Recently, Chelsea FC announced an important news: 22-year-old young striker Liam Delap officially joined the team and will wear the No. 9 shirt, which symbolizes the main striker.The transfer fee is about 30 million pounds, and it’s certainly big news to come from League One side Ipswich to Premier League giants Chelsea.
But at the same time, a lot of fans have a bit of a drum in their hearts.Why?Because the No. 9 jersey, in the Chelsea team seems to be some “not too auspicious”.
Chelsea No. 9 jersey, really have a “magic spell”?
In the soccer circle, there is a saying called “number curse”, which means that some players always have a bad condition after wearing a certain number.In Chelsea, this “curse” is particularly evident in their No. 9 shirt.
Over the past decade, many top strikers have worn this shirt, but most of them have not played the performance people expect.For example, Lukaku, Iguana, Morata, Torres …… these names are loud and clear stars, but after wearing the Blues 9, their performance is disappointing.
Let’s look at a few examples:
- Romelu Lukaku: The Belgian international had returned to Chelsea in 2021 for close to £100 million when everyone thought he could be the new heart of the team.But he ended up staying for just over a year before being loaned out.And then was even sold to Napoli for £30 million.
- Gonzalo Iguaín: He was once one of the best goalscorers in Europe, but after joining Chelsea in 2019, he only scored five goals in a full 18 months and ended up leaving in disgrace.
- Alvaro Morata: the Spanish striker was also once very popular but only scored 24 goals in his two seasons at Chelsea combined before being sent back to Atletico as well.
- Fernando Torres: The legendary Spanish striker was a star at Liverpool back in the day, joining Chelsea in 2011 for a record £50 million transfer fee.He ended up scoring just six Premier League goals all season and was later even loaned out to AC Milan.
Then there are the likes of Falcao and Di Santo, who have also worn Chelsea’s No. 9 jersey, but they haven’t done too well either.The only other really successful number 9 was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink a long time ago.He scored over 25 goals in two consecutive seasons in the early 2000s and was an absolute mainstay for Chelsea at the time.
So you see, the number 9 shirt is a bit of a “cult”.It’s a badge of honor, but it’s also a badge of pressure.
Why is it so hard to wear the No. 9 shirt at Chelsea?
It’s not just Chelsea, it’s not easy to wear the number 9 shirt for many of the biggest teams in the world.After all, it’s traditionally the “main center forward” number, representing the core of the offense.Fans have very high expectations of players who wear this number.
But why is Chelsea’s number 9 not always as good as it should be?There may be several reasons:
- Too much psychological pressure: wearing the number 9 means you have to carry the responsibility of scoring goals, which is not an easy task for any striker.If you don’t play well at the beginning, the outside world will start to question you, and this negative emotion can easily affect the state.
- Changes in tactical style: In recent years, the style of play in the Premier League and even in world football has changed a lot.The traditional staking center forward is less and less, more flexible striker or side players can also play the role of No. 9.And some of the players Chelsea has brought in over the years may not be suitable for the current system.
- Adaptation problem: Some players, though with strong individual ability, need time to adapt to the new environment, including language, culture, training methods and so on.If the adaptation is slow, it will naturally affect the game performance.
- Injuries and Luck: Sometimes it’s not the player’s problem either, but bad luck or frequent injuries.For example, Morata got injured a lot when he was at Chelsea, which led to him not making many appearances.
Will Delap be the exception?
Now it’s the turn of young Liam Delap to challenge this ‘curse’.He moved from Ipswich, a club that was in League One (England’s third tier) last season.Although he is not old, he has already shown good potential.
Draper is physically strong, fast and has some ball control.He has caught the attention of several giants when he was at Ipswich, and the fact that he has managed to join Chelsea this time shows that the team has high hopes for him.
But then again, he also faces a lot of challenges.First of all, Chelsea’s competition in front of goal is very fierce, with Sterling, Mudrick and Nkunku all vying for starting positions.Secondly, as a young player, he needs to adapt to the pace and intensity of the EPL as soon as possible.
Most importantly, he has to face the psychological pressure that comes with the No. 9 jersey.Whether he can withstand this pressure and play at his own level will be the key to determining his future.
Conclusion
All in all, Chelsea’s No.9 shirt is really not a good shirt to wear.It carries the expectations of too many people and has witnessed a lot of failed attempts.But because of this, if someone can break the “curse”, he will be remembered by the fans.
For Draper, this is an opportunity and a challenge.I hope he can find his own place at Stamford Bridge and tell everyone with his actions: I am the one who can break the “spell”!
Post Comment