when the games begin. Is that a fair assessment?

I think off the pitch I'm a quiet person, I don't really like talking or doing interviews! But when I'm on the pitch that's a different thing altogether – the pitch is like my office and when you're in the office you don't mess around, you mean business. So when I'm on the pitch, everything switches and I go with my football and do everything to try to win the game.  

You received a lot of praise for what you did when you came back to action. Some writers even picked you in their team of the season when you'd only played for two or three months. Is that kind of press reaction pleasing?

Yeah, I was pleased with my own performances but I don't know what the papers say, I don't really read them. But as long as my team wins matches, that's the most important thing for me.  

Was Guus Hiddink a good manager to work for?
He was great. He came in and did a fantastic job for us – he was a good man to work with because he knows how to get the best out of his players. We won the FA Cup for him to say, 'Good job and well done.'

In the 16 games you played last season, you managed to score Chelsea's Goal of the Season against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge. Be honest with us, though, if you hit that shot 100 times would it go in again?

No, I don't think so! But sometimes you need a bit of luck and as a player it's important to try different things. As the ball was dropping to me that was the only option I had in my mind so I tried to hit it as I was imagining and I hit it well.  

You know sometimes, when you hit the ball well, you get the feeling that it is going in and I got that with this one. It depends how you take it, but if you hit the ball just right you get a feeling in your boot that the ball is going where you want it.

Did you get excited when you thought it was going in?

No, you get excited when you know you've scored!  

Last year we saw you end the season as Chelsea's regular right-back and this year you came back in central-midfield before going out to play on the right away to Barcelona, not to mention the times you've played in the holding role.  Where is your best position?  

You know seriously, I don't even know myself where my best position is – they play me everywhere, almost all the positions and I just try to do my best for the team wherever I am asked to play. For me it doesn't matter where I am on the field, the most important thing is working as hard as you can for the team and winning.

Source: Chelsea Magazine
 
 

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