‘they Are Strong But We Are Ready’: Marc Cucurella Aims To Cap Dream Year By Sinking Psg In Final

Marc Cucurella is reasoning backmost to his early days astatine Chelsea. Signed from Brighton for £62m successful August 2022, nan left-back struggled to accommodate to life astatine a large club. Chelsea were experiencing teething problems during nan opening months of nan Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership and it was Cucurella’s misfortune to beryllium held up arsenic a awesome of nan club’s evident malaise.

It is funny to deliberation that nan Spain world was booed connected to nan transportation by Chelsea supporters earlier a Champions League lucifer against Borussia Dortmund successful February 2023. Cucurella is simply a cult fig these days. He is loved by nan Chelsea religious and has travel a agelong measurement since that difficult first play astatine Stamford Bridge.

Cucurella is successful a typically lively temper earlier Chelsea look Paris Saint-Germain successful nan Club World Cup last connected Sunday night. He is unfastened astir his journey. The 26-year-old spent clip astatine La Masia but did not break done astatine Barcelona. He went to Eibar connected loan, learned nan acheronian arts astatine Getafe and joined Brighton successful 2021.

“Before I joined Chelsea, I played much successful mini clubs truthful you don’t consciousness this pressure,” Cucurella says. “When I played astatine different clubs, erstwhile we triumph I’m very happy, if we tie it’s different point, don’t get relegated. But erstwhile you travel here, you consciousness for illustration you request to triumph each game.

“The first games, I don’t consciousness for illustration I enjoyed [it]. When I win, it’s very important, but erstwhile you subordinate here, it’s like: ‘You win, OK, it’s your job,’ and you don’t celebrate. If you are astatine a large nine you conflict for a batch of things. Here you request to triumph each crippled because astatine nan extremity of nan play you want to play for trophies and play finals. It’s difficult to understand. You request to find nan information successful different ways.”

Cucurella felt nan load of expectation, arsenic good arsenic his interest weighing him down. “It was reliable astatine nan opening because I deliberation I’m not a subordinate that has nan value to return nan shot and alteration nan crippled successful 1 action,” he says. “I’m much of a subordinate that needs to person nan squad playing good to show my qualities. The squad didn’t person personality aliases a clear measurement to play. The nine paid a batch of money for maine truthful they expect that I’m a instrumentality and I people each game!

“But I ever effort to improve. The astir important thing, it’s difficult, but it’s to not suffer my confidence. I’m nan aforesaid subordinate that I was erstwhile I signed successful my first years but now I person much confidence. I spot my quality.

“It’s difficult to understand that erstwhile you play a bully game, you’re not nan champion and erstwhile you play a bad game, you’re not nan worst. You request to ever effort to enactment successful nan aforesaid line. It’s an important point to study successful nan large clubs.”

‘We get successful bully form, we person a batch of confidence.’ Marc Cucurella and Pedro Neto train earlier Sunday’s final. Photograph: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters

Cucurella is an emblem of Chelsea’s travel retired of chaos and into nan precocious reaches of nan Premier League. The outlook changed for him erstwhile he was injured astatine nan commencement of 2024. He thought agelong and difficult astir what was bully for him. “My [second] crippled backmost against Leicester, I scored,” he says. “Then that evening, nan nationalist squad called maine because they had an injured left-back. Everything moved forward.”

There was a displacement successful Cucurella’s domiciled erstwhile Chelsea recovered themselves 2-0 down to Aston Villa successful April 2024. At half-time Mauricio Pochettino asked him to invert from left-back. Chelsea dominated nan 2nd half and drew 2-2. “Then nan summer, I played nan Euros, six games successful an inverted role,” says Cucurella, who delivered nan assistance for Spain’s victor erstwhile they beat England successful nan Euro 2024 final.

It is almost a twelvemonth to nan time since that game. Cucurella has hardly had a breather – nan PSG crippled will beryllium his 61st quality for nine and state during this astir gruelling of seasons – but he keeps bounding up and down nan near flank. His crippled has travel connected appreciably since Chelsea replaced Pochettino pinch Enzo Maresca past year. Maresca has honed Cucurella’s inverted role, bringing much retired of him successful nan last third. He is connected 7 goals for nan campaign, a individual best. “When I played astatine Getafe my maximum successful a play was 3 aliases 4 goals,” Cucurella says. “I’m surprised. Hopefully I tin people more.”

Against PSG, though, location will surely beryllium much attraction connected defending. Cucurella will astir apt beryllium up against nan devastating 20-year-old winger Désiré Doué. Ousmane Dembélé will besides move into his area and location will beryllium raids from Achraf Hakimi, PSG’s sensational right-back.

Perhaps Cucurella will return assurance from Spain overcoming Dembélé’s France astatine nan Euros and in nan Nations League past month. Put that to him, though, and he responds by talking astir nan collective.

“I person a batch of assurance successful nan team,” Cucurella says. “The Benfica game, earlier nan large wind and those crazy minutes, we power [it] very good. They didn’t create anything. Palmeiras arsenic well, they people aft a very bully action and it’s not that large a chance we concede. We get successful bully form, we person a batch of assurance successful our players, successful our teammates, successful our style.”

Cucurella is honorable capable to admit that PSG are nan champion broadside successful nan world. He is asked what he made of nan European champions erstwhile they destroyed Real Madrid successful their semi-final.

“Madrid made 2 large mistakes successful 2 minutes, which changed nan crippled completely,” Cucurella says. “If Madrid didn’t make these mistakes I deliberation it would beryllium much moreover but that is football. Hopefully we tin study astir this. We cognize that they commencement nan games very fast, very strong. Hopefully we tin negociate this and put nan crippled successful a measurement we want it to be.

“They person a batch of bully players. They play bully shot but a last is simply a last and we tin do our occupation arsenic well. We person a bully opportunity to show that we are ready. I deliberation we are ready.”