Tosin: I am only 28 years old, I am not old; Kompany helped me back then, and I helped Achim Peng grow up

Hupu reported on October 21 that Chelsea central defender Tosin Adarabioyo attended the pre-match press conference against Ajax in the Champions League.

We have discussed the issue of red and yellow cards many times. Do you think this will become a burden?

No, I wouldn't say that's a problem. If you look at all the events, they are all very different. They all happened at different times in the game.

This is obviously not an ideal situation, but we are not concerned and will not continue.

But a red card is different from someone kicking the ball away with just one shove. To you, is this just an accident?

Yes, as you just said, these are all accidental events. If you look at the recent red card (probably referring to Gusteau, too much noise), it was just a slightly poorly timed tackle. He tried his best to get the ball.

He couldn't do it, so it was just one of those moments.

What do you personally think is the significance of qualifying for the Champions League? I thought you did well against Bayern Munich, but the way they played against you, it was probably a learning experience.

Yes, obviously the loss to Bayern did not go according to our ideas and trends. We performed well but again, at that level you can't concede goals like we did. Then we went back to Stamford Bridge and had a great game against Benfica.

A strange thing happened over the weekend. I don’t know if you realized it, but you are the first real main player over the age of 28 in Chelsea’s American era. Do you know this?

Yes, I was actually told earlier today. Yes, it's an interesting statistic, but yes, I'm happy to be the first 28-year-old.

In general, you are a relatively young player, but at Chelsea, you seem to be an "old man".

I wouldn’t call myself an old player at 28 years old. Yes, I'm the oldest here, but I wouldn't call myself an old player. This is a young team.

Do you feel like you are getting old in this team?

I feel that I am consistent with my actual age. I think 28 is a great age and I still have a long way to go in my game. I think 28 is a good age to start working hard and achieve great things.

Are you worried that your age will cause difficulties for you here because the club seems to focus so much on it?

No, not at all. As long as you keep playing at a high level, I don't think age matters. If you are a 19-year-old player, like Achim Pong did at the weekend, you can play for Chelsea.

So to me, age doesn't matter, as long as you give your best for the club and maintain a high level of competition.

How do you think Chelsea fare in the absence of your best friend Palmer?

Yes, we are doing well. We miss Cole. He's our best player, but we did a really good job.

You saw Pedro playing the No. 10 position that Cole usually plays, and he performed very well over the weekend.

What do you think of Pedro? How has he settled in at Chelsea so far?

Yes, very good. He works really hard every day, learning our system, adapting to our way of playing and English football. So we are all very happy with him.

What qualities or strengths do you think he has that might influence the style of English football?

To be honest, I think his comprehensiveness is top-notch. The way I saw him attack in practice was amazing. He's composed and brings that aggression to his game which is a real joy to see.

Do you think your experience is important?

Even when I'm on the sidelines, I always try to help and the most important thing is to get three points. So any little detail I can tell the boys off the pitch to help them perform is really important and that's what I did on Saturday.

I want to know what you think of Ajax?

No, he didn't say they were struggling. We watched some of their games yesterday and got a feel for how they play and what we can expect from them. We're going to do that same analysis again today to really analyze them and understand their strengths and weaknesses when they come here to play tomorrow night.

I see that they are not performing to the highest standards that Ajax have previously set, but I believe they are a great club, a great team with great players and they will continue to perform well.

I noticed that you often do this in Poland (UEFA). In the final, you spend most of the time in the technical area, giving instructions to the players, almost like a coach. Is this part of you? Is this your trait? Do you want to become a coach in the future?

I am 28 years old, but I haven’t thought about coaching yet. 28 is not old, leadership is just a trait of mine, it’s part of my leadership role on the team, it’s the same on the court and I’ll continue to do it off the court.

Obviously, you were selected into the best team of the year for that tournament. Palmer said you want to be the best player of the tournament. Do you have a chance to achieve this goal in the Champions League this year?

Yes, of course. That's your goal, to perform at the highest level, win this event and get the same honours.

What do you think of Achim Peng's performance?

Every time I know he's going to play, I try to support him. Even every day, I look at him and make sure he does the right things because when I was his age, guys like Vincent Kompany did the same thing for me.

I think it’s important to have someone who is older and at a higher level than yourself to support the young players as much as possible.

What level do we need to see him reach to reach the next level?

Yeah, I think we can all see what Josh is capable of. His ability on the ball, especially when driving forward, is unparalleled for me. He's the best at it, he just needs to keep working in the same way, stay confident and over time he will become a fantastic academy defender for Chelsea.

From a player's perspective, how difficult is it to play with so many players injured?

It's not difficult. We have a lot of good players on the team and we always work well together no matter who is on the court and we know what we need to do because we have a great system behind us.

That's why we built our system so that anyone can go out there and perform at a high level, and that's what we all do.

It is indeed difficult for Chelsea so far this season. Do you think there is anything in the team that worries you? What's your little injury? How did you cope?

Yes, the current situation is obviously not ideal, and some players have suffered minor injuries, but we are all trying our best to get back on the court, help each other, and help the club maintain a high level of performance.

We are all sacrificing ourselves. This season's preseason is of course very strange and it is also a long season. At the end of last season, the Club World Cup only ended in July, but we are all trying our best to get back on the court.