Chelsea Blues Corner: Antonio Rudiger

After starting their 2020-21 campaign on a decent note, Chelsea suffered a slew of bad results that eventually led to the sacking of Frank Lampard from the manager's role. Thomas Tuchel has succeeded him at Chelsea and the players seem to have taken to him well and several individuals have been given a fresh lease of life at Stamford Bridge.

Prominent among those is Antonio Rudiger who was at the fringes earlier but has now become a crucial part of the side once again. In conversation with Anant Tyagi, Antonio Rudiger talks about life at Chelsea following the appointment of Thomas Tuchel.

Rudiger says that more than the 'German connection', it is the shared winning mentality that has got them working like a charm. Chelsea have gone eight games unbeaten under Tuchel and things are looking up for the Blues.

The Chelsea center-back says that the fans returning to the stadium for a short while helped enhance the atmosphere and now that games are being held behind closed doors once again, he admits that it feels a bit weird.

Antonio Rudiger is enjoying life in Chelsea and the Premier League

Chelsea FC v FC Krasnodar: Group E - UEFA Champions League

After being reintegrated into the team, Rudiger is enjoying life playing alongside new center-back partner Thiago Silva who is one of the most experienced campaigners around.

George Weah was Rudiger's role model growing up. Weah, who is the current president of Liberia, is the only African player to have won the Ballon d'Or. Rudiger also identifies Ronaldo Nazario, Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane as players he admired as a child. But George Weah holds a special place in his heart.

Antonio Rudiger responded to several questions from the Indian Blues as well. The 27-year-old has played in Germany, Italy, and now England. On how he has adapted to life in West London, Rudiger says:

"Yes, I've been in many leagues so far. For me, the hardest to adapt to was the change from Germany to Italy because of the different language and it was also the first time I was away from Germany. It's totally different, German and Italian. So there was that language barrier.

Getting to live in England was much easier because I speak the language and I had already been in a foreign country. So it was easier to adapt at Chelsea than it was in Italy."

Rudiger's favorite memory at Chelsea is scoring his first goal against Everton in the Carabao Cup. He also reminisces on Chelsea's FA Cup win over Manchester United in the semi-finals of the 2019-20 FA Cup and winning the Europa League in the 2018-19 season.

Life in the Premier League can be quite challenging and the German international has had to face several tough teams and players over the course of his Stamford Bridge stint and on being asked who his favorite opponent has been, he says:

"I like to play against Lukaku because it is a real challenge. He is physical and obviously very strong. I liked to play against him as it was always a challenge."

Rudiger has a plethora of talented players on his side at Chelsea and naturally, training sessions can get competitive. The former AS Roma man says that Timo Werner is the fastest player at the side and talks about how difficult it is to catch up with him once he gets in behind the defenders.

The spirits in the Chelsea dressing room seem to be high these days. Kurt Zouma had appeared on an earlier episode and said that Rudiger is the dressing room DJ. Rudiger responds to that by saying Zouma could be a comedian as he is one of the funniest guys in football.

Antonio Rudiger, like the entire Chelsea backline, has been in impressive form in the last few weeks. In his last 9 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, the German has played a crucial in achieving 6 clean sheets.

Finally, on being asked what other career path he would have chosen if not for football, Rudiger says: