Thiago Silva turns 36 in September, the very month he looks set to begin his Premier League venture with Chelsea.
The Brazilian could easily have galloped off into the sunset with his 30 winners’ medals in his knapsack and swapped Paris Saint-Germain for a bumper final contract in China or the Middle East.
However, the free agent is on the verge of becoming a Chelsea player and taking on another challenge in Europe with more honours in sight.
It is an indication this old dog is still willing to learn new tricks, and that speaks of an attitude which head coach Frank Lampard will hope spreads throughout the Chelsea dressing room like wildfire as they look to close the gap on Liverpool and Manchester City.
For all of their dealings this summer, this one – the cheapest one – could top the lot. Does it count as a bargain if there is no transfer fee? Regardless, Silva will bring with him a wealth of experience to Stamford Bridge, tales of ecstasy and agony too.
Most recently it was agony in the form of a Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich, who dashed Silva’s dreams of becoming the first Brazilian to lift the trophy as captain.
A 26th honour with PSG was not to be, but 25 in eight years is still some going, and this natural reflex for lifting trophies is one Chelsea will want to continue into 2021, by which point he could have wrestled the armband from Cesar Azpilicueta – as Brazilian outlet Globo reports.
His primary task, as captain or not, will be to transform the colander that is Chelsea’s defence. The Blues conceded 54 goals in the Premier League last season, the worst among the top 10, and a tally matched by 15th-placed Brighton and bettered by Crystal Palace in 14th.
Only City (102) and Liverpool (85) outscored Chelsea (69), and while Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and soon-to-be Kai Havertz will address that area, Silva – plus new arrival Ben Chilwell – have an altogether different mission.
The pressure on this newly-renovated Chelsea side will be immense, each defeat will be critiqued in greater fashion than in their previous campaign, Lampard will face constant questions about his selection, the forwards will be expected to consistently deliver, and all the while the spotlight will be on Silva more than any other defender.
His qualities as a centre-back have rarely been doubted, but this will be a great test of his leadership, a trait which has been questioned but seemingly answered as time has gone by.
Silva’s Brazil rollercoaster
Talk of his mental fragility came to the fore in 2014. Silva captained Brazil for their home World Cup, but shirked penalty-taking duties come the shootout against Chile in the last 16, choosing to sit alone on the sidelines as his side sneaked through.
A reckless yellow card in the quarter-final victory over Colombia followed, which meant he sat out the most extraordinary of World Cup matches. Germany 7, Brazil 1.
This eventually cost him the armband. “I feel like something that belonged to me has been taken away, which is why I’m sad,” Silva cried. “Neymar didn’t come to me. No one’s come to speak to me. That’s what upsets me.”
International exile followed a poor 2015 Copa America campaign, but after a 14-match absence Silva returned to don that scared yellow and green jersey and even captain Brazil on a handful more occasions.
“I am cool with being captain again,” Thiago said back in 2018. “We have several players with leadership characteristics and we are able to share the burden on the pitch. I have prepared myself to be back here.”
Silva went on to play every minute of their 2018 World Cup campaign until they lost to Belgium in the quarter-finals, and did likewise a year later as Brazil won the Copa America.
Back in the good books with Brazil, this tale of redemption on the international scene played out during an eight-year domestic spell with PSG which produced title after title, but never the Champions League.
“The value of things is not in the time that they last, but in the intensity with which they occur. That is why there are unforgettable moments, inexplicable things and incomparable people,” Silva wrote on Instagram following his PSG departure, quoting Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa with a post that was liked by former Chelsea captain John Terry, among more than 500,000 others.
Not content with semi-retirement, Silva is heading to a club where more unforgettable, incomparable and inexplicable moments will most certainly take place – be it for better or worse – and the hope at Stamford Bridge is that he will fill Terry’s shoes three years on from the defender’s departure from Chelsea.
A tough ask, though hunger evidently drives Silva on. There is a 2022 World Cup in the distance, but in the immediate vicinity there lies a challenge perhaps the old Silva would have diverted away from.
Chelsea want trophies and they want them now. Silva could well be the quick fix that helps them do just that.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3hyZdTt
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