'When I trained': 18-year-old Chelsea prospect blown away by just how good one first-team player is
Levi Colwill shared some extremely kind words about his childhood role model and current Chelsea gem, Thiago Silva.
Speaking to football.london, Colwill revealed that he idolised the legendary Brazilian whilst being raised through the ranks at Cobham.
Can you blame Colwill?
Many aspiring defenders have probably used Silva as the template for success in the sport.
At 37, the centre-back has seen almost everything there is to see, twice over.
RONALDO NEEDS TO STOP WHINING.
A title winner in Italy and France, with well over 500 career appearances to his name, there is little left for the veteran to achieve.
He now has a long-awaited Champions League winners medal hanging at home, following his move to Chelsea last summer.
However, the former Paris Saint-Germain captain surely does have two more things to tuck off his bucket list: lifting the World Cup and the Premier League
Both are extremely achievable, especially the latter, as the Blues continue to mount a title charge under Thomas Tuchel.
Silva will be crucial in the fight for Manchester City’s crown, as he has proved countless times already this season.
Taking tips from Thiago
To still be doing what he is doing at the age he is should be an inspiration for any footballer.
“I think it was Thiago (I looked up to when I was younger) because he wasn’t the biggest, he wasn’t the strongest and he maybe wasn’t the fastest, but mentally he was always steps ahead,” said Colwill on his role model.
People say don’t meet your heroes, but the teenager will refute this statement entirely.
Before he joined Huddersfield Town on loan for the campaign, the young centre-half was fortunate enough to train with Chelsea’s first team.
There, Colwill rubbed shoulders with the man he probably had a poster of up on his wall when he was younger.
“You can tell when he’s on the ball, everything looks so simple to him,” continued the Blues’ academy product about Silva.
“He makes it all look effortless. So I’ve always looked up to him and I got to speak to him – and most of the players – when I trained. They’re all good guys.”
Who knows, Colwill might be the one to step into Silva’s shoes at Stamford Bridge.
With just over six months left on his contract – although an extension is highly likely – the Brazil international will be waving farewell to London before too long.
It would be rather poetic if Colwill continued his legacy at Chelsea.
