Sterling: My exit from City just left me raging MARSCH IS MAN OF THE WORLD!
Qatar motivation for Elland Road stars to perform
RAHEEM STERLING admits he was left “raging” by his exit from Manchester City.
Sterling, who moved to Stamford Bridge this summer in a deal worth £50million, won four Premier League titles during his seven years at the Etihad.
But the England forward lifted the lid on his departure and said: “Everyone wants to feel wanted – football is no different.
“When you play your heart out, sacrifice some of your kids’ birthdays and then get treated in a certain way, it’s disappointing.
“It was a shame to see how it ended in the end because I had such a great time there.
“At the time, I was fuming, raging, but it’s gone, it’s in the past and I can only focus on the present, which is now, here at Chelsea and the opportunity I’ve got here to go out and showcase my talents once again.”
Sterling goes seeking his first Chelsea goal at Leeds today as boss Thomas Tuchel admits the striker curse is in danger of becoming embedded in the club’s psyche.
The Blues are still scouring the market to find a proven hitman to replace £97m flop Romelu Lukaku – who is now back at Inter Milan on loan following a dreadful 12-month spell at Stamford Bridge.
But the fact is the Belgium star is merely the latest in a long line of big-money signings who have been unable to fill the role of prolific marksman. Since
Didier Drogba departed first time around in 2012,
Andriy Shevchenko,
Fernando Torres, Alvaro
Morata, Gonzalo Higuain,
Timo Werner and Lukaku have all proved duds.
Quizzed if it is now part of the club’s mindset to expect the worst in that crucial position, Tuchel said: “That‘s a very good question… and I struggle to give a clear answer. But we need to make sure this is not a self-fulfilling prophecy that we create for ourselves.
“I was ready to improve the situation with Romelu, I was ready to give it new thoughts, new energy, but it wasn’t to be. “We had a difficult, disappointing year in this relationship with Romelu.
“We expected more, he expected more and I expected more… of myself.
“OK, we go again. But still, we shouldn’t create our own self-fulfilling prophecy that the next striker will not succeed.”
Tuchel’s one-time Borussia Dortmund forward, PierreEmerick Aubameyang, 33, is being touted as a surprising short-term solution.
Talk of Barcelona’s veteran forward could be seen as a sign that even the world’s best are scared of the challenge of breaking the No.9 hoodoo at Stamford Bridge.
But Tuchel insisted: “Any striker would love to be the guy to break the habit of struggling. This is what I believe. Strikers are a very special breed.”
JESSE MARSCH admits the lure of playing in the World Cup is motivating many of his stars, but warned it cannot distract Leeds from their Premier League campaign.
USA internationals Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams could make the plane to Qatar, while there are plenty of other Leeds players vying for contention.
Rasmus Kristensen (Denmark), Mateusz Klich (Poland), Robin Koch (Germany), Illan Meslier (France), Dan James (Wales), Patrick Bamford (England) and Spain duo Rodrigo and Diego Llorente could also feature.
Marsch concedes the enforced winter break is at the back of his mind, but says that all focus for now must be solely on continuing his team’s encouraging start to the season.
Attacking midfielder Aaronson has been particularly impressive for Leeds since joining from Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg – where he played under Marsch – earlier this summer for around £22million.
Leeds host hated rivals Chelsea today and Marsch said of 21-year-old Aaronson: “Clearly, Brenden is motivated for a role with the national team, but I think he is just laser-focused on establishing himself here.
“All of our players, who are trying to establish themselves at the World Cup, the better they do here, the better chances they have of making their national team – they all know that.
“Brenden has been fantastic and his adaptation and his intelligence is at a very high level.
“When you look at him, he looks like he weighs about 50 kilos and he’s not the fastest or strongest guy on the pitch.
“But he finds a way in almost every moment to gain an edge and that has so much to do with his work rate, his intelligence and his adaptability.
“He has made a big impression on everybody here, on and off the pitch, but I want him to be laser-focused on improving every day and continuing to get better.”
The Premier League will go into hibernation for the World Cup after the weekend of November 12/13 before resuming again on December 26 for the traditional Boxing Day fixtures.
But Marsh insisted: “I do not have one eye on the World Cup.
“I have total focus on every day here, but obviously we have to always have an overview of what’s happening.
“It means that we know the players within the squad who have the potential to go to the World Cup have the motivation to do well here.
“It helps them, but if you didn’t know them, you would never be able to pick out which guys are selfishly focused that way. Even after just two games, we know, as a team, that every match is a massive challenge.
“If there is any distraction or lack of concentration, then we are done. “It’s a beautiful thing to challenge yourself at such a high level every single day – and these guys do it really well.”
Meanwhile, Marsch admits to being inspired by Leeds’ illustrious past as he bids to return the Yorkshire giants to former glories.
The American explained: “In my hometown, we had English people from Leeds who came to run soccer camps.
“They were Leeds United fans and they gave us jerseys.
“And then, when I became a professional player, I remembered the Leeds teams who played in the Champions League.
“I also remember hearing Gordon Strachan speak about Leeds and I have probably been given 25 books as gifts from fans and none of the books is the same.
“They’re in my office and, more than anything, I love seeing all the photos of the trophies that the club has won.
“It’s a reminder of the standard we’re trying to create.
“And when I’m coming into work early, I’m always picturing the trophies and our captain holding them aloft.
“I know that getting up at an ungodly hour is what it takes.
“That’s what this business is and the way to achieve success.”