We’ve all been there. Just when things start to feel like they are going well at work. The boss brings a new star employee into the office.
To many people the £50m arrival of Fernando Torres from Liverpool to Chelsea in January was bad news for the club’s incumbent strikers. But Salomon Kalou disagrees.
The Ivorian tells me Torres makes the side stronger, gives them a better chance of winning trophies and can be someone he can learn from to develop his own game.
The pragmatic view could be interpreted as naïve – after all the Spaniard’s move to West London has seen Kalou slip further down the pecking order.
But when you consider that the 25 year old – who signed for the club in 2006 – still remains at Stamford Bridge, while other forwards such as Andriy Shevchenko , Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole do not, maybe his positivity is based on experience.
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Kalou gets personal
He sits opposite me before our interview with a beaming smile. You sense he’s expecting the inevitable questions about Torres – but isn’t fussed. He is only interested in his own game… So that’s where I start.
How do you feel you’ve progressed during your time at Chelsea?
« Coming to a big club, with big players – you know it’s going to be difficult. My goal was to be there when the team needed me and score important goals and I think I did this. So I’m very happy about this. Now I’m focussed on playing regularly in the team and being even more involved. »
You said playing regularly. Does the arrival of Torres affect that?
« No. Because I’ve become a better player now and I can learn a lot from the top strikers that we have at Chelsea. I think with Torres we’re going to be even better and progress again. The more competition you have in the team – the more you force yourself to be better. It all benefits the team. »
What does Fernando Torres bring to Chelsea?
« I think he is a great player. A great striker with ability. People have to give him the time. It’s not easy to move from one team to another. You have to adapt to your team-mates and I think he will help us to win a lot of things – and it would be nice to win the Champions League.
« He’s a nice guy. Very quiet person. Once he gets used to his team-mates we are going to see the great payer that is Fernando Torres. »
You scored against Everton, Sunderland and then didn’t start in the following game. Were you disappointed?
« As a player – yes. You always feel disappointed because you start a run, get your confidence back, and then you have to go back on the bench. It’s not easy. But at the end of the day when you have top competition in the team you have to better in every game. Even if it’s for 30 minutes or 20 minutes or 90 minutes you still have to perform. That’s what I’m trying to do.
« It’s not easy to come into a game (from the bench) but it may be different in time. As long as you do your best – people notice, the manager notices. »
How do you deal with the disappointment of being on the bench?
« I work even harder. Every time I play I come back to work the next day and work out my frustrations in training. Working hard – running even more and trying to get benefits from the hard work. The hard work always pays off. It worked against Everton in the first leg of the FA Cup and I saved the team otherwise they wouldn’t have been playing them again. So I have to continue to work hard. I believe that the club hasn’t seen my best yet and I believe my best is yet to come. The opportunity will be there and I will show them more of what I can do.
Why hasn’t club seen the best of you?
« I have played some very good games for the club but I know I can do better than that and I think I have the ability even to be the top top player here. I believe that my best is to come. »
And finally….
When the camera stops rolling something comes to him. He remembers the last interview I did with him last season.
« The last time we spoke people said the club wasn’t doing well then – and look! We went on to do the Double. You bring us good luck! »
Chelsea fans will be hoping it’s another lucky interview for the Blues.
By Leon Mann – bbc.co.uk
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