Fair. He wanted to go. Don't personally think it would have been better for him given the surgery recovery he needs. But still, some players want to represent their country. Can't be mad imo.
It's the right decision by the club but on the flip side, some here seem to want to get on Enzo's back for daring to be human and express his disappointment. This is the first time he was asked and spoke publicly about this. It's not as if he complained or has been complaining about it.
Exactly this tbh. He is just dissappointed, I mean how often do you get the chance to represent your country at an olympics as well? That doesn't come around often. Guys not making any insane comments here.
And it was such a mild statement too. Basically "yeah, I wanted to participate, wasn't possible in the end, hope I get a second chance in the future". Absolutely drama-less.
Yeah, it's ultimately a nothing statement. He explained what happened and spoke about it in a calm manner. Didn't kick up a fuss or anything like that and yet, you can still see so many overreactive comments in this thread. Nothing wrong with someone in his situation expressing disappointment as long as he doesn't go over the line, which he didn't. Am sure someone like Gusto, for instance, is also disappointed at not being allowed to play at the Olympics, especially when it's being hosted in his home country.
Guy played the majority of the season with an injury, had it end early because of said injury and then wants to play 2 big tournaments for his country in one summer. I respect that he wants to be there, but Argentina isn't paying him for the next 7 years, Chelsea is.
I wonder if that long contract played into his thinking. Many South Americans do LOVE playing for their country. Like it’s the highlight of the year for a lot of them. And if Enzo gets hurt, it’s Chelsea that offered him an 8 year deal.
I wouldnt suggest he’s diminishing Chelsea (he played through a lot of pain this year).
It surely played a part in the club's thinking. I'm sure Enzo just wants to play, both for club and country, and that he's veary eager to represent his country. But he also has a duty to the club that invested heavily in him, and there have been cases like Robben and Umtiti, who played injured for the national team, and their club faced the consequences.
If only the IOC offered comparative insurance to what FIFA does if a player gets injured at their competition. Instead of medical costs and wages of (up to \~€8m per year per player IIRC), the IOC's insurance only covers medical expenses for players who get injured at the Olympics.
That's an absolute joke and a drop in the bucket for footballers; Enzo reportedly earns at least 180k per week before bonuses. Never mind how much the club would get fucked if he actually got injured again before preseason.
I'd still prefer he could have gone to the Olympics if they were the only international competition this summer, but if the IOC doesn't want to get treated like the joke it is, then maybe it's time to begin paying for some FIFA-level insurance and start talking with other governing bodies in order to schedule their tournament so that it doesn't overlap with some of the biggest international competitions on the planet.
Deciding whether Olympics football will be a U21 tournament or a serious senior competition is also a long overdue decision. This mixing of age brackets is a laughable rule.
Players should always be free to play for their country if they want to. Though FIFA needs to decide if they are going to take the Olympics seriously or not. This bullshit with using young players but being able to invite a couple of older players needs to stop.
Either treat it like a U21 tournament or like an actual senior competition
FIFA did this once where teams were saying no to the olympics and FIFA was like okay yall need to remember who runs things and made it that they had to release players for the olympics
It doesn't matter. FIFA has to ensure that players can freely play for their country. Otherwise you'll get what we have in basketball where it is a struggle to get european NBA players to play for their countries
If FIFA doesn't step in, the clubs will start pressuring players into not playing for their national team, especially lesser known players
But it was well known he wouldnt play full 90 minutes every game in copa América , you could say he would probably play a full tournament between olympics AND copa america.
Messi went on to play the Copa America, then win the Olympic gold, then go back to Barcelona and win the treble in the same year. Let them play for their NT, it’s their passion.
On the other hand, why the fuck are Chelsea allowing him to play an entire season injured? He should have gone out the moment he was injured instead of being 90% the entire season.
I know he loves playing for his country, but I hope he has some self-awareness that playing 2 months of high-level international football overseas after surgery isn't a great idea for his club career.
Bro he is Argentinian.
Playing for Chelsea is his job, playing for Argentina is his childhood dream.
I’ll assume you’re English, tell me, would you rather win the Argentina league cup or whatever, that your friends and family have never heard of, or would you rather be a national hero and win gold for team GB?
Literally a no brainer.
These lot simply can’t put themselves in his shoes.
I’d love move than anything to win a trophy for my country, a trophy for my boyhood club comes close, but a trophy for literally anyone else? Lol doesn’t come close.
Even if I played for Madrid, it’s not my childhood dream.
Same goes for Enzo. 🤷♂️
Im a dutch chelsea fan, i would litterly take chelsea winning the EPL over the dutch winning the euro's.
Its not that im not a fan of the holland team. Chelsea just means so so much more. I generally dont really care about international football.
We are not obligated to send him though. Only a clown will do a Lukaku move. Anyways, no player is bigger than the club. Especially, these overrated new signings that have been stealing a living.
I used to find it really confusing when I saw fans being unable to empathise with this stuff, but then I realised it’s probably people from countries without a strong footballing culture (or at least without pride in their national team).
In a lot of places (South America especially) football is a religion. There’s no greater honour than winning glory with your national team.
Unfortunately for Enzo (and many players in the past), they are employees of a football club and that’s who ultimately gets to make these decisions. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to care about it immensely.
Are you trying to assert that Argentinians, let alone any South Americans have any affinity with the premier league, English trophies or English clubs.
They watch just as many Chelsea games as you watch Boca games.
You ever heard of the falklands? Or las Malvinas as Enzo might call it.
Mate the Olympics isn't the same as the Copa or World cup. Go look at Argentina's squad for the last Olympics. Only a few players in it were from a European league. It's well accepted that top players won't go and Enzo should understand that.
"I’ll assume you’re English, tell me, would you rather win the Argentina league cup or whatever, that your friends and family have never heard of, or would you rather be a national hero and win gold for team GB?"
Great Britain has played football in the Olympics exactly 1 time since 1960. Craig Bellamy, Ryan Giggs and Micah Richards were the 3 non u23 players. No one really cared about it even when the Olympics were in London.
It was a shit team because people don't grow up dreaming about winning an Olympic Gold Medal for team GB because there is no team GB in football, and there's no one really clamoring for them to get their act together and field another team.
Of course, and he is a professional so if anything there is respect for the club and manager (also probably some love too) but it's nowhere near comparable with the love for the NT. Maybe that's something we feel differently broadly speaking. Probably Enzo loves River as much as the NT but like someone said Chelsea is mostly a job like it would be for anyone that didn't grow up as a fan or homegrown.
Of course the club have every right. But he’s also very obviously going to be disappointed when he’s not allowed to go. How on earth is this so difficult for fans to understand?
Club football is a job, national team football is like a religion to some nationalities.
As you mentioned he is on a job with Chelsea, under a contract, which is legally binding. Hope you never own a business where all your employees, that you pay each month, breaching and not respecting their contracts left and right for whatever they want and hurting company’s business.
Contract is there to be respected for all parties involved. In this case Enzo needs to stay fit because Chelsea needs him going forward. If he ever gets injured with Argentina, you know who pays the price, literally and figuratively. He should be mature and responsible enough to think that way.
