In a playing career that took him all over Italy as well as to Spain and France, Christian Vieri has revealed that he turned down the opportunity of a move to England with Chelsea.
‘Bobo’, who is set to become a father next week, is embarking on a new career entirely as he prepares to tour the continent as a DJ, mixing the best of ’70s tunes with the current scene.
However, he also looked back on his footballing career and revealed that he could have ended up at Stamford Bridge, which could have went through if an old friend had taken over there instead of Jose Mourinho.
“We talked with Chelsea about moving there in 2004 because at that time it was thought that Sven-Goran Eriksson would take over as their new coach,” he recalled in an interview with The Sun.
“I played under him at Lazio so we discussed it, but in the end, I decided not to because I was happy in Milan and nothing came of it. The Premier League is a physically more difficult league.
“It is a little easier in Italy as you don’t take so many hard challenges.”
Vieri also admitted just how much he felt the pressure of representing his country during his career, particularly when it came to doing so on the biggest stage of all.
“To represent your country, regardless of what sport it is, is the greatest goal possible and is the ultimate achievement. When I was playing for Italy, I could hardly get my breath in,” he continued.
“Before a normal game, I was always okay and I was relaxed. But when it came to playing at the World Cup with Italy, my heart was beating so much faster.”
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com