Today it was formally announced by Leicester City that they had officially signed Chelsea FC‘s third choice keeper Mark Schwarzer on a free transfer. The Australian goalkeeper joined on a one and a half year deal after spending the same amount of time at Stamford Bridge. Despite his advanced age of 42, Schwarzer has proven that he can still be called upon when needed and can handle the rigors of the Premier League. With Leicester City’s first choice keeper Kasper Schmeichel (owner of one of the coolest names in football) out with a foot injury, Schwarzer will likely step in to the starting eleven.
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While Schwarzer did not spend much time with Chelsea and was seen as a not much more than a cheap solution to the backup keeper problem, his impact went far beyond that. With Petr Cech suffering a shoulder dislocation against Atletico Madrid, Chelsea fans waited with bated breath to see if the old veteran Aussie could fill the void. Well he certainly did.
Before keeping a clean sheet against Atletico in relief of the injured Cech, Schwarzer struggled in his first match as a starter in over four months. Many thought he was at fault for Sunderland’s first goal in their infamous 2-1 victory over the Blues which Cech missed because of a flu. So when he was called in to the side to face a rampant Liverpool side that was on their title march with a “B-team” defense ahead of him, many expected an embarrassing scoreline for the Blues.
What happened instead was one of the most remarkable defensive and goalkeeping displays seen from a football team in a very long time. Schwarzer and his deputy defenders held off the Liverpool attack and frustrated their prolific strikeforce. Schwarzer made eight saves on the day and had what many football fans call a “worldie” between the sticks. He came up big precisely when the club needed him and he showed that he deserves all the plaudits as one of the best goalkeepers to play in the Premier League.
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The rest of Mark Schwarzer’s season was not quite as heroic as his display against Liverpool but he did notch another clean sheet against Norwich City. He was not at fault for the collapse against Atletico Madrid as his defense fell apart but some attributed the lack of cohesion with the back four as a reason for the poor display. Whatever the reason for that defeat it was clear that the blame could not be placed on the Aussie’s shoulders as he still managed to make five saves against a potent attack led by Diego Costa and Koke.
While his time at Chelsea FC was short-lived, Mark Schwarzer was another class addition to a very classy club. We wish him the best of luck in his next adventure with the Foxes of Leicester City. If he is in goal for their date with Chelsea on February 28th at the King Power Stadium, maybe he will take it easy on his friends from the Bridge.
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