Chelsea Coach Ancelotti Plans To Encourage Young Talent
Neymar, the Brazilian striker who Chelsea have been pursuing since the beginning of summer, has still not made his mind up about the London club. The youngster had revealed earlier that he would enjoy a move to Europe where he had a chance of winning silverware, and the Blues present that opportunity, so what’s the problem?
The Brazilian striker feels that with competition like Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka, he will not get any play time. At a sponsor’s event earlier this week he was asked about a possible move to Chelsea, and he replied, “I don't know if I'll stay or go. But leaving the country to end up in the reserves doesn't interest me, it would be better to stay here.”
Even though the statement was not official, it probably has given Chelsea manager Ancelotti, some idea as to why the Brazilian striker is taking so long to give an answer. It makes sense too. If Neymar’s effort and talent is going to go to waste warming the bench at Stamford Bridge, then it’s understandable if the youngster prefers to stay at Sao Paulo.
At Sao Paulo he’s made a name for himself and does not have to compete with the likes of Drogba and Anelka. Despite this, Ancelotti is insistent on having him at Chelsea. The Italian knows very well that he has more than enough attacking options and one more would just mean unhappy forwards, because one or the other would have to be left out.
He has his reasons though, since the start of the Abramovich era, Chelsea management has been accused of purchasing older, experienced players and not promoting young talent. Ancelotti is taking a step in that direction; with his arrival players like Gael Kakuta, Jeffrey Bruma and Patrick van Aanholt have all been promised appearances in the first team this season.
This does not mean that they will start in the Premier League, but could get an opportunity to impress in the other competitions, like the FA Cup and the Carling Cup. This summer his signings, excluding 30 year old Yossi Benayoun, also reflected this desire of bringing younger players to Chelsea. The younger interests included Brazilian Ramires, German Ozil and Neymar. Ramires signed a four year contract a few days earlier but Ancelotti lost out on Ozil to old foe Mourinho.
Neymar is right to assume that he will be a bench warmer at Chelsea, because a player far more talented than him has not as yet secured a place in the starting 11. That youngster was voted the best player at the recently held under 19 European Championships in his home country, France – it’s none other than Gael Kakuta.
The 19 year old attacking midfielder has could the eye of many managers, and Chelsea are lucky to have secured him, though it was through illegal means and they were punished for it. In the European Championship Kakuta scored twice and set up the winning goal, which got him recognized as the star of the tournament and ultimately earned him the Golden Player award.
However, at the Bridge he is treated like all the other young players. And he knows if he is to earn a place in midfield he will have to compete with international heavy weights like Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Florent Malouda and Yuri Zhirkov – superstars in their own right. Ancelotti has made it clear that he wishes to encourage younger players, but his starting 11 did not support his claims, Kakuta was not in the Blues first Premier League fixture.
Chelsea effortlessly won 6-0, but Ancelotti needs to realize that at this point playing a young player may be more important than winning by a big score line. If he doesn’t, someone else will. Bayern Munich have already made an offer to take Kakuta on loan and give him a place in the first team.
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