Former goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini has been speaking about his time at Chelsea ahead of the club’s legends game against Liverpool later this month.
Cudicini joined Chelsea from Castel Di Sangro on an initial loan deal in 1999 before signing for the Blues permanently a year later.
The Italian was at Stamford Bridge for 10 years in total, leaving Chelsea for their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in 2009.
He was part of the club’s two title-winning teams in 2005 and 2006. Today, the Blues have Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen in goal, but Cudicini’s former teammate John Obi Mikel thinks Chelsea need another shot-stopper if they want to taste Premier League glory again.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC Via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC Via Getty Images
Carlo Cudicini upset about losing place in team to Petr Cech
After making just one start in the English top flight during his initial loan at Chelsea, Cudicini eventually became the team’s No.1.
However, following Petr Cech‘s arrival in 2004, Cudicini lost his spot in the side, something that he was understandably upset about.
Speaking to Chelsea’s official website about being dropped for his teammate, the 51-year-old said: “The fact the club brought another goalkeeper was just competition. It was not as if I was against or afraid of it, but I had a difficult pre-season. There was a long gap between the end of the previous season and the start of the new one because of the Euros so we had about six weeks off, then I had a physical problem in pre-season and when we arrived at the first game, the manager chose Petr.
“I was not the happiest man on earth, as you could imagine, but I have always been a team player and I tried to show my upset and my disappointment on the pitch by training hard every day and trying to put doubt in the coach’s mind when it came to selection.
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“But Petr had an unbelievable season. We conceded something like 15 goals and have the Premier League record for clean sheets, so there was not a lot I could do.”
In the end, Cudicini really could not have too many complaints. Cech proved to be amazing business for Chelsea, who won three titles with him as first-choice goalkeeper before the retired Czech Republic international was replaced by Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian was not No.1 for as long as Cech, though. Courtois joined Real Madrid in 2018, spending four years in Chelsea’s first team.
Photo by Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Carlo Cudicini was still happy to be part of title-winning team
Cudicini finished the 2004/05 season having made just three appearances in the Premier League. He would have wanted to play more games.
Nevertheless, the former Castel Di Sangro star was still glad to have been part of that famous Chelsea team.
“I had won a title with AC Milan but because of the importance of this first Premier League win for Chelsea, it was an unbelievable achievement,” he added in the same interview with the club’s website.
“After 50 years, there were so many people who had been working for the club for so long that were able to celebrate that achievement and it was more for them.”
Having both Cudicini and Cech in the squad, goalkeeper was not a problem for Chelsea. Fast forward to the present, though, and it now is.
Sanchez and Jorgensen have both made errors in the Premier League this season, and it looks like at least one of them could be replaced in the summer. Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher has been linked to Chelsea, so he is one potential arrival.