Coach Mauricio Pochettino praised the team’s veteran striker, saying he could become the new Zinedine Zidane.
British media The Sun reported on the 17th (Korean time), “Pochettino said Raheem Sterling could become the new Zidane.”
Chelsea is set to face Bournemouth in the 5th round of the 2023/24 Premier League season to be held at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England, at 10 p.m. on the 17th.
Chelsea, who had high expectations this season thanks to the appointment of coach Pochettino and huge investment in player recruitment, remains in 14th place in the league, with only 1 win, 1 draw, and 2 losses in 4 games since the league opened. In particular, with the exception of the promoted team Luton Town, there are no wins against other teams, so a rebound is desperately needed, and it appears that they must secure three points against Bournemouth.
Meanwhile, Coach Pochettino praised Sterling, a key player in the team, and expected that he would be able to lead the team as the new Zidane.
The Sun reported, “Pochettino believes that Sterling can overcome the boos of Chelsea fans like Zidane of Real Madrid. He was booed by Chelsea fans during an away trip to Bournemouth last season.”
Sterling, who joined Chelsea ahead of the 2022/23 season for a transfer fee of 60 million pounds (approximately 99 billion won), was expected to become the core of the attacking team due to his tremendous performance at Manchester City.
However, Sterling’s double-digit scoring streak, which had lasted for five seasons, was broken in the first year of his move to Chelsea, and he ended the season with 6 goals and 3 assists and was heavily criticized. Last season, Chelsea won 3-1 away to Bournemouth, but Sterling performed poorly as a substitute and became the target of criticism from fans. This season, Sterling has been performing steadily even while Chelsea is underperforming. He scored 2 goals in 4 league games, and often showed off his opponents through excellent dribbling.
Pochettino appears to have assessed that just as Zidane, who was the subject of criticism in the first six months after his transfer to Real, has since rebounded and transformed into a legendary player for Real, Sterling can also become Chelsea’s Zidane starting this season. 바카라
At the time, Zidane joined Real Madrid for a huge transfer fee of 77.5 million euros (about 110 billion won), but immediately after joining, he performed poorly, showing poor chemistry with Luis Figo and others. However, after adjusting to the team, Zidane performed as if he had gained wings. In his first year of transfer, he led the team to victory in the UEFA Champions League, and established himself as Real’s ace by scoring with a fantastic volley in the final.
According to reports, Pochettino said: “Chelsea always have huge expectations. I always give the same example: Real paid a huge amount of money for a player and his name was Zidane. In the six months after the transfer, Real fans He criticized Zidane by saying, ‘What have we bought?’ But after 7 or 8 months, Zidane started to play,” he said, referring to Zidane.
“We are delighted that Sterling is a player who can help young players develop like this. We are very satisfied with his performance and the attitude he has shown over the last two weeks. He has worked very hard.” He emphasized that there is.
Attention is being paid to whether Coach Pochettino and the Chelsea players, who have once again left Chelsea fans with the same anxiety as last season after a shaky start to the season, will signal a rebound with Sterling.