Kepa reflects on big London move and his love of fast sports
30 APR 2023
The goalkeeper discusses how Chelsea became his home, his personality type and learning from quick decision-makers…
As a new intake of fresh players at Chelsea continues to settle into life at the club, if they want to look around for an example of someone who steadily became accustomed to new surroundings in a different city in an unfamiliar country, Kepa Arrizabalaga is a good starting point.
Not only has the 28-year-old goalkeeper had his ups and downs when it comes to winning a place in the Chelsea starting line-up, less publicly he has needed to adapt to life in general in a contrasting environment since switching from Spain’s La Liga to playing in the Premier League.
It is a progression Kepa has discussed in interview, and he can see how being a goalkeeper can have an impact on how challenges are faced.
He thinks back to his transfer to Chelsea from boyhood club Athletic Bilbao back in 2018.
‘This is my fifth year here,’ Kepa begins. ‘I came from another big club, Athletic, but the switch in country, city, league – that was the big change.
‘I came from many years at Athletic where I had my family close and my friends close. So when you change countries, like anyone that moves to a different country, you need time to adapt, time to situate yourself and time to create habits. And sometimes it takes time.’
He does acknowledge that football can also have an impact on the settling-in period, especially when in an atmosphere geared towards success.
‘There is pressure, a lot is expected of you,’ he says. ‘The intensity of the matches here in England is a lot higher than it is in Spain – both the matches and the number of matches you play. So you have to adapt step by step. You need to learn bit by bit from the people that have been at the club longer and who have been in a similar position.
‘You need to rely on them and create your habits until you feel like I do now, which is more comfortable and used to everything.’
In switching from Bilbao and Athletic to London and Chelsea, Kepa moved from a city with a population a fraction of his current home and from where one club dominates the local football scene to a league packed with capital city derby matches. It was a big change.
‘Especially because I knew Athletic from a young age,’ he notes. ‘I came up through the ranks from the age of nine to the age of 23. I knew everyone, I knew the fans, the pitch and everything – and when I moved to London, that wasn’t the case.
‘Okay, you know the team from the outside but not from the inside. You don’t know the size [of the club], you don’t know how things work, and all that takes time. What I do have to say is that I found myself at a club where I was helped with everything. I met team-mates, and there were a lot of Spanish players when I arrived. There were five or six of us.
‘All this helps you a bit more and makes you feel more at home. They helped me a lot, and that was really important to me at the start. Azpi was there, so was Cesc, Pedro, Alvaro Morata, Marcos Alonso. There were quite a few of us.’
So does the fact goalkeepers in general can be considered to a degree as football’s natural outsiders – an important part of the team but living a different way in games and in training – mean they are resilient when faced with a challenge such as change?
‘What I tend to say is that goalkeepers suffer or enjoy matches alone a lot of the time,’ Kepa decides. ‘This is also true when you move to a new city.
‘You live the happy moments slightly isolated and the same goes for the not-so-good experiences. And then there’s the type of person I am – I am quite introverted. I don’t really put my emotions on show. I keep them inside whether they are good or bad.
‘That is just how I am. In some ways, that can make you exaggerate more and make a bigger deal out of things, but there is also a learning curve. You need to look inside yourself and know when to sometimes let yourself be supported and show your emotions a bit more.’
Continuing on the theme of individuals within team sports, Kepa reveals some of his other sporting passions and how they compare.
‘I like Formula 1, MotoGP. I like motorbikes a lot. I closely watch how they manage high-pressure situations. A goalkeeper plays in a team but there are several times in which you are alone, and you need to have the mental strength to overcome certain moments and situations.
‘So I like to see how Formula 1 teams work, the strategies they use, how they face a breakdown, a mechanical failure, how they plan the following laps if they register better or worse lap times.
‘In the end they are people whose hearts are racing and who must make decisions in that state, which I find very difficult – even more so if we take into account the emotions and the speed at which they are driving. I like those sports a lot and I find them quite interesting.’
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凱帕這五年也是夠傳奇了，先後被卡巴列羅和門迪奪走先發還能再奪回來，
只不過下賽季，不好說....
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