First words: Eduardo

Chelseafc August 26, 2016

The 33-year-old joins the Blues from Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb having previously played in his homeland plus in Italy and Turkey. He is an experienced international who was in goal for his nation at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and was also part of the Portugal squad that became European champions last month…

IT HAS BEEN QUITE A SUMMER FOR YOU…

It was but they are moments of happiness and that is the best feeling so I am very happy with what happened. It was a brilliant moment in my life and career but I hope it won’t stop. I hope we will achieve even more.

AND MOVING TO A NEW CLUB JUST ADDS TO THE BIG MOMENTS OF THE PAST FEW WEEKS…

One of the conditions was that I played at Dinamo until the Champions League play-off and winning that against Salzburg was a big achievement for the club. I am glad that ended well. On Wednesday we lived a great moment with a great victory and I am happy to come here and leave Dinamo with such a big objective achieved, so it could not be better.

PORTUGUESE PLAYERS HAVE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS IN ENGLAND…

We adapt. We are players who like challenges and I think we have a lot of talent also in Portugal. The proof is that players who come here are a success and I hope I will be the same.

I still play with Ricardo Carvalho in the national team and he and Paulo Ferreira proved the talent they have when they were here. They are fantastic people and examples in Portugal.

Of course I know Hilario. I saw him play in Portugal and we were colleagues in the national team and I know him personally. He is a fantastic person. He is an example for me and when we talked he said coming to Chelsea was a good opportunity for me.

I spoke to the Portuguese who played here and they all say the same, it was an amazing experience and the opportunity to come here was a great moment in their careers. 

YOU ALREADY KNOW OUR NEW GOALKEEPER COACH GIANLUCA SPINELLI WELL…

He is a tremendous coach. He always looks for new ways of training and learning and he is very concerned about the goalkeepers not just professionally but personally. He helped me a lot at Genoa and we have been friends since then, so it is a privilege to work with him and earn his trust.

TELLS US ABOUT THE YOUNG DIEGO COSTA WHO YOU PLAYED WITH AT BRAGA…

He was a little like he is now. Of course he has developed a lot but his way of playing, he was always the same. He fought for every ball, he wanted to win and if there was a ball you let go he was always there.

Now he is a big player with a big talent but I see him out there and he reminds me a little of our past when we were kids. His personality and the way he plays the game was already there. Of course at that age it was impossible to predict what you are going to achieve but he was talented and fortunately for him he is now on this level and he can develop more and more.

IT IS A BIG CHALLENGE TO WIN A PLACE IN THE CHELSEA TEAM BUT AS AN INTERNATIONAL GOALKEEPER COMING HERE, YOU MUST BE WANTING TO ATTEMPT THAT?

Of course. I respect all the choices but I would be saying it wrong if I wasn’t saying I will do my best to get my opportunity and fight every day for it. That is the way we should be - have respect for everybody and fight for a place. That is what professionals do.