Chelsea defender David Luiz is feeling good again at his current club now that it’s under new management. Last season saw plenty of drama as there were widespread reports the Brazilian was consistently at odds with then manager Antonio Conte. At one point, Luiz saw himself dropped and then frozen out under the Italian.
Despite widespread reports, and also obvious evidence to the contrary, the club maintained there were no issues between Luiz and Conte. Now that Conte has been replaced by Maurizio Sarri, the lid can be lifted.
“If the manager had stayed the same, of course, everybody knows maybe I had to move clubs,” David Luiz said in an interview with Sky Sports. “Now I am here and so happy.”
There isn’t much else to say beyond that, but Luiz was far from the only Chelsea figure who just couldn’t amicably co-exist with Conte at Stamford Bridge.
Blues winger Willian admitted earlier this month that he wouldn’t have been able to stay at Stamford Bridge had Conte been given the opportunity to see out his contract with the club.
Also, Conte’s bitter feuds with striker Diego Costa and the club’s board were well documented. Luiz and the Blues stayed perfect in the Premier League on Sunday, defeating Newcastle United 2-1 to join Liverpool and Watford in taking all three points from each of their first three matches. Tottenham can do the same with a win tomorrow night at Manchester United.
Luiz wasn’t all negative when it comes to the time he spent on the bench. The defender maintained in the same interview that we learned a lot and convalesced while riding the pine.
“I learned a lot, sometimes you have to be patient, sometimes you have to take care of your body, sometimes you have to learn from outside to be good in the future. So for me it was great,” he added.
“I got time to take care of my body; many times I was on the pitch in pain, and I never refused to play one game. It was good to rest and be fresh.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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