Okay?… did I say otherwise?
He’s gonna be a little disappointed but then get on with it. This dispute between club and country has happened hundreds of times for hundreds of different players. It’s perfectly normal
What? 😂 Chelsea can also force him to play with the youth teams. He also has a heavyly bonus incentivised contract. Enzo isn't in control here, Chelsea is.
Messi and DiMaria last played for Argentina in the Olympics in 2008, when they were both actually under 21. The team Argentina sent to the last Olympics in Japan didn't make it out of their group. The only PL player on that team was MacAlister. Most of the team were players who play in Argentina. They lost to Australia 2-0.
Comparing playing in the Olympics to playing for the national team, in general, is crazy. No one watches Olympic Football... He is already playing in the way more prestigious competition where, arguably, way more valuable players go and play in, than a competition where he only risks to get injured. His life and career depend on the money he is getting from this other place (yes, a job generally is a job; regardless if you like it or not), not from Olympic Football.
Absolutely this, I don’t even know how people are trying to blame him for this. Literally his dream to play for his country, but since it’s not England, everyone here is pissed he wants to play
Again, he just got back from surgery. Partially due to being overused. Guy needs some sort of break. He's young, and international caps will keep coming.
thats not true LOL
~~If the club wanted him to not be overused we wouldve told him to forgo copa america in favor of the Olympics, its an extra month in the future~~ Actually, we cant. Copa america is the first major A team tounament of the year, so it is compulsory for us to release Enzo. The olympics are outside the regulated international periods, so clubs arent obliged to release their players for them
*Reality is probably that we have a new system dependant manager, and the board has recognised that enzo could be an important cog in that system (we payed 100m for him he has to be). They want to get him play with maresca as soon as possible.*
This could very well still be the case, or at least part of it.
~~seems selfish to me, taking into account that the olympics come once every 4 years, but hey, business Seems~~ Knowing what i do now, it doesnt seem as selfish. Obviously enzo wants to help his team win and add an Olympic gold to his achievements while he still can (The olympics being essentially an u-23 only tournament, save for 3 players).
But the club might be thinking more long-term, into pre-season
"If the club wanted him to not be overused we wouldve told him to forgo copa america in favor of the Olympics, its an extra month in the future"
The club can't tell him not to go to Copa. They can tell him not to go to the Olympics. The IOC has no power over club teams.
Clubs are not obligated to release players for the Olympics period. Even if there were no Copa America or Euros this year, there would be nothing stopping them from blocking players from playing in the Olympics. Men's Football in the Olympics is also not a senior international tournament. It is a u23 tournament.
The IOC is the committee that runs the Olympics. They do not have the power to sanction clubs who bar players from participating in the Olympics, so clubs are free to tell players not to go. FIFA has the power to sanction clubs for barring players from tournaments they govern.
>If the club wanted him to not be overused we wouldve told him to forgo copa america in favor of the Olympics, its an extra month in the future
No. That's not how it works. The two tournaments are not equal.
On second review, youre right but i dont think its because the two tournaments arent equal
We let him go for the Copa, so we arent obliged to let him go for the olympics
Or the player could have pulled out of Copa America and went to the Olympics. If i am not wrong , we are obligated by fifa to to release players for the international tournament, else we are fined(I don't remember what the regulations are now)
It also bad for his country. Playing 2 competitions so close after the surgery may rob his country of him in the long run. And it's not like Argentina don't have other players for Olympics.
Don't know why would Argentinian fans want to risk Enzo's health over that competition. If he played for my country I would wish he rests and recovers, so I can enjoy him healthy in the long run.
And before people bring club into it, we are having a preseason begore that, where it will be lighter load than an int competition. And if we overplay him knowing he isn't fit, we are in the wrong too.
Agree. The fact he couldnt make that decision with the injury ridden season we had is frustrating as a Chelsea fan. I get it its your country but you won the WC and big players stop going to the olympics for this reason, your paid too much to risk on a lesser international tournament
He's likely to miss a huge chunk of it anyway due to the Copa America.
But at the very least, he should be available come start of the season since he won't be going to the Olympics.
He won’t miss pre season at all
Copa final is on the 14th of July
Our first preseason game is on the 24th of July.
Assuming he makes it to the final, would give him some time for a little vacation before he joins the team.
Can't remember what's the norm in the past but am expecting the players participating at the Euros and Copa America to be given 2-3 weeks off after they're done.
Assuming Argentina go all the way to the final, getting 2 weeks off would mean Enzo misses the first 2 pre-season games. If it's 3 weeks, then it's likely that he'll miss all the games or maybe, just be able to play the last one against Real Madrid.
EDIT: Now that Mudryk is out of the Euro, let's see how many weeks off he gets before returning for pre-season.
I feel it will be because Maresca is reported to be obsessed with details and his system takes time to take shape. So I'm assuming pre season is the ideal time to do so.
Idk what happens in American football lol. Don't know why you mentioned it.
American football is a much more complex sport tactically since it’s a series of set plays rather than a fluid sport.
In regular football pre season is still important to get ideas over but mostly it’s about reps - generally it’s going to take six months to a year to get the initial idea across and from there you build. However professional players are quick to learn it’s why you get a “new manager bounce” even without a pre season.
This sub goes crazy over pre season results, which are even more irrelevant than the value of pre season
Pre-season very rarely does much for tactics unless you already have a well settled team. Most of it is spent trying to find out where players can fit, what they're capable of and who isn't capable at all. Rather than putting detailed tactics into place.
It's the manager's job to get base, working tactics going by the time the season starts and then expand on them over time. Throwing it all in at once, instead of using the time to properly assess players will likely hamstring us quite badly
Let's just hope no one gets injured in the preseason like last year. Shit yank stadiums not being prepared for a soccer match made us miss out on Lavia
Dudes had surgery, was subpar last year because of the injury he had. He needs to rest and hit the ground running next year, good decision to keep him from the Olympics. He'll have plenty of other opportunities to go.
I mean tbf, the games only allows 3 plus 23 y/o players. This is the last year Enzo doesn't count as one, the chances to go to the next ones diminish considerably.
Considering how bad he was towards the end of the season (our purple patch occurred after he got shut down) 100% the correct decision to make is not going. He will have at least 1-2 more chances with the Olympics.
Id put him on a longer holiday too and bring him back into the team later than everyone else. If were going to be a decent team he needs to be much better
With a new manager coming in and his injury last season it’s the right call. We have to hit the ground running. He’s probably upset about it but it will pass and he’s got a lot of time to play for his country.
Yeah. I kinda get that feeling, too. Not saying I want him to go - I think he can be a real player - but there have been hints of discontent. Also, I'm still not sure how you play him and Caicedo together effectively.
Holy shit lol no there haven’t. This is a natural disagreement that happens between loads of clubs and players
Enzo used to look good playing beside Gallagher, he’s not inherently incompatible with Caicedo ffs
Yes, there were. They were coming so often in the January/February timeframe that he issued a public denial - which, coincidentally, means nothing. I mean, what's he going to say - "The cloob sucks. I've made a terrible mistake"? Google it if you dont believe me.
Where did I say he's "inherently incompatible" with Caicedo? Hint: I didn't. Reading comprehension, pal - get some. That being said, they aren't going to work in a midfield 2.
I think you have the impression I was bashing him, or am a hater like a lot of folks in this sub. I'm not. I don't think we've seen his best. I'm just not convinced we will absent a tactical change. Hopefully, Maresca can get the best out of him.
> That being said, they aren’t going to work in a midfield 2
Lmao you’re the one that needs to work on your reading comprehension. You’re contradicting yourself, except for the possibility of both in a midfield 3, which wasn’t referenced in the original comment. I didn’t misread shit, you just said something stupid and don’t want to own up to it
I remember the stuff in January or whenever. Don’t buy tabloid bullshit, it wasn’t from any reliable sources
It’s a huge year for Enzo coming up. He didn’t look the part last year but he was injured. There are things he needs to add to his game (slightly improved athleticism, shooting) that will take him
To the next level.
not really this quote, just in general, i wouldn't be surprised if this is his last year. its a huge year for Enzo, he has to show that the injury last year was what hurt him and not a lack of athleticism. He's obviously got a ton of talent but if he isn't able to become a bit more mobile and if he doesn't get better at shooting, I'm not sure he'll be a starter for us, and I can't see him sticking around if he's not starting.
Brother I can almost guarantee you that the club would not sanction an Enzo sale even IF he wanted to go. Interested teams would have to put up INSANE money for us to even consider selling him.
It is a hard one to gauge when you think about it . We haven't ran into a scenario under this ownership/SD's a project player is forcing themselves out of the club. Would we keep them hostage? Would we let them go without fuss (i.e City policy)?
I will say, the expected playstyle that Maresca is going to implement suit Enzo's profile very well, so you it's highly liekly that he does welll and enjoys his football next season with us.
I'd imagine that the ownership would put pressure on Maresca to find a way to make Chelsea's marquee signing to work out.
I hope you’re right, don’t think there’s a player at Chelsea right now I want to see succeed here more than Enzo. He’s genuinely so fun to watch when he’s playing well.
True, but it’s the same with 99% of players (no matter how much people try to delude themselves)
Just because they kiss the badge or get their PR team to post “London is blue” on their instagrams it doesn’t mean they love the club and are “propah Chels!”. I find this obsession slightly naive but I understand why people like to think like this.
Even the "true blue" players such as an academy player would give serious thought to playing at a club like Real Madrid or even a transfer to somewhere equal or (for a lack of a better term)ess club if the circumstances are right. Maybe a Chang of scene, maybe going to their home country, maybe a manager with a philosophy that fits their talents, or even the simplest one - more play time.
At the end of the day, we as fans may support a club but for the players, it's a job. None of us have any loyalty to our employer.
I get playing for your country is a privilege, but he was an absolute liability the entire season because of his injuries, and then was forced to miss the most important part of the season once the injury became unmanageable. He cannot feel hard done by that we want to actually protect both him and our asset
Doesn't look good on his part. Missed final few weeks due to injury to be fit for Copa America, fair enough. But If he's been carrying the injury so long that it needed surgery it makes no sense to play back to back tournaments.
Relax. It's his country. He's telling the fans he would have loved to be there. He knows why he isn't and will get over it. There's nothing wrong with this at all.
He's not whingeing.
Quite the opposite, he's very professional about it.
He says "yeah I wanted to be there, but ultimately the club didn't allow it, it is what it is, next time hopefully" (some paraphrasing because cba to write every word, but that is the meaning of his response. 100% no 'whingeing')
This is getting kinda ridiculous. Enzo. You forced yourself to play through injury and we got a shitty season out of you. You really think it's unreasonable for Chelsea to request you only participate in one summer tourney?
Anyone who has watched Argentina’s games so far, how has Enzo been performing? Is he moving better? (Ofc I know there is a difference between his role in the national team and Chelsea but relatively is he looking better)
He got his first minutes starting last night. He looked good physically, did a lot of running, took some physical shots from Chile well. He looked good enough distributing the ball, by no means great but in no way bad. Got dispossessed a couple times in wide areas near the box where he could have probably done better, play was good in the actual midfield though.
Sorry Enzo, you'll have your time playing for Argentina in the future again.
But we need you for preseason, Chelsea should be the priority as we pay your wages and getting CL is a must.
Sure he has a right to be disappointed, but it's also silly of him to think he can play two international tournaments after finishing the season injured like he did.
I think we should be letting players go if they're pushing for it but not the biggest deal. To change our position, though, is really unfair. Also not great for our players and their attitudes towards the club or how we might appeal to other players.
This is absurd. You just had a surgery on a injury, sensible thing to do is play one tournament. Look what happened to gavi and pedri played both tournaments and now they r injury prone.
Might be on my own here, but I think we should not be telling him not to go. Rather than looking at him as an 'asset', he's a top level football player and the Olympics is probably a huge thing for him and his legacy in a short career. If it takes him a month or two to get back up to speed next season, we've just dropped a billion on players and can take the hit, surely we could let him be part of it it, in the same way we do for AFCON players for example. If anything it potentially puts a bit of a sour taste to his ongoing relationship with the club.
It doesn’t really make sense though most important club players are not playing in both tournaments I believe United told Garnacho the same thing. Also it’s not like he didn’t just have a hernia surgery or anything while playing majority of the season in pain, even if he doesn’t want it his body needs a rest. He’s played a lot of football the past 2 years
The Olympics are not meant to be a tournament for top level football players. Even Copa America is more prestigious than the Olympics in football. I know he'd obviously like to go, but one tournament is enough for him this summer after the club already let him end his season early so he could be ready for Copa.
I mean he is an asset that accounts for 10% of the billion we spent. We fired Poch because he didn't see Enzo as being a centerpiece of the club while Maresca is more likely to build around him. The owners see him as a core piece of our team.
I agree that I'd hate for this to cause any conflict between the club and him but at the same time I agree with the club that having him healthy for pre-season and the beginning of the season is important. Especially factoring in he had a major surgery right beforehand. He's 23, he'll get more chances at the Olympics in the future.
Imagine he goes to Olympics after Copa and reinjures his back. We'll be the ones fckd, not Argentina.
He's not responsible for his transfer fee. Also, your regard for the Olympics is subjective. For someone who's won the world Cup and will potentially win every major honour in Europe in his career, its potentially a huge achievement. Pretty sure its quite hard to play football in the Olympics past a certain age too, unless you're one of the designated older players. Idk, I just think monetising our players as 'assets' isn't the route I like to see. He hasn't been that great anyway, we've been better without him in the team towards the end of poch's tenure. Is it even that big of a loss?
I think him not being great was a result of him being injured and also Poch's style of play. It just didn't fit Enzo well while Gallagher thrived as it fits him perfectly. From what I understand Maresca's style will fit him much better and should allow him to play in more comfortable positions.
