Chelsea midfielder Jorginho opened his voice about criticism from Chelsea fans about his style of play. He said the British people find it is not usual to see the type of playmaker like him. Jorginho became the key to the change in Chelsea’s style of play in the 2018-2019 season. However, supporters of the club seemed unhappy with the presence of Jorginho in the midfield of his favorite team. After this season was over, Jorginho commented on the fan criticism he had received so far.
“I received a lot of criticism maybe because the British people don’t usually see playmakers with skills like mine,” Jorginho said, as quoted from the Goal page. “Because, I am not a player who relies on physical strength. I think I am a player who is more concerned with playing the ball,” said the young Brazilian Italian. Jorginho also saw that the playing style he had was difficult for fans to understand because the final result of the game was not always good.
The 27-year-old player has become the mainstay of coach Maurizio Sarri to implement a ball-based playing style. As a result, the style of the Blues game which was previously defensive and relied on counter-attacks inherited from Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, changed completely. Italian media and British media named Maurizio Sarri’s playing style with Sarrismo or Sarri-ball.
In Sarri-ball’s scheme, Jorginho served as Chelsea’s conductor when attacking, finding loopholes, and especially rolling the ball quickly through a one-touch pass. Thanks to this role, the 180-centimeter football player was recorded as a feeder with the highest number of players in the Premier League. In total, there were 3,118 passes created by Jorginho throughout the Premier League last season.
Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Willian spoke out about criticism from Chelsea supporters who often referred to Jorginho. “I think this is unfair for him,” Willian said at a press conference session before facing Dynamo Kiev in the European League.
Responding to questions about Sarri’s lack of flexibility in developing tactics, Willian stated that he supported the role given to Jorginho. “Jorginho is very important to us, a very good player. We know the quality,” Willian said. “We just need to continue playing in the same way,” he said again.
-RDS-
