Thiago Silva’s first months of Premier League football have seen its fair share of ups and downs but the Chelsea centre back’s big takeaway is the fusion of styles that he has come up against.
Speaking in the club’s match programme for Sunday’s game at home to Burnley, the 36-year-old Brazilian believes there is a flavour of many leagues in addition to a distinct English style and the competitiveness of every opponent means there have been few moments of respite.
“English football has its own unique characteristics,” he said. “Obviously, every team has its own strategy for each match. Some like to keep the ball on the floor, others play a more aerial game, but what has struck me most here is the level of professionalism.
“Every player is really well-prepared to deliver his best for his team and it’s a really healthy competition here, everyone is very respectful. If someone comes in a bit strong with a challenge, they’ll say sorry afterwards. Another thing – and it’s not something that surprised me, I expected it – is the fact that every team here is competitive. Nobody ever gives up.
“Even if you’re winning 3-0, the other team will carry on pressing you and working hard, trying to get a goal back or even to grab a draw. Actually, that level of competitiveness probably has surprised me a bit. Every team is really well prepared to play at their very best level.
“English football is like a mix of all the different leagues. Here, there’s a bit of the French league, a bit of the Brazilian league, a bit of Italy, a bit of Spain. But there’s definitely an English identity, which is also very strong.
“Nobody gives anything away and the intensity is really high: every team keeps battling and fighting for as long as they can keep it up. I really love that because football here is about more than just technique.”
The former PSG defender, who won a number of trophies under Chelsea’s new head coach Thomas Tuchel, believes that work ethic can trump natural ability in English football – something that he feels does not hold true in other leagues.
“It feels like hard work can take you a long way here. So it’s not just down to god-given talent, but because of how you are and how you work.
“I’m not sure whether this works, but a comparison I could make on that front is to look at the difference between Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi.
“Messi has an unbelievable gift for playing football. Cristiano is also gifted, but I think he’s really improved over the years and you can see he’s someone who really puts the hours in.
“You have to take your hat off to someone like that because, today, simple technique isn’t enough if you don’t have that will to improve, the desire that Cristiano Ronaldo has shown to get to the very top.
“No matter how successful he is, he keeps on working to improve and achieve new things. He’s an example for everyone who hasn’t had the good fortune to be blessed with such talent.”
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