For age, he'll be 27 for next Olympics. I doubt that's too old for him to perform in the Olympics. I wouldn't count on them to automatically win it either as Messi isn't playing either.
I don't think we'd be holding him out if he hadn't had the surgery. This is a compromise and I feel like it's not that crazy. They said play Copa and sit out Olympics so you'll be ready for next season. That isn't crazy to me.
We let him sit out the end of the season so he could get the operation and be in shape for the Copa America. Football at the Olympics is about as low quality as it gets with international tournaments. It's not remotely comparable to the AFCON.
I wouldn't blame any youngster for wanting to be at the Olympics. A few weeks of playing against primarily reserve squad players, soaking in the atmosphere of the games and the good times at the Olympic Village. However, the most professional ones would understand that they're a pivotal player in their club that's undergoing an important preseason under a new manager.
>If it takes him a month or two to get back up to speed next season, we've just dropped a billion on players and can take the hit
No we can't. We've dropped more than a tenth of that billion on him alone. If it were someone like Chuk or Noni that wanted to go to the Olympics, I'm sure the club would be onboard with that. They're both useful but not critical players for the team. By all accounts, Enzo is.
Listen I don’t have a problem with him expressing his love to play for his own country.
Just like I have no issue with Chelsea saying no because he is a high paid employee who wants to leave to go do what he is being paid highly for a team other than Chelsea.
Wanting to fight for your country internationally isn’t being a mercenary. Players almost always hold their national team in higher regard than their clubs and it’s understandable. Your home country doesn’t change, your club does
I don't know if you watched the video but that's a rather overreaction. He was asked about the Olympics and simply spoke about it in a normal tone. Am sure he's disappointed that he won't be allowed to go (as you would expect from anybody in his position. he's a human after all.) but at the same time, am sure he also understands the club's decision, assuming they explained to him the reasons. So, not sure why people need to get worked up over this.
What are you talking about?
He isn't sulking or complaining in the slightest.
He is being very rational about it (unlike you) - saying he wanted to go, but the club didn't allow it, and that's just they way it is, so hopefully another time.
Doubt it, but if he does, I don’t care if he is on a 15 year contract, just cut him loose. The last thing this team needs is one bad apple spoiling the bunch. We already had a lot of that with Lakaka.
Poch gave his approval - one more reason to be glad he's gone lol - he clearly didn't give a fuck about next season if he was cool with Enzo just fucking off to 2 tournaments in one offseason
So if the medical team is giving their ok
Poch is giving his ok
Enzo wants to go
It’s Poch fault?
You know that Enzo and Poch are both Argentinians and want to make their country proud
I don't care about Argentina's success. At the end of the day, they need to keep everything within perspective. He has his chance to contribute to his country at the Copa America - common sense should prevail and someone needs to keep Enzo's long term interests in mind because of course he's going to want to go play every available game for club and country but that's how you end up peaking in your mid 20s and shortening your career
Enzo cares about Argentina’s success. The Argentinian FA wants him to play for the olympics and enzo wants to play for the Olympics. He wants to make his nation proud by winning gold
Definitely a bitch
We looked better because Enzo had an hernia issue and couldn't operate at the level that we saw when he first joined Chelsea.
Sending him to two major international events in one summer to them have him come back to the premier league season with no rest after major surgery is idiotic.
He needs to have a rest after the Copa and then join up with us if he cares about his long term playing career
This is like double sword edge, if you give him chance in Olympic, there will be risk of injury but, if you don't give him a chance play in Olympic. This will hurt player morale and motivation to play for the club.
In all honesty, fifa should take a stance, did they serious in Olympic event or not, because some fifa tournament like AFC U23 if they place in 1st-3th position. They got place in Olympic but at the same time, fifa don't take a serious for olympic
Fair. He wanted to go. Don't personally think it would have been better for him given the surgery recovery he needs. But still, some players want to represent their country. Can't be mad imo.
If there was no Copa I wouldn’t mind him going at all but 2 tournaments in one summer is ridiculous
It's the right decision by the club but on the flip side, some here seem to want to get on Enzo's back for daring to be human and express his disappointment. This is the first time he was asked and spoke publicly about this. It's not as if he complained or has been complaining about it.
Exactly this tbh. He is just dissappointed, I mean how often do you get the chance to represent your country at an olympics as well? That doesn't come around often. Guys not making any insane comments here.
And it was such a mild statement too. Basically "yeah, I wanted to participate, wasn't possible in the end, hope I get a second chance in the future". Absolutely drama-less.
Yeah, it's ultimately a nothing statement. He explained what happened and spoke about it in a calm manner. Didn't kick up a fuss or anything like that and yet, you can still see so many overreactive comments in this thread. Nothing wrong with someone in his situation expressing disappointment as long as he doesn't go over the line, which he didn't. Am sure someone like Gusto, for instance, is also disappointed at not being allowed to play at the Olympics, especially when it's being hosted in his home country.
Guy played the majority of the season with an injury, had it end early because of said injury and then wants to play 2 big tournaments for his country in one summer. I respect that he wants to be there, but Argentina isn't paying him for the next 7 years, Chelsea is.
I wonder if that long contract played into his thinking. Many South Americans do LOVE playing for their country. Like it’s the highlight of the year for a lot of them. And if Enzo gets hurt, it’s Chelsea that offered him an 8 year deal. I wouldnt suggest he’s diminishing Chelsea (he played through a lot of pain this year).
It surely played a part in the club's thinking. I'm sure Enzo just wants to play, both for club and country, and that he's veary eager to represent his country. But he also has a duty to the club that invested heavily in him, and there have been cases like Robben and Umtiti, who played injured for the national team, and their club faced the consequences.
Tbf robben couldn't get through a warmup without getting injured.
If only the IOC offered comparative insurance to what FIFA does if a player gets injured at their competition. Instead of medical costs and wages of (up to \~€8m per year per player IIRC), the IOC's insurance only covers medical expenses for players who get injured at the Olympics. That's an absolute joke and a drop in the bucket for footballers; Enzo reportedly earns at least 180k per week before bonuses. Never mind how much the club would get fucked if he actually got injured again before preseason. I'd still prefer he could have gone to the Olympics if they were the only international competition this summer, but if the IOC doesn't want to get treated like the joke it is, then maybe it's time to begin paying for some FIFA-level insurance and start talking with other governing bodies in order to schedule their tournament so that it doesn't overlap with some of the biggest international competitions on the planet. Deciding whether Olympics football will be a U21 tournament or a serious senior competition is also a long overdue decision. This mixing of age brackets is a laughable rule.
Players should always be free to play for their country if they want to. Though FIFA needs to decide if they are going to take the Olympics seriously or not. This bullshit with using young players but being able to invite a couple of older players needs to stop. Either treat it like a U21 tournament or like an actual senior competition
FIFA did this once where teams were saying no to the olympics and FIFA was like okay yall need to remember who runs things and made it that they had to release players for the olympics
Bro the country ain’t paying them, the clubs are so that’s not right.
It doesn't matter. FIFA has to ensure that players can freely play for their country. Otherwise you'll get what we have in basketball where it is a struggle to get european NBA players to play for their countries If FIFA doesn't step in, the clubs will start pressuring players into not playing for their national team, especially lesser known players
Correct. He better sit his ass down and heal.
But it was well known he wouldnt play full 90 minutes every game in copa América , you could say he would probably play a full tournament between olympics AND copa america.
I’m quite confident he won’t be here in 7 years
Messi went on to play the Copa America, then win the Olympic gold, then go back to Barcelona and win the treble in the same year. Let them play for their NT, it’s their passion.
On the other hand, why the fuck are Chelsea allowing him to play an entire season injured? He should have gone out the moment he was injured instead of being 90% the entire season.
I know he loves playing for his country, but I hope he has some self-awareness that playing 2 months of high-level international football overseas after surgery isn't a great idea for his club career.
Bro he is Argentinian. Playing for Chelsea is his job, playing for Argentina is his childhood dream. I’ll assume you’re English, tell me, would you rather win the Argentina league cup or whatever, that your friends and family have never heard of, or would you rather be a national hero and win gold for team GB? Literally a no brainer.
Don’t listen to these lot. You are right. I would do anything to play for my country and hold a gold medal
These lot simply can’t put themselves in his shoes. I’d love move than anything to win a trophy for my country, a trophy for my boyhood club comes close, but a trophy for literally anyone else? Lol doesn’t come close. Even if I played for Madrid, it’s not my childhood dream. Same goes for Enzo. 🤷♂️
Im a dutch chelsea fan, i would litterly take chelsea winning the EPL over the dutch winning the euro's. Its not that im not a fan of the holland team. Chelsea just means so so much more. I generally dont really care about international football.
Agree with Euros. World Cup? I have to see us lift the trophy before I die.
Nou dan hoop ik dat je genoeg geduld hebt.
I am just glad Enzo stays professional here He could easily do a Lukaku move and talk shit about the club and how they keep changing things
We are not obligated to send him though. Only a clown will do a Lukaku move. Anyways, no player is bigger than the club. Especially, these overrated new signings that have been stealing a living.
I used to find it really confusing when I saw fans being unable to empathise with this stuff, but then I realised it’s probably people from countries without a strong footballing culture (or at least without pride in their national team). In a lot of places (South America especially) football is a religion. There’s no greater honour than winning glory with your national team. Unfortunately for Enzo (and many players in the past), they are employees of a football club and that’s who ultimately gets to make these decisions. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to care about it immensely.
Are you trying to assert that Enzo’s friends and family in Argentina have never heard of the premier league or the other competitions we play in?
Are you trying to assert that Argentinians, let alone any South Americans have any affinity with the premier league, English trophies or English clubs. They watch just as many Chelsea games as you watch Boca games. You ever heard of the falklands? Or las Malvinas as Enzo might call it.
I agree with your post above but bringing up the Falklands over something like this is... it's a choice alright. 😅
Lmao for real, my man snuck in some falklands patriotism arc like no one would notice
>You ever heard of the falklands Me as Nepali seeing English and Argentinians going again for Falklands again.
They’re still fuming. First result on searching r/argentina https://www.reddit.com/r/argentina/s/NZaTKRlUfO
>Falklands Lmao what does this have to do with anything
The fact that Argentinians generally do not like England, its football leagues or football clubs
Mate the Olympics isn't the same as the Copa or World cup. Go look at Argentina's squad for the last Olympics. Only a few players in it were from a European league. It's well accepted that top players won't go and Enzo should understand that.
"I’ll assume you’re English, tell me, would you rather win the Argentina league cup or whatever, that your friends and family have never heard of, or would you rather be a national hero and win gold for team GB?" Great Britain has played football in the Olympics exactly 1 time since 1960. Craig Bellamy, Ryan Giggs and Micah Richards were the 3 non u23 players. No one really cared about it even when the Olympics were in London.
Lots of people cared about it. And lots of people were very angry that we sent such a shit team to that tournament.
It was a shit team because people don't grow up dreaming about winning an Olympic Gold Medal for team GB because there is no team GB in football, and there's no one really clamoring for them to get their act together and field another team.
I'm not English. But, also, false equivalence.
Not really, do you think he grew up watching the premier league? Dreaming of playing for Chelsea? Lol no chance.
Chelsea pay his salary. They have every right to say they don't want you worn out by the time training camp comes up.
Of course, and he is a professional so if anything there is respect for the club and manager (also probably some love too) but it's nowhere near comparable with the love for the NT. Maybe that's something we feel differently broadly speaking. Probably Enzo loves River as much as the NT but like someone said Chelsea is mostly a job like it would be for anyone that didn't grow up as a fan or homegrown.
Of course the club have every right. But he’s also very obviously going to be disappointed when he’s not allowed to go. How on earth is this so difficult for fans to understand? Club football is a job, national team football is like a religion to some nationalities.
As you mentioned he is on a job with Chelsea, under a contract, which is legally binding. Hope you never own a business where all your employees, that you pay each month, breaching and not respecting their contracts left and right for whatever they want and hurting company’s business. Contract is there to be respected for all parties involved. In this case Enzo needs to stay fit because Chelsea needs him going forward. If he ever gets injured with Argentina, you know who pays the price, literally and figuratively. He should be mature and responsible enough to think that way.
He literally won the greatest international football tournament to exist last year. Sincerely, he’ll let it go lmao
Okay?… did I say otherwise? He’s gonna be a little disappointed but then get on with it. This dispute between club and country has happened hundreds of times for hundreds of different players. It’s perfectly normal
He can force his way out and find another club or stays and gets paid until 2032 It’s a loss for Chelsea. Glad enzo stays professional.
What? 😂 Chelsea can also force him to play with the youth teams. He also has a heavyly bonus incentivised contract. Enzo isn't in control here, Chelsea is.
OP wants player control to be back
lol he won a world cup and young player award for Argentina. The Olympics means fuck all and he knows this. This is 100% fan service from Enzo.
Try telling an Argentinian that the Olympics don’t mean shit and see how well that turns out.
Messi and DiMaria last played for Argentina in the Olympics in 2008, when they were both actually under 21. The team Argentina sent to the last Olympics in Japan didn't make it out of their group. The only PL player on that team was MacAlister. Most of the team were players who play in Argentina. They lost to Australia 2-0.
I don’t see your point
"The Olympics means fuck all and he knows this."
They won the World Cup lol.
…and ?
Comparing playing in the Olympics to playing for the national team, in general, is crazy. No one watches Olympic Football... He is already playing in the way more prestigious competition where, arguably, way more valuable players go and play in, than a competition where he only risks to get injured. His life and career depend on the money he is getting from this other place (yes, a job generally is a job; regardless if you like it or not), not from Olympic Football.
He’s won a World Cup. Literally just won the highest honor in football
Absolutely this, I don’t even know how people are trying to blame him for this. Literally his dream to play for his country, but since it’s not England, everyone here is pissed he wants to play
Again, it's his Country!
