Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was positively ecstatic upon the news of a one-year deal with Chelsea that will see him remain in the EPL for another season, labelling his new club as “one of the biggest and best clubs in the world”.
“It’s an honor to sign for Chelsea,” Schwarzer said via the Blues’ official website, saying that he “didn’t take much convincing to come here.”
Having chalked up over 15 years of experience in England at Bradford City, Middlesborough and Fulham, Schwarzer is certainly no rookie when it comes to the rigors of Premier League football.
At 40 years of age, he’s also certainly not short of wisdom and understanding for the players, tactics and landscape of the English competition – which will no doubt be a huge advantage for Chelsea.
Schwarzer is unlikely to find himself atop the pecking order at Stamford Bridge in his one year with the club, with regular goalkeeper Petr Cech locked in as the number one goalkeeper.
Cech is without doubt one of the strongest goalkeepers in world football and a back-to-back European champion given Chelsea’s success in both the Champions League and Europa League – meaning that he is incredibly unlikely to find himself without a job or starting opportunities any time in the near future.
On the surface, the move then might have seemed like a poor choice for Schwarzer given his need to keep himself in good form ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
And it’s easy to see why that makes sense.
However, the reality is that Schwarzer’s move isn’t going to hinder his form and leave Australia in a less-than-prepared position by the time the 2014 World Cup begins.
He’ll still see plenty of minutes on the field, still learn plenty from his time in West London, and will be a much more confident goalkeeper because of it – which can only mean good things for the Socceroos.
Schwarzer is an experienced veteran of the Premier League who will not be enamoured by the fact he’s working for world-class manager Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
He won’t be daunted or put off by the fact that he is considered secondary to Cech (especially not given just how good Cech is), and he’s simply too much of a professional not to take anything away from his time with the Blues.
Be it off the field in training and preparation or on the field with his form; Schwarzer will gain much more from being at Chelsea as Cech’s back-up than he could ever have hoped for playing as the number one goalkeeper in a middle-of-the-road team in some random corner of the world.
You could nearly say that he’ll gain more in 12 months at Chelsea (despite being the number two) than he did in six years at Fulham as their first-choice goalkeeper.
And it’s not like playing time is really going to be that much of an issue.
Anyone worried about his lack of playing time needs only to glimpse at the early season schedule that Chelsea have to see that he’ll still chalk up plenty of minutes on the field.
Be it in the Carling Cup, League Cup, FA Cup, Premier League, Champions League or Super Cup, Cech will need to be rested and when that happens, expect the Australian international have his gloves ready.
Throw in the countless hours on the training field where he’ll be working alongside some of the best players and managerial staff in the world, and it’s clear that Schwarzer will be fine.
Again, that can only mean big things for the Socceroos.
From the moment that Australia qualified for just their second World Cup in 2005, Schwarzer has been fundamental to the identity of the Socceroos.
He was the forgotten hero in the penalty victory over Uruguay. He was the fallen hero as Australia was saw their World Cup dream robbed from their eyes by Italy.
And despite eight years passing since that infamous match, Schwarzer’s importance and significance to the Socceroos’ cause has not changed in the slightest – something he’ll look to prove once more when he sets foot in Brazil.
Which, given the 12 months he’ll have just had, is seemingly a pretty safe bet.
Scott
Guest
Im a Fulham fan and have to say Schwarzer played really well at times last season but it did seem that more and more his age was catching up with him with his reaction time, some games he was letting in goals that in the last few years he would have never let in. And once we had signed Steeklenburg it was pretty obvious that his time was up at Fulham and demanding a first team spot as part of his contract was never going to happen. Find it funny that he demanded that of Fulham yet hes now happy to warm the bench at our rivals, would have got more games doing the same if he had stayed at Fulham and he needs games in a WC year as I cant see him learning much as he is very experienced as it is! Hope it doesnt backfire on him, would have rather seen him go to one of the newly promoted clubs in the PL he would have got the games then
darcytrainor
Roar Rookie
Agreed.
AZ_RBB
Guest
http://vimeo.com/70233592 - highlights of the game. some great saves from Ryan.
