Actually, wewerein a time I wasat, like, tocommit.
Great.
Wewere, um, in a cupoftherayfinalandwewereonthewaytothetothefinal, and I got a callfromfromGeneralKofiAliandhehad a fewwordswithmeaboutmejoiningjealousy.
Wehad a political, wealreadywentdown, butwewerestillinthefinalofthecupoftherayandhejustwantedtohave, like, fiveminuteswithmeifif I wouldbeinterestedinandallthatkindofstuff.
SomyAisaliedopened, Itwasitwas a greatColeandwedecidedTowmejusttoplaythegameandenjoythegameandandafterthegametoetospeakagainandandseewhatcouldmaterialize.
WedrovetwodaysbeforethegamewedrovetotowardsforLanciaanduh, I got a callfromGianluca.
AfterthedisappointmentofseeingAthleticoMadridrelegatedandmissingouton a placeintheHollandsquadforEuro 2000 hasslebankissaidtobedelightedtobebackinEnglishfootball.
Didyouknowstraightawaythatitwas a movethatyouwantedtome, whetheranyotherclubsintherunningforyouatthetimetherewereotherclubs, butitwasitwasyeah, itwas a movethat I definitelystraightif I wantedtomakeaboutthetheyearbeforethistheyearbefore, when I wasinLeeds.
When I when I joinedChelsea, saidManagerwantstospeaktoyou.
Lookatme.
I wasgonnacallme.
Yeah, juststaybyyourphone, andas I didwhenherangHey, startedwiththis.
IsitokaytosaysexyItalianboygo.
Yeah, buthesortofexplainedTheysaidListen, I'veactuallyseen a lotoffyourgamesfromlastseason, bothliveandontape, and I thinkyoucandowhateveryou'redoinginthechampionship, aswecallit.
Yeah, Um, probablybecauseofmyageisWell, I wasyoung, sotherewas a lotofthebidden a lotofclubsinterested, andbackintheday, wedidn't have a transferwindow, so I wasbeinglinkedhereandthereandManager's comingtowatchgames.
And, umand I actuallyinitiallythought I wouldn't be.
I wouldbemovingtoLiverpoolbecause I thinkGeraldJuliashowed a lotofinterested.
He'd beat a lotofourgamesattheattheReebokaswecalledaboutthat.
IfyoufightbackandtwoseasonsatBoltonWandererswhere I showed, youknow, thetalentsthat I hadandyouknow, fightingthroughitandthenmakingthatstepisinitwasnotonly a joiningChelseawasjustWe'llshowhimthefingertothatthosedoctorsthathavesaid I'd neverplayatthatlevel.
SotherewasItwasjust a hugemomentformeorno, youbothspeakabouthowhighlyspeakofJangLukeheavilyonthefactthathe's calledyoupersonally.
Uh, I thinkthemainthingwaaswewewantedeachothertodowell, I thinkifhewouldschool, I wouldbe I wouldbesohappy, youknow, forhim, youknow, and I thinkbyvariousaswell, um, anditjustcombined.
I alsoknew, um, wherehewaas, youknow, onthepitch.
I justknew, orhe's goingtodothisand I'm gonnamakemyrun.
JohnFrancowas a magnificentfootballplayer, technically, absolutelymagnificent.
Buttheconnectionwasnot s well, asasasus, youknow.
So, yeah, wewerejuststeppedwaywereprobablythetalkabout 24 wastwostrikerswerecompleteopposites.
Wewereasdifferentaswelook, butwait.
AndasJimmysaid, when I receivedthebull, I knewwherehewasgoingtorunorwhentheballwasbeingplayedtome, dependingonthepaceofthepast, heknewwhen I wasgoingtostepoverandrunawayfromit.
Sothere's onespotleftbecauseweplayedwithtwoforwardsand I wantedtoplay.
Soit's partofthegame.
Butwhat I hadtodealwithaswellisright.
I'm playinginfrontofwhatisarguablythebestplayerbestfootballinChelseatellshishistory, andhe's sittingonthebenchbecause I'm I'm playing, so I mustbedoingsomethingright.
Well, wemustbedoingsomethingright.
But I hadsuchadmirationforhimaswellthatweoftenspokeabout.
HecametoHarlingtonandhespoketouswith a fewotherssaid, andthatwasit.
Youknow, itmadeusrealizethatrightaroundthepressure, everygamenow, for a result, becausethey'rejustbywhoevertheycanandwillbyplayersjusttowasinbytheleaguePremierLeaguetitle, sotospeak.
Therewas a bighoohaaboutthisisthenewChelseathatyouactuallyscoredthewinninggoalandfieldthatday.
