https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/08/20/
lukaku-reveals-admiration-for-tuchel-and-what-he-learned-in-ital
Lukaku reveals admiration for Tuchel and what he learned in Italy
20 Aug 2021
Romelu Lukaku has explained why he was so keen to work with Thomas Tuchel
and how his experiences at Inter Milan and during his first spell with
Chelsea have made him a complete player with nothing to prove.
https://i.imgur.com/82XDOaN.jpg
The Belgian international is now back for his second spell with the Blues
and was introduced to supporters and the media at Stamford Bridge on
Wednesday afternoon.
A decade on from his first unveiling as a Chelsea player, when he arrived
from Anderlecht as a teenager, Lukaku has become a far more experienced
and complete player, thanks in no small part to his time leading the line
for Inter as they claimed their first Serie A title for 11 years last
season.
'It's good to be back here having experienced success elsewhere, but also
a different playing style, where it's more technical-based and more
tactical,' said Lukaku. 'It was part of my plan, to try to experience
different leagues. So I experienced Serie A, which was a league I always
wanted to play in at one stage of my career.
https://i.imgur.com/0PE93PJ.jpg
Lukaku celebrates last season's Serie A triumph with Inter
'Going there you deal with a different kind of pressure, but it was good.
As a player it's a totally different game, very tactical, tight spaces,
most of the games you only get one chance and if you don't score it then
it gets very difficult. That was very important for my efficiency, but
also playing with my back to goal and the tactical aspect of the game,
which is really important, so it was a good experience.
'The Italian game is so different, you have to make the right run or make
the right movement to get another player free because we had a lot of
possession, so we were playing in the opponent's half and most of the time
I had my back to goal and everything was going through me. So for me that
was really an eye-opener and once I mastered it, then for me everything
became easier, the game would slow down and I could control the game more
and give more assists.'
However, it isn't just his time in Italy that has shaped Lukaku into the
striker he is today. He also revealed there were lessons he learned from
his time in England, especially working with Didier Drogba and the rest of
our first Champions League-winning squad at Chelsea in 2011/12, which had
a lasting influence on his development.
'I was one of the young players coming through and for me, those
experiences were very beneficial for the rest of my career. The basics
that I learned about work ethic and what it takes to win, I took for the
rest of my career.
https://i.imgur.com/JcHSYJL.jpg
Lukaku celebrates victory over Fulham in 2011/12 with Chelsea legends
Drogba and John Terry
'The Premier League has a bit of everything so the experiences I had
before I left were great, I loved every minute of it, on and off the
pitch. I think the experience in Italy made me more complete as a player,
but I'd been living the Premier League for many years before. Watching the
Premier League over the last two years, the players got better, teams got
better, and I'm ready for the challenge.'
Between his impressive performances for Inter and Belgium in recent years,
he believes everyone can see the all-round striker he has developed into,
but accepts that some people will always pigeon-hole him as a target man
due to his physical presence. He isn't concerned with trying to prove them
wrong, though, with his focus solely on helping Chelsea succeed.
'I don't have to prove anything to anyone. The only thing that motivates
me is myself. I'm a self-motivator, I always have been. That's something I
thought to myself when I went to Inter: “I'm out of this zone where
people are seeing me as a certain type of player that I'm not. I'm much
more than what people are seeing.”
'So I think me going to Inter basically showed the world what I can do,
and also me playing with the national team of Belgium shows people what I
can do. Being with my back against the wall is something that I've had
since a very young age, so it's nothing new to me.
'I'll do my work on the pitch and whatever people are saying, I let them
talk. They have a perception, they don't know me, but my performances have
always done the talking.'
One person who certainly sees Lukaku's full worth to a team is Thomas
Tuchel, who has already expressed his excitement at having the 28-year-old
in his Blues squad, and according to our new striker the feeling is
mutual, with the chance to play under the German being one of the things
which appealed to Lukaku about returning to Stamford Bridge.
'What I really like about him is that for every game there is a different
game-plan,' added Romelu. 'Training sessions are always with the goal of
trying to prepare the team for the game at the weekend and that's what I
love about him.
'I told him in the first conversation that we had: “I tried to figure out
what you are trying to do with the team but I've never figured it out
because every game was different” and that's what I like, because I look
at the game from a tactical point of view. I want to know what a team is
doing, and that's what really intrigued me to become a player for him
because he is a manager who is tactically very strong.'