Mere hours after the suggestion of signing Mark Schwarzer first arose and proved to be true, the Australian has given his first official interview to the Chelsea website. He's had some interesting things to say on the subject of his transfer to Chelsea.
When asked about his thoughts on the transfer, he replied:
It's a phenomenal club. It's one of the biggest and best clubs in the world, and it's an honour to sign for Chelsea. I didn't take much convincing to come here.
Well, that's pretty understandable. He's reaching the end of his career at 40, so it's understandable he'd be interested to find a comfortable seat on our bench. Plus, he might have a chance at a trophy. No big surprises, really.
As a former Fulham player, he's a fixture in West London, so a move across Fulham to Chelsea was ideal for him.
I live closer to here than my previous club. There were a lot of things that ticked all the boxes, but most of all Chelsea Football Club is an enormous club and I think a club that can re-establish itself as the best club in the country. It has an unbelievable manager and an unbelievable squad of players and it's very exciting.
Of course, there's some more stuff about our squad and manager. It's kind of our deal right now. I'd imagine he'd be pretty excited to be a part of what we're planning here. The cynical part of me would also say that there's a decent chance he'll pick up a medal from a comfy chair at the Bridge. That's not his only goal, though.
I still have a lot of aspirations to play for my country. I want to play another World Cup, we've just qualified for Brazil and I want to continue to play at the highest level for as long as possible. Obviously Petr is a fantastic goalkeeper and the number one goalkeeper at Chelsea but I am here to help push him along, he will hopefully push me along and help the younger keepers at the club as well. I'm very excited of the challenges ahead.
Of course, there's nobody really expecting Mark to take over from Cech, since we already have a guy who can do that, but training with our exceptional staff and maybe playing a few games will help prove he's still the Australia number one. If Schwarzer can help our young guys, keep Big Pete honest, and not be embarrassing in his appearances, it'll be a great spell for all involved.
Asked about his views on Chelsea, he offered:
As a very, very good side. Chelsea have always played up there with the top teams in the country, one of those teams you wanted to beat, which goes part and parcel with being one of the top clubs in the country and the world. They've always been a formidable opponent and not so long ago I was on the receiving end of a defeat. I know what it's like to play against Chelsea and I'm excited about playing with them now.
I'm glad he thinks we're one of the elite English teams, and that we're a difficult team. It's also nice to know that he's excited to take on the challenge of being at Chelsea, even if it's not a huge challenge overall. A lot of the interview may be the standard niceties a new player offers up in his first interview. All in all, it's a good time, and I hope we'll get to see him soon during pre-season, and maybe a few games during the season. I'm just glad he's happy to be here.