Jacopo Sala had to move on to play in Germany and then Italy to establish himself as a first team player at Sampdoria, but spending his teenage years at Chelsea was positive, as he had to grow up quickly and trained with some legends of the game.
Despite the initial difficulties of moving to a foreign country, Sala enjoyed his time with the Blues between 2007 and 2011 but believes breaking into the first team was difficult, because of the great players Chelsea had.
“I was young and it was difficult initially,” Sala exclusively told Forza Italian Football. “I didn’t speak the language, I was 15 years old, without my family, without my friends. It was my first time away from home. So initially it was hard
“Then, once I started speaking the language, everything became a lot easier. In this situation you have to quickly grow up, there’s other lads who are a couple years older, who are physically stronger.
“The mentality is very different to the Italian one, so one must grow up quickly and reach that level. I personally enjoyed the culture and lifestyle there so everything became easier.
“I consider myself lucky to even just having trained with some real legends like the Chelsea players.
“Then, I had other requests in order to get more playing time, as it was very difficult to find space at Chelsea, as we have seen with other players in recent years.
“Only now some youngsters manage to play in the senior team. Chelsea are a great club with top level players, so it’s extremely difficult to break through. So even just training with them is, for me, an honour.
“I wanted to play, to show my qualities, and that’s why I left in the end. If I could choose I would have stayed at Chelsea.
“I have been following Chelsea ever since I left, it’s in my heart. It’s [a club] in my heart. I grew up there, I was young and I spent my teenage years there. So I always follow Chelsea.
“They’re a great side and have won [the Europa League] already. They’re favourites to reach the final, I think.”
