London (AFP) – Chelsea’s Argentine coach, Mauricio Pochettino, asked his midfielder, Moises Caicedo, to clear his mind, in his attempt to put the “emotional” Ecuadorian back on the right track.
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The west London team spent a record deal in Britain, amounting to $146 million, to bring Caicedo from Brighton last August.
But the 22-year-old player’s shuttle trips to play his country’s national team matches in South America reduced the period of his presence with Pochettino and his technical staff.
After returning from a red card and a disastrous start against West Ham, Caicedo has become a regular starter at Stamford Bridge, but has so far failed to replicate the levels he showed with Brighton.
He revealed in an interview with the Chelsea website this week that he spent much of his first ten days in England alone inside his hotel room, crying due to homesickness, after joining Brighton from Independiente del Valle in 2021.
Caicedo became one of Brighton’s most prominent players during his remarkable rise in the English Football League, and was the cause of a fiery struggle between Liverpool and Chelsea over his inclusion at the beginning of the year.
“When we signed him, we expected what would happen,” Pochettino told reporters on Friday. “He is an emotional young man, an emotional player who needs time to recover.”
He continued, “International matches did not help either. Traveling with Ecuador to South America. This is difficult every month, two or three weeks, then going for 10 or 12 days and sometimes returning with an injury.”
The former Tottenham coach added, “This is not an excuse, but it is the reality. In some cases, we have to give him time and not be unfair in our evaluation of him.”
In an attempt to help him, Pochettino met with his player alone this week in an attempt to calm him down as he tries to adapt to Chelsea after the recently crowded Ecuador program. “Before this press conference, he was in my office for twenty minutes.”
He continued, “It’s easy because we speak Spanish. It’s a subconscious process and that’s a problem. You can only adapt with time.”
He added, “We did not prepare for the season with him. We are talking about football players. It is a physical and mental issue, and there is talent.”
“If you want to express your talent, you must clear your mind and be physically fit, otherwise it is impossible to advance,” concluded the coach, who is making a slow start with Chelsea despite the impressive signings, as he currently occupies tenth place in the league, 14 points behind leaders Arsenal.
© 2023 AFP
2023-12-02 11:43:04
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