Chelsea have officially released an interview with Marc Cucurella, in which he looked ahead to the game against West Ham United, reflected on his career and shared his thoughts.
In the first few weeks under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea are building momentum, including back-to-back wins in his first two Premier League games, and progression to the UEFA Champions League knockout stages after beating Napoli on Wednesday night. Both Premier League victories came in London derbies against Brentford and Crystal Palace, and the next top-flight capital clash is on the horizon as we host West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
"I'm quite happy," Cucurella said. “There's always room for improvement, you can always do better, but overall I think we're finding the right path again, the winning way, and hopefully we can continue like this for the rest of the season.”
“Games against West Ham United are always very tough. At the end of the day it's a London derby, we always need to win. They're on a two-game winning run in the league at the moment and I think they've improved a lot.”
“Hopefully we can play well and win the game. We're improving too. We now understand better what head coach Enzo Maresca expects from us, and where we can get better. Hopefully we can put in a really good performance and take the three points.”
As well as looking ahead to the weekend's fixture, Cucurella reflected on the qualities he brings to the Chelsea side, and how his early career in his native Spain and Barcelona's famous La Masia academy shaped him as a player.
"I'm a high-intensity player," he added. “I always try to help the team, help my team-mates. I think I have a strong personality. I like to always show fighting spirit, defend my team-mates and be a really tough opponent to play against.”
“I grew up at La Masia, so I always tried to watch Barcelona's players. I'd say Jordi Alba is probably my reference and role model, because I watched him play throughout my childhood and always tried to see if I could learn things from his style.”
“In Spain, when you grow up in the academies, they work hard to teach you how to play with the ball, how to control and pass it well. I think that's probably one of the most important traits that all Spanish players have.”
"Hopefully all those qualities can shine through from our Spanish players at Stamford Bridge this Saturday, helping us secure a third consecutive Premier League win against West Ham United."