Again, he just got back from surgery. Partially due to being overused. Guy needs some sort of break. He's young, and international caps will keep coming.
thats not true LOL ~~If the club wanted him to not be overused we wouldve told him to forgo copa america in favor of the Olympics, its an extra month in the future~~ Actually, we cant. Copa america is the first major A team tounament of the year, so it is compulsory for us to release Enzo. The olympics are outside the regulated international periods, so clubs arent obliged to release their players for them *Reality is probably that we have a new system dependant manager, and the board has recognised that enzo could be an important cog in that system (we payed 100m for him he has to be). They want to get him play with maresca as soon as possible.* This could very well still be the case, or at least part of it. ~~seems selfish to me, taking into account that the olympics come once every 4 years, but hey, business Seems~~ Knowing what i do now, it doesnt seem as selfish. Obviously enzo wants to help his team win and add an Olympic gold to his achievements while he still can (The olympics being essentially an u-23 only tournament, save for 3 players). But the club might be thinking more long-term, into pre-season
it is selfish, but we have to be. argentina aren’t the ones that paid £105m for him or have him on a 9 year contract
yea he cant really cant complain, and im glad hes taking it professionally
"If the club wanted him to not be overused we wouldve told him to forgo copa america in favor of the Olympics, its an extra month in the future" The club can't tell him not to go to Copa. They can tell him not to go to the Olympics. The IOC has no power over club teams.
huh, i didnt know that " ...clubs do not have to release players for more than one major senior international tournament in a year. "
Clubs are not obligated to release players for the Olympics period. Even if there were no Copa America or Euros this year, there would be nothing stopping them from blocking players from playing in the Olympics. Men's Football in the Olympics is also not a senior international tournament. It is a u23 tournament.
You are completely right ill edit my comment
Respect you for that, many would’ve tried to die on their original hill or just deleted the comment.
what is the IOC? I cant find where this is stated
The IOC is the committee that runs the Olympics. They do not have the power to sanction clubs who bar players from participating in the Olympics, so clubs are free to tell players not to go. FIFA has the power to sanction clubs for barring players from tournaments they govern.
Yup i edited my comment above
>If the club wanted him to not be overused we wouldve told him to forgo copa america in favor of the Olympics, its an extra month in the future No. That's not how it works. The two tournaments are not equal.
On second review, youre right but i dont think its because the two tournaments arent equal We let him go for the Copa, so we arent obliged to let him go for the olympics
Or the player could have pulled out of Copa America and went to the Olympics. If i am not wrong , we are obligated by fifa to to release players for the international tournament, else we are fined(I don't remember what the regulations are now)
You are right, i edited the comment
It also bad for his country. Playing 2 competitions so close after the surgery may rob his country of him in the long run. And it's not like Argentina don't have other players for Olympics. Don't know why would Argentinian fans want to risk Enzo's health over that competition. If he played for my country I would wish he rests and recovers, so I can enjoy him healthy in the long run. And before people bring club into it, we are having a preseason begore that, where it will be lighter load than an int competition. And if we overplay him knowing he isn't fit, we are in the wrong too.
Correct decision to not let him go.
Agree. The fact he couldnt make that decision with the injury ridden season we had is frustrating as a Chelsea fan. I get it its your country but you won the WC and big players stop going to the olympics for this reason, your paid too much to risk on a lesser international tournament
Preseason will be extremely important this coming season.
That’s what we say every season.
Incredibly more so now because we're in Europe...can't have people not playing early in the year because they're not fit or don't know the tactics
He's likely to miss a huge chunk of it anyway due to the Copa America. But at the very least, he should be available come start of the season since he won't be going to the Olympics.
He won’t miss pre season at all Copa final is on the 14th of July Our first preseason game is on the 24th of July. Assuming he makes it to the final, would give him some time for a little vacation before he joins the team.
Can't remember what's the norm in the past but am expecting the players participating at the Euros and Copa America to be given 2-3 weeks off after they're done. Assuming Argentina go all the way to the final, getting 2 weeks off would mean Enzo misses the first 2 pre-season games. If it's 3 weeks, then it's likely that he'll miss all the games or maybe, just be able to play the last one against Real Madrid. EDIT: Now that Mudryk is out of the Euro, let's see how many weeks off he gets before returning for pre-season.
It is two weeks standard.
lol, it’s such an over stated thing said by pundits to fill air time. Pre season while useful isn’t similar to American football.
I feel it will be because Maresca is reported to be obsessed with details and his system takes time to take shape. So I'm assuming pre season is the ideal time to do so. Idk what happens in American football lol. Don't know why you mentioned it.
American football is a much more complex sport tactically since it’s a series of set plays rather than a fluid sport. In regular football pre season is still important to get ideas over but mostly it’s about reps - generally it’s going to take six months to a year to get the initial idea across and from there you build. However professional players are quick to learn it’s why you get a “new manager bounce” even without a pre season. This sub goes crazy over pre season results, which are even more irrelevant than the value of pre season
Pre-season very rarely does much for tactics unless you already have a well settled team. Most of it is spent trying to find out where players can fit, what they're capable of and who isn't capable at all. Rather than putting detailed tactics into place. It's the manager's job to get base, working tactics going by the time the season starts and then expand on them over time. Throwing it all in at once, instead of using the time to properly assess players will likely hamstring us quite badly
Let's just hope no one gets injured in the preseason like last year. Shit yank stadiums not being prepared for a soccer match made us miss out on Lavia
Dudes had surgery, was subpar last year because of the injury he had. He needs to rest and hit the ground running next year, good decision to keep him from the Olympics. He'll have plenty of other opportunities to go.
I mean tbf, the games only allows 3 plus 23 y/o players. This is the last year Enzo doesn't count as one, the chances to go to the next ones diminish considerably.
Pochettino gave him the ok? Good grief.
Considering how bad he was towards the end of the season (our purple patch occurred after he got shut down) 100% the correct decision to make is not going. He will have at least 1-2 more chances with the Olympics. Id put him on a longer holiday too and bring him back into the team later than everyone else. If were going to be a decent team he needs to be much better
He may not get more chances considering it's basically an u23 tournament, the next manager might not want him as one of the 3
Olympic Games are so important for a bunch of sports. Not for football. Move on.
Respectfully fuck the Olympics
With a new manager coming in and his injury last season it’s the right call. We have to hit the ground running. He’s probably upset about it but it will pass and he’s got a lot of time to play for his country.
He's speaking to the fans. This means less than nothing, a fart in the wind. Of course the club won't let him play in a youth tournament.
Hate to say it but I don’t see him lasting long at chelsea
Well whoever wants him will have to pay a pretty penny and a half
Yeah. I kinda get that feeling, too. Not saying I want him to go - I think he can be a real player - but there have been hints of discontent. Also, I'm still not sure how you play him and Caicedo together effectively.
Holy shit lol no there haven’t. This is a natural disagreement that happens between loads of clubs and players Enzo used to look good playing beside Gallagher, he’s not inherently incompatible with Caicedo ffs
Nothing like this sub to overreact to what is a normal/an innocuous comment.
