安喬林：美夢成真、蘭帕德是我的偶像 - 切爾西足球俱樂部 Chelsea Football Club

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/01/23/
exclusive-interview--tino-anjorin-on-fa-cup-magic--solving-his-i

Tino Anjorin on FA Cup magic, solving his issues with cramp and living the
dream on the big stage

23 Jan 2021


Following his FA Cup debut in the last round, we catch up with the teenage
midfielder to talk about his love for the competition and how he's solved
a long-standing injury issue...


https://i.imgur.com/PjLW4Ry.jpg


As the champagne shot through the north London air and the posing for
keepsake photographs on the Wembley turf began, watching on through the
pyrotechnic smoke from high up in the stands was a football-mad
13-year-old boy taking in every detail.


The cause of the Chelsea celebrations was a League Cup final victory over
Tottenham, the date was March 2015 and the teenage onlooker was a young
lad from Dorset who was himself progressing well through the Academy
ranks at Cobham.


https://i.imgur.com/30og8nf.jpg
Tino Anjorin: Chelsea's next Academy star


Tino Anjorin grew up watching his idols win big games and lift even bigger
trophies. He cherished glimpses of heroes such as Didier Drogba and Frank
Lampard across the training ground complex in Surrey. He went to Stamford
Bridge as much as his own training and games schedule would allow to watch
them up close and in the flesh.


Even in these pandemic times and as the Blues wrestle to turn around some
stuttering winter form, the story of childhood dreams being realised on
the grandest of stages is something to savour. For Anjorin, who has made
his Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup debuts in the past 10
months, he's just desperate not to wake up.


'I'm delighted to be making appearances for the first team at Chelsea,' he
says as we catch up with the 19-year-old ahead of tomorrow's FA Cup
fourth-round tie against Luton Town.


https://i.imgur.com/Kc6zCUz.jpg
Anjorin made his Premier League debut in our last game before the March
lockdown


'It's been my dream since I was a young kid and to be living it now in the
flesh is so surreal. I'm happy to be playing, whether it's for one minute
or 80 minutes like I did against Krasnodar. It's just fun being out there
and having a sense of pride wearing the Chelsea badge on my chest and my
family name on the back.'


Anjorin's name may be a fairly new one on the lips of Chelsea supporters
but his overnight emergence into the spotlight has been many years in the
making. He joined the Academy's development centre programme at the age of
seven and his technical potential was evident even then.


However, as he got older and developed into his body, there were issues as
well as benefits with his impressive physical development. Upper body
strength can be a great tool for a player to protect the ball and
physicality is a key aspect of a young player's toolkit but Anjorin's
growth was arguably too much, too soon and proved problematic.


He has suffered with cramp in games for many years, an issue the medical
staff worked hard to resolve but one that limited his involvement in
matches and even threatened his future in the game.


'It really used to bug me,' Anjorin admits. 'There was even a time where I
wondered whether I would be able to play football full-time because who is
going to want a player that can't play 90 minutes?


'We looked into all the scientific issues like my magnesium, potassium and
salt levels as well as what foods I might be intolerant to but none of it
was making a difference so during the first lockdown I just took it down
to the basics.


'I weighed myself one day and I just felt I was carrying too much muscle
so throughout that lockdown I was running constantly and really cut down
on what I was eating.


https://i.imgur.com/HDFNmQ1.jpg
Anjorin, Hudson-Odoi and Billy Gilmour got their hands on the FA Cup's
junior equivalent back in 2018


'Eventually I lost 10kg and since I've been back training, I don't want to
say that's cleared it because it can still come back at any time but it
looks positive and I think that could be the deciding factor.


'I've been back in the gym and put 5kg back on, which was important to
maintain my muscle strength, but I'm now running round playing games with
5kg less on my back. I think a lot of players would be cramping if they
were carrying that extra weight.'


Lampard himself referenced those cramp issues after Anjorin's full debut
against Krasnodar but the recent signs have been positive for the young
midfielder. He has flitted between training with the men's first team
group and playing with the Under-23s this season, a blend that suits his
need for games with the experience of working alongside top attacking
team-mates, not to mention being coached by the man he idolised more than
any other as a kid.


'I know I'm in the space now where I'm not playing as many games so I need
to keep focused and keep training hard every day to impress the coaches
and show everyone what I can do,' he continues.


'Obviously I train for myself but I can also learn from people like Hakim
[Ziyech], Christian [Pulisic] and even Callum [Hudson-Odoi] as well
because they're the players that are playing. If I can implement what they
do into my game, as well as my own stuff, then hopefully I can get a
chance.


https://i.imgur.com/mahUgjb.jpg
Anjorin pictured in first team training this week


'When I was younger, I always looked up to the gaffer because he was a
midfield player like me that loved scoring goals. It's been ledge and I've
loved working with him. He's my role model and for him to even know who I
am is amazing, let alone to train with him as my coach!'


The FA Cup still matters, according to Anjorin. He won the junior version,
the FA Youth Cup, three years ago, scoring in the 7-1 rout against Arsenal
in the final, and made his debut in the senior competition as a late
substitute in our third-round victory against Morecambe.


'I love the FA Cup,' he says emphatically. 'Everyone does. If you're
English and you love football, there's no better cup than the FA Cup. It's
the fact that anything can happen and the history of the competition –
it's an English tradition.'


Morale at Cobham has been good this week, despite recent results and
performances. The focus remains on improving, both individually and
collectively, and turning the corner as a team.


'Everyone is just working hard and getting their heads down,' adds the
youngster. 'We're all trying to become better players and get back to
where we were not that long ago, playing well and enjoying that unbeaten
streak. We're trying to keep spirits high and keep striving.'


Not a lot can dampen Anjorin's spirits right now. He really is the
teenager living his childhood dreams.

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