Chelsea stars Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger opened up about overcoming struggles to become professional footballers when they were first started out.
In partnership with Sure, Chelsea have released short documentary films covering the early journeys of three of their stars.
Jorginho spoke about how a number of clubs were concerned about his stature and going through difficult moments which almost made him give up football.
He said: “When I was little, I did three trials at three different clubs in Brazil. “All three teams told me I wasn’t good enough because I was too small.
“I then went to a football academy that was 200km from my home. In the winter I would have cold showers as there was no hot water.
“To go through this at 13 wasn’t easy and at that moment I wanted to give up football.”
Fortunately, he didn’t and has since proven himself at the top level despite his build.
Kante, on the other hand, lost his confidence after a series of failures at trials.
The France international said: “I didn’t always believe that I would become a professional footballer. When I was younger, I played in the lower leagues.
“I failed quite a few trials at professional clubs. When I failed, I watched the players in those academies and went home and told myself there was a lot of work to do.”
“I worked twice as hard to keep up the hard work and maybe one day it would happen. I think those failures allowed me to build myself to become a professional player.”
The World Cup and two-time Premier League winner has always had that diligence and determination which you can see when he plays on the pitch.
Rudiger had a similar case to Kante, where he had to overcome failure at the beginning.
He said: “When I was 15, I had a trial. The coach said to my brother: ‘let’s be honest, he will never make it.’
“Their words, they’re still somewhere in my head. It was a tough moment for me.
“That’s when I learned you have to believe in yourself. You have to grab it with both hands.”
https://www.facebook.com/86037497258/videos/3084305204964152/
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