Yes, there were. They were coming so often in the January/February timeframe that he issued a public denial - which, coincidentally, means nothing. I mean, what's he going to say - "The cloob sucks. I've made a terrible mistake"? Google it if you dont believe me. Where did I say he's "inherently incompatible" with Caicedo? Hint: I didn't. Reading comprehension, pal - get some. That being said, they aren't going to work in a midfield 2. I think you have the impression I was bashing him, or am a hater like a lot of folks in this sub. I'm not. I don't think we've seen his best. I'm just not convinced we will absent a tactical change. Hopefully, Maresca can get the best out of him.
> That being said, they aren’t going to work in a midfield 2 Lmao you’re the one that needs to work on your reading comprehension. You’re contradicting yourself, except for the possibility of both in a midfield 3, which wasn’t referenced in the original comment. I didn’t misread shit, you just said something stupid and don’t want to own up to it I remember the stuff in January or whenever. Don’t buy tabloid bullshit, it wasn’t from any reliable sources
It’s a huge year for Enzo coming up. He didn’t look the part last year but he was injured. There are things he needs to add to his game (slightly improved athleticism, shooting) that will take him To the next level.
How did you come to this conclusion based on this quote?
not really this quote, just in general, i wouldn't be surprised if this is his last year. its a huge year for Enzo, he has to show that the injury last year was what hurt him and not a lack of athleticism. He's obviously got a ton of talent but if he isn't able to become a bit more mobile and if he doesn't get better at shooting, I'm not sure he'll be a starter for us, and I can't see him sticking around if he's not starting.
Enzo is a starter when fit regardless of who is here but yeah I agree, don’t see him being here in a few years anyway Hope I’m wrong
Brother I can almost guarantee you that the club would not sanction an Enzo sale even IF he wanted to go. Interested teams would have to put up INSANE money for us to even consider selling him.
Depends how the season goes, no? If Caicedo, Gallagher, and Lavia are getting all the playing time and Enzo becomes unhappy, why would we keep him?
It is a hard one to gauge when you think about it . We haven't ran into a scenario under this ownership/SD's a project player is forcing themselves out of the club. Would we keep them hostage? Would we let them go without fuss (i.e City policy)? I will say, the expected playstyle that Maresca is going to implement suit Enzo's profile very well, so you it's highly liekly that he does welll and enjoys his football next season with us. I'd imagine that the ownership would put pressure on Maresca to find a way to make Chelsea's marquee signing to work out.
I hope you’re right, don’t think there’s a player at Chelsea right now I want to see succeed here more than Enzo. He’s genuinely so fun to watch when he’s playing well.
I mean, what he did at Benfica should be an indicator that he doesn't really give a shit unless its Argentina
Ehhhh….i don’t buy that
We always think it’ll never happen to us. A few more subpar finishes and I doubt he’ll be begging to stay
True, but it’s the same with 99% of players (no matter how much people try to delude themselves) Just because they kiss the badge or get their PR team to post “London is blue” on their instagrams it doesn’t mean they love the club and are “propah Chels!”. I find this obsession slightly naive but I understand why people like to think like this.
Even the "true blue" players such as an academy player would give serious thought to playing at a club like Real Madrid or even a transfer to somewhere equal or (for a lack of a better term)ess club if the circumstances are right. Maybe a Chang of scene, maybe going to their home country, maybe a manager with a philosophy that fits their talents, or even the simplest one - more play time. At the end of the day, we as fans may support a club but for the players, it's a job. None of us have any loyalty to our employer.
I mean, if that happens, he won't be the only one possibly looking elsewhere.
In the long run it would be better for his career not to go. If Copa wasn't this year maybe they would have allowed him to go
Bro just came out of surgery ffs
am I trippin or is it weird that Poch didn’t care whether or not he went? nothing to train before the season starts?
I get playing for your country is a privilege, but he was an absolute liability the entire season because of his injuries, and then was forced to miss the most important part of the season once the injury became unmanageable. He cannot feel hard done by that we want to actually protect both him and our asset
Doesn't look good on his part. Missed final few weeks due to injury to be fit for Copa America, fair enough. But If he's been carrying the injury so long that it needed surgery it makes no sense to play back to back tournaments.
He was very poor yesterday He should focus on being 100% ready for next season here.
Yeah, but no one will talk about that, which is way more important, indeed. He needs to get himself to play good football first of all.
in the old days one of the captains or leaders on the team like Terry or Lampard would have a word with him. This whinging publicly is a bad look
Relax. It's his country. He's telling the fans he would have loved to be there. He knows why he isn't and will get over it. There's nothing wrong with this at all.
He’s not even complaining he’s just a little upset lmao
Sorry, where's the whinging? He said he wanted to go but couldn't. That's all.
He's not whingeing. Quite the opposite, he's very professional about it. He says "yeah I wanted to be there, but ultimately the club didn't allow it, it is what it is, next time hopefully" (some paraphrasing because cba to write every word, but that is the meaning of his response. 100% no 'whingeing')
This is getting kinda ridiculous. Enzo. You forced yourself to play through injury and we got a shitty season out of you. You really think it's unreasonable for Chelsea to request you only participate in one summer tourney?
where did he say/imply that it was unreasonable?
Mate, you never playing in the Olympics ever again!
Anyone who has watched Argentina’s games so far, how has Enzo been performing? Is he moving better? (Ofc I know there is a difference between his role in the national team and Chelsea but relatively is he looking better)
He got his first minutes starting last night. He looked good physically, did a lot of running, took some physical shots from Chile well. He looked good enough distributing the ball, by no means great but in no way bad. Got dispossessed a couple times in wide areas near the box where he could have probably done better, play was good in the actual midfield though.
Wasn’t good, not sure what the guy is talking about.
Sorry Enzo, you'll have your time playing for Argentina in the future again. But we need you for preseason, Chelsea should be the priority as we pay your wages and getting CL is a must.
The American squad is sending the b team. Not sure why Argentina wouldnt do the same
Sure he has a right to be disappointed, but it's also silly of him to think he can play two international tournaments after finishing the season injured like he did.
I think the club should have let him go. You’ve got to treat people as you would wish to be treated.
I think we should be letting players go if they're pushing for it but not the biggest deal. To change our position, though, is really unfair. Also not great for our players and their attitudes towards the club or how we might appeal to other players.
This is absurd. You just had a surgery on a injury, sensible thing to do is play one tournament. Look what happened to gavi and pedri played both tournaments and now they r injury prone.
Might be on my own here, but I think we should not be telling him not to go. Rather than looking at him as an 'asset', he's a top level football player and the Olympics is probably a huge thing for him and his legacy in a short career. If it takes him a month or two to get back up to speed next season, we've just dropped a billion on players and can take the hit, surely we could let him be part of it it, in the same way we do for AFCON players for example. If anything it potentially puts a bit of a sour taste to his ongoing relationship with the club.
