Courtois: Title shows critics we are no joke
Players restored pride after being ‘laughed at’ last term
‘It was hard to switch to 3-4-3. A lot of teams try and find it not so easy. We picked it up very well’
Goalkeeper says he expects to stay despite Real interest
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said that the Chelsea players’ morale had dropped so low last year that they felt they were “laughed at” following their disastrous Premier League season, and that this latest title had restored their reputations.
In a stark assessment of the depths of their 2015-2016 title defence, Courtois said that he and his team-mates recognised they had come to be regarded as “a joke” and felt that the accusations of laziness were unfair. The Belgian goalkeeper was even dropped in April last year by caretaker manager Guus Hiddink and there were suggestions he might yet leave the club in the summer.
He said: “After last year when we had a moment when we were 15th, 16th in the league, people laugh and players get criticised. Obviously it ’s not nice after a season when you had won the league. Some criticism was deserved and others not – and if you bounce back winning the title again, that’s amazing.
“They said we didn’t want to play anymore, they said we were lazy, that kind of stuff, and it ’s not true. We tried to win our games, but last year was just an off year, especially for a team like Chelsea and the players which were here. Everybody is used to playing for trophies and last year that was not the case, and everybody’s pride was hurt. I think that’s why we wanted to bounce back this season.”
Courtois’s future is likely to be decided this summer, when he will be one of those at the top of the list for a new contract. Consistently linked with a move to Real Madrid, the Belgium No 1 said that he expected to stay at Chelsea. “Yes, of course,” he said, “I am committed to Chelsea.”
Courtois said that the turning point was the 3-0 defeat by Arsenal in September that prompted Antonio Conte to change the team’s formation and launch a 13-game winning streak in the league. “Yeah, it was very bad [against Arsenal]. Obviously if you lose 3-0 to another tough opponent, a London derby … maybe Michy [Batshuayi] had one good chance, but for the rest we had a bad game.
“And in this week it was hard to switch to 3-4-3. I think the players picked it up straight away, put a lot of work ethic in, because it ’s not so easy that you just change and you win your games. A lot of teams try to do it and find it not so easy. We did it and picked it up very well.”
This second Premier League crown is the fourth top-flight league title Courtois has won in three different countries, including the Belgian
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League with Genk in 2011 and La Liga with Atlético Madrid in 2014. “I live for those moments of joy and excitement,” he said on Friday night after victory over West Brom had sealed the title for Chelsea, who won with Batshuayi’s 81st-minute strike at the Hawthorns.
Courtois pointed out that, unlike other managers who had taken over big clubs this season, it had been Conte and Chelsea who adapted most quickly. “The impression in the beginning [of Conte] was that we were all going to do a lot of work, a lot of video meetings, obviously the things that a football player doesn’t like too much! Work, yes, but only physical work and tactical work. You prefer to play little games and have fun. But obviously that was not the case. We worked hard.
“I think everybody picked it up well. For a new manager, it ’s not easy. You can look to other teams who brought a new manager in, they couldn’t compete at the level we did. We adapted almost straight away, and that’s the amazing thing about our story this season.”
Courtois’s team-mate Willian said that Conte’s approach to the season had been much the same as he came across in public, albeit with more composure at half-time. “He [Conte] is the same,” Willian said. “After the game, if we win he comes in and he’s crazy. But at halftime, he’s different. He’s calm. He’s easy, he tries to find the best solution for the team and communicate it to them.
“Yes [at half-time], he’s cool. When we finish the game and if we have won, he’s crazy. Really crazy. I cannot describe how he was in the dressingroom [at the Hawthorns] afterwards. Crazy-crazy? Double crazy? Yes.”
Eden Hazard and Courtois are both expected to sign new deals in the summer, although this will be a close season in which the club have to make major decisions about replacing John Terry and potentially Diego Costa. “You need maybe additions, because you play on four different fronts, so I think that’s important, but I guess the club and the manager knows what they’re doing,” Courtois said.
“We already have a lot of quality, but maybe some time you need a bit more depth, because this year we didn’t have injuries and you never know what can happen next year.
“So obviously I guess they will do their work now, and hopefully we can finish the season with an FA Cup win as well.”