Chelsea FC: Mark Schwarzer Reflects On Atletico Madrid Match

Flickr user Marc Benton

Chelsea FC backup goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was thrust in to the limelight last Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal against Atletico Madrid and was recently reflecting on the match. He spoke with the Daily Mail about everything from his reaction to Petr Cech’s injury to his future at Chelsea and the potential of Thibaut Courtois. Here are some of the highlights of Mark Schawrzer’s comments.

On being a backup for the first time in a long time and his excitement at entering the match:

"“It has been a new experience for me and I’m not going to deny it’s been tough — it has been. Did you not see me rip off my pants? It was great. I enjoyed the experience, I enjoyed the game. Even at my tender age of 41 you can still experience something new and to play in a Champions League semi-final was fantastic.”"

Mark Schwarzer on what he thought was the severity of Petr Cech’s injury:

"“When Pete went down, I actually didn’t think it was that serious. I was sitting there offering the guys chewing gum. There were a couple of movements and players saying, ‘He is signalling to come off’, and then the manager was saying, ‘Settle down everyone’. I was warming up and it was a little bit like, ‘OK, this is going to be interesting’, and then there’s the realization that you’re going on. The manager said, ‘Listen…belief. Believe in your ability’. And that was it. It was a reassurance. He believes in me and I need to believe. He’s been great at various times this season, saying little things to keep me going. I won’t deny there were nerves to begin with, but we dealt with the corner and once you get on the pitch you settle quickly.’”"

Mark Schwarzer on Thibaut Courtois:

"“He’s a phenomenal talent. He’s done extremely well at Atletico and this is a huge year for him with the World Cup and title aspirations. There will be quite a lot of decisions made shortly about people’s futures.”"

Schwarzer has been in big spots before with previous clubs Fulham FC and Middlesbrough. He lost the UEFA Cup final with Boro in 2006 and the Europa League final to Atletico Madrid with Fulham in 2010. Schwarzer and the rest of the Chelsea FC faithful will be hoping that his luck is a bit different this time around if the club is to qualify for the final.