It doesn’t really make sense though most important club players are not playing in both tournaments I believe United told Garnacho the same thing. Also it’s not like he didn’t just have a hernia surgery or anything while playing majority of the season in pain, even if he doesn’t want it his body needs a rest. He’s played a lot of football the past 2 years
The Olympics are not meant to be a tournament for top level football players. Even Copa America is more prestigious than the Olympics in football. I know he'd obviously like to go, but one tournament is enough for him this summer after the club already let him end his season early so he could be ready for Copa.
I mean he is an asset that accounts for 10% of the billion we spent. We fired Poch because he didn't see Enzo as being a centerpiece of the club while Maresca is more likely to build around him. The owners see him as a core piece of our team. I agree that I'd hate for this to cause any conflict between the club and him but at the same time I agree with the club that having him healthy for pre-season and the beginning of the season is important. Especially factoring in he had a major surgery right beforehand. He's 23, he'll get more chances at the Olympics in the future. Imagine he goes to Olympics after Copa and reinjures his back. We'll be the ones fckd, not Argentina.
He's not responsible for his transfer fee. Also, your regard for the Olympics is subjective. For someone who's won the world Cup and will potentially win every major honour in Europe in his career, its potentially a huge achievement. Pretty sure its quite hard to play football in the Olympics past a certain age too, unless you're one of the designated older players. Idk, I just think monetising our players as 'assets' isn't the route I like to see. He hasn't been that great anyway, we've been better without him in the team towards the end of poch's tenure. Is it even that big of a loss?
I think him not being great was a result of him being injured and also Poch's style of play. It just didn't fit Enzo well while Gallagher thrived as it fits him perfectly. From what I understand Maresca's style will fit him much better and should allow him to play in more comfortable positions. For age, he'll be 27 for next Olympics. I doubt that's too old for him to perform in the Olympics. I wouldn't count on them to automatically win it either as Messi isn't playing either. I don't think we'd be holding him out if he hadn't had the surgery. This is a compromise and I feel like it's not that crazy. They said play Copa and sit out Olympics so you'll be ready for next season. That isn't crazy to me.
We let him sit out the end of the season so he could get the operation and be in shape for the Copa America. Football at the Olympics is about as low quality as it gets with international tournaments. It's not remotely comparable to the AFCON. I wouldn't blame any youngster for wanting to be at the Olympics. A few weeks of playing against primarily reserve squad players, soaking in the atmosphere of the games and the good times at the Olympic Village. However, the most professional ones would understand that they're a pivotal player in their club that's undergoing an important preseason under a new manager. >If it takes him a month or two to get back up to speed next season, we've just dropped a billion on players and can take the hit No we can't. We've dropped more than a tenth of that billion on him alone. If it were someone like Chuk or Noni that wanted to go to the Olympics, I'm sure the club would be onboard with that. They're both useful but not critical players for the team. By all accounts, Enzo is.
Mercenary has mercenary attitude. Shocker
Sounds like the literal complete opposite of a mercenary to me lol
Braindead take. Who the fuck would rather stay playing in a foreign club than their own national team?
Listen I don’t have a problem with him expressing his love to play for his own country. Just like I have no issue with Chelsea saying no because he is a high paid employee who wants to leave to go do what he is being paid highly for a team other than Chelsea.
Wanting to fight for your country internationally isn’t being a mercenary. Players almost always hold their national team in higher regard than their clubs and it’s understandable. Your home country doesn’t change, your club does
He should've been allowed to play. Heck I'm surprised it's even legal for us to stop him. Country is so much more important than club.
Country pays the players wages im guessing 😑
My work pay my wages but if I want to go on holiday they can't stop me. Just think it's weird they can have that much say.
Cry me a river Watch him sulk all season because we didn’t let him go to the Olympics
I don't know if you watched the video but that's a rather overreaction. He was asked about the Olympics and simply spoke about it in a normal tone. Am sure he's disappointed that he won't be allowed to go (as you would expect from anybody in his position. he's a human after all.) but at the same time, am sure he also understands the club's decision, assuming they explained to him the reasons. So, not sure why people need to get worked up over this.
Bro what are you talking about?
What are you talking about? He isn't sulking or complaining in the slightest. He is being very rational about it (unlike you) - saying he wanted to go, but the club didn't allow it, and that's just they way it is, so hopefully another time.
Doubt it, but if he does, I don’t care if he is on a 15 year contract, just cut him loose. The last thing this team needs is one bad apple spoiling the bunch. We already had a lot of that with Lakaka.
Poch gave his approval - one more reason to be glad he's gone lol - he clearly didn't give a fuck about next season if he was cool with Enzo just fucking off to 2 tournaments in one offseason
So if the medical team is giving their ok Poch is giving his ok Enzo wants to go It’s Poch fault? You know that Enzo and Poch are both Argentinians and want to make their country proud
I don't care about Argentina's success. At the end of the day, they need to keep everything within perspective. He has his chance to contribute to his country at the Copa America - common sense should prevail and someone needs to keep Enzo's long term interests in mind because of course he's going to want to go play every available game for club and country but that's how you end up peaking in your mid 20s and shortening your career
Enzo cares about Argentina’s success. The Argentinian FA wants him to play for the olympics and enzo wants to play for the Olympics. He wants to make his nation proud by winning gold
Let him go. He won’t be here after the next 2 years anyway.
Low IQ Enzo
Tell us about something "High IQ" you've done.
Should’ve let him go. We looked better with a Gallagher/Caicedo pivot anyway.
Poch is no longer manager We need to see if it works first
Don’t matter. We looked better with those two.
If we're just going to binary look at results in themselves, Gallagher came into a 3rd place team and we dropped 9 places.
Gallagher is Chelsea through and through but he's not Chelsea quality. Santos is taking his place.
Yes we did, but new manager and new system Lets see and then judge
Don't know if this is bait or you're an idiot.
Don’t know if this is serious or you’re a bitch.
Definitely a bitch We looked better because Enzo had an hernia issue and couldn't operate at the level that we saw when he first joined Chelsea. Sending him to two major international events in one summer to them have him come back to the premier league season with no rest after major surgery is idiotic. He needs to have a rest after the Copa and then join up with us if he cares about his long term playing career
Because of inverted Cucu. Enzo will defo suit a Maresca system because he's a great passer and technically able.
But he’s TeChNiCaL
Rock and a hard place right now, wouldve loved to watch him in the olympics but we also need him to stay fit
I can respect that but they ain't gonna release him for the Olympics though
This is like double sword edge, if you give him chance in Olympic, there will be risk of injury but, if you don't give him a chance play in Olympic. This will hurt player morale and motivation to play for the club. In all honesty, fifa should take a stance, did they serious in Olympic event or not, because some fifa tournament like AFC U23 if they place in 1st-3th position. They got place in Olympic but at the same time, fifa don't take a serious for olympic
Makes sense as Pochettino is known to be less particular about injuries and pushing players hard. Maresca is the opposite
How do you know lol
Something like this has the potential to be the beginning of the end btw. You cant mess with South Americans and their national teams
Poch saying yes confirms to me he was part of our problem with the injury crisis. High intense training before matches
You right, medical team are saints It’s evil Poch