Now I'm sureyouwouldhavecelebratedlongandhardwhenyouscoredthatgoal, butwasanextraedgetoyourcelebrationthatdaybecauseyou'reeffectivelybeingwrittenoffDermish.
Therewasnoextraitwacejustwordscan't expressbecausetheamountofthingsthatRanierihasaskedmetodoforhimand I alwaysdonethatandhimtosaythattome.
Andifthe d A wasindeed, I wouldmoveintothestrikerover, butmainlyand I had a conversationtowardtheendoftheseasonwithwithMarinaownersaid, Doyouasinmystrikeonourmidfield?
Oh, buthesaid.
Youwhateverneededtobeallright.
Thatwastheworstthing.
Then I realizedwhen I camebackafterthatpreseasonbecauseDeliawasobviouslybecomingoneofthebestwritersintheleague.
Itdidn't have a greatfirstseasoninChelseabutscoredgoalsandhecouldseethepowerhousethathethathewas, umCrispocamebackandthen I thought, Right, I'm notmostofusdon't think I'llbeplayingmuch a strikeofthisseasonstartingmidfieldandthenwehadTR.
I thinkwehadTiagostillontheotherone.
That s Iancameinandthen I saidRight, he's a naturalmidfielderwithmoredefensivelet's sayenergythan I hadjust a puremidfielderwhich I wassortof a convertedmidfielderandFrankwaswasnevergonnabedropped.
Sothrowoffthisactuallygonnabetoughandit's it's probablygonnabemylastseasonanditjustatthatstage, I thought I wouldgoagain.
I havetodothewholerennieeverythingagain, where I havetoalwaysfightforthat.
Forthoseminutes.
Alwaysfightfortheforthegames.
Um, and I think I grewtiredofit.
Andsixyears, itwasjustthatwastheendofseason.
Basically, Marinacameuptomeandwe'renottheway I wentuptoseehim.
I couldonlywhatcouldbelieveit, because I dohavebeliefinmyself, butitwas a bitincontrastwiththeseasonthat I had, butwhen I spoketowritecard, hesaid, Well, I knowyouhadanindifferentseason.
Look, I'vehadfourmagnificentJasonChelsea, but s I justsaidyouwanttomeasureyourselfwiththebestand, youknow, tohavebeingabletohaveplayedforforBarcelonawouldhavebeanbean.
Great.
Look, I lostmydiamondatChelsea.
Youknow I didn't askfor a transfer.
Theyneededthemoneyatthetimeformebecausetheywereintroubleandum, itwas a winforthecluband a winwinsituation, youknow, sobutitwasn't meanttobe.
I don't know.
You'vetouchedonthisbefore, butyoutalkaboutplayingunderJoe's, a ChelseaPepGuardiolaaswell.
AtBarcelona.
Therewashepaidagainsteachothertoday.
YousaidJosiahwasthebestoneyouplayedunderwhatgavehimtheedgeover, I thinkbecauseofftherelationshipthat I hadwithhim.
Butit's impossibleformetosaythatthemarinais a bettermanagerthanGuardiola.
Managementseemstobeslightlydifferentbetweenwedon't need a hug, Dewey, fromthemaninme, butniceplayers.
Youdowantsomekindofrecognitionallthetime.
Um, onDDEwhenwhenyourmanagerrecognizedwhatyou'vedonein a particulargameororas a team, youknow, recognizesthatitdoesgiveussomethingasplaysanditdoescreatesomekindof a connection.
I mean, I guessit's quite a trickyquestion, buthowdoyoureflectonit?
No, I loveit.
Um, I thinkinmywholecareerthatthatwasthefullbestyearsoffmycareer.
Don't getmewrong.
I had a goodtimeatatLeedsandAtleticoaswell, But I thinkatChelsea I justknewMaur I understoodmoreatLeedsandthatlittlegirlwasgreenifyouunderstandwhat I mean.
Andevenwhen I goback, youknow I'm alwayswelcomedandsometimes I parkedmy, uh I parkedmycarinthegarageand I take a taxifurtheror I taketheonthegroundwithmydaughterandgointotown.
Andwhen I walkpastthewall, wherearethepicturesaremypictureisthereandtowalkpastitItitdoesgiveyou a warmfeeling, youknow?
So I lookbackreallyproudand, youknow, really, uhyeah, Happyeither.
Thiswouldhavebeen a hugemistakeanyway, butitwasjustItwasjustgreatwhenthereis a Itwas 22 yearoldandsortofgrewupthere, maturedonbeingpartoffthehistoryoftheclub.