If you’re a fan of Chelsea’s behind the scenes training videos – and we certainly are – you’ll have seen plenty of Marcus Bettinelli.
The goalkeeper is there in the middle of every drill, encouraging his teammates and generally being a positive presence who seems to impress everyone with his commitment and energy.
His centrality is somewhat ironic considering he’s never actually seen on the pitch. His role as third choice goalkeeper is basically just to be a home grown English name on the squad list, plus a training ground helper for the other keepers and the squad as a whole.
But his contributions have impressed more than just those of us watching the videos. A really interesting interview in the matchday programme with the 31 year old seems to show he is moving towards a coaching role. He’s already taken over the task of being PFA representative from Cesar Azpilicueta, and he is part of a leadership group with captain Reece James and vice captain Ben Chilwell who speak to manager Mauricio Pochettino privately.
“When I first joined, as a third-choice goalkeeper, you are very much focused on trying to get the goalkeepers motivated and prepared right for the game,” Bettinelli explained.
“This season, I think my role has changed slightly, as it’s quite a young squad and we’ve obviously had quite a lot of injuries and stuff. I’ve definitely taken on more of a senior role with the outfield players as well in that sense and I’ve really enjoyed it. But I’ve always been there for the lads, win lose or draw, and I’ve always tried to keep morale up and keep the lads energised.”
Positive progress in developing next generation
One thing Chelsea have been absolutely brilliant at – perhaps better than anyone else in the world – is developing coaches at academy levels. The reason we have the best academy players is because we have the best academy coaches, and that is a credit to people like Neil Bath who organise the whole setup and make sure that coaches are being developed, as well as players.
Getting players with the right personality and experience to transition from playing to coaching is an important part of that, and like with Hilario before him, we think the evidence already shows that Bettinelli could be great in this sort of role
Pocketing must leave and bring mourhno in immediately. No negotiation just bring the special one in.he will tuen things around.