Earlier this year, former Chelsea player Marco van GInkel announced his retirement from football.
This came right after a spell at Boavista, where he played 11 times in the Portuguese top-flight last season. His career also saw him play for clubs such as AC Milan, Stoke City, PSV and Vitesse.
Considering that the Dutchman is only 33, retirement has come early. He had multiple prolonged injuries in his career and that hampered his progress.
Van Ginkel has now spoken to Gazzetta dello Sport about the decision to retire. The ex-Chelsea player has no regrets about how things have turned out.
Van Ginkel speaks of Milan and Chelsea
In the chat with the newspaper, the midfielder was specifically asked about his time with the Blues. He spoke of being managed by Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
He said: “I only did summer training with Antonio. He was a real force. I was the one who ran the most. Sarri was always smoking, but he gave you a lot of tactical advice.”
The Dutchman had more to say about Mourinho, who helped him with advice at Chelsea.
“He called me in 2013 to bring me to Chelsea from Vitesse. He had great respect for me, but it’s a shame I tore my cruciate ligament at the start of the season. He gave me a lot of advice, both tactical and psychological. He was a natural strategist.”
The Vitesse youth graduate was asked whether he has regrets about how things have turned out.
Van Ginkel said: “Not really, I accept who I was. At 20 I played for Chelsea and the national team, and at 33 I retired. Sure, without all those injuries I would have achieved more, but I’ve never felt sorry for myself.”
A career not gone to plan
Over his entire career, Van Ginkel played only two games for Chelsea. His best came at PSV, where he scored 34 times and assisted 14 times across two spells.
This also earned him a call-up to the Dutch national team.
Things could have been far better for Van Ginkel but he still made a career for himself. He played in four countries and even at Vitesse, he contributed to 54 goals in 156 games in all competitions.