Michael
Roar Rookie
Well players have to make a living out of their careers, and what better club than Chelsea? Also, my two favorite goalkeepers (and players) are at the same club now :)
Michael
Roar Rookie
Mitchell Langerak is Dortmunds reserve keeper, and Adam Federici is no. 1 for Reading. Then there is the A League keepers
AZ_RBB
Guest
Mat Ryan played 90mins for Club Brugge last night in a friendly. he grew up down the road from me.....just sayin :P
Jay-to-the R-O-C
Guest
Can't believe how many people think this is a good move. After the WC obviously it'd be grenteat move at his age. He's the finished product h,e's not going to learn anything new about his game. There's a massive difference between beeing an experienced oufield player on the bench and being a keeper on the bench. Keepers aren't really rested, let alone taken off mid-game barring injury or truly dire play. At his age keepers need regular gametime because there is no slump in form at that age, it's permanent. Anyone old enough to remember how Schmeichel went from being king shit to just being shit in a very short time? Fergie got rid of him. Osieck however, will see this as a reason give him more game time to keep him sharp no matter how bad he might become, even if someone else becomes number 1 at a European club. IMO Ryan(or anyione else)SHOULD move to number 1 if they are 1st choice for club. Reading between the lines over the years Schwarzer seems to have gradually become a bit out of touch eg disrespect of A-league and obsessively playing any NT game no matter how unimportant and far away(again different fromoutfield players)
dasilva
Guest
This has Kalac written all over the move Him sitting on the bench in AC Milan didn't do us any good at the 2006 World Cup. What makes you think Schwarzer would be exempted from this? Sure good for him and I don't begrudge this move but I don't see this as a win for the Socceroos.
Mato-Bateman
Guest
If you ask the Chelsea supporters they are very happy with the signing because Cech will be forced to be on the top of his game. Some of them have said they will not worry if Cech gets injured because Schwarzer is a great backup. Will be interesting to see how the season develops for Mark.
Nick
Guest
As a die-hard Chelsea supporter, I was ecstatic when I heard. However, Kane I have to disagree with you about Holman. Sure, he showed he has some class, but it showed that him not getting match fitness leaves him unable to complete 90 mins for the national team. Turns out that's handy as it bloods Rogic, but he clearly doesn't have the fitness for a full 90 mins. Schwarzer on the other hand will benefit from not playing 90 mins every week at his age :P
Griffo
Roar Guru
Keep a close Eye on Matt Ryan - if he gains and keeps the No.1 keeping position at Club Brugge then he'll go right up the pecking order. If he plays well, he could usurp the No.1 spot for the World Cup. If Ryan plays a full season then it will be him, Schwarzer, and the best A-League 'keeper at end of May 2014 in the World Cup squad imo. Langerak, Federeci, Jones and some of the better A-League 'keepers will be missing out on the 3rd 'keeper spot at the WC. Langerak particularly will be looking at the next four years and wondering how much game time he will need to be in the NT.
brendo
Guest
I cannot believe anybody who honestly think this move is in anyway beneficial to the NT. To Schwarzer, sure. He is at the end og his career and a good paycheck, for a big club where he can walk to training, why not. However to have our Number 1 goalkeeper warming the pine is a poor outcome for the NT.
Mantis
Roar Guru
"You could nearly say that he’ll gain more in 12 months at Chelsea (despite being the number two) than he did in six years at Fulham as their first-choice goalkeeper." - I disagree with that comment. Schwarzer is already an outstanding keeper, and im sure he will learn some things, but at 40, the majority of his learning is done. I think personally, this is a good move for Schwarzernegger (who wouldn't want to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world?), but in terms of the national team I don't think this is good. He needs to be playing consistent minutes in a world cup year, not on the bench. Im not so sure he will get decent minutes either. Did Ross Turnbull or Hilario get minutes? Nope.
realfootball
Guest
In terms of this vexed word "phenomenal", certainly I agree it does apply to his longevity in the EPL. It does not, however, apply to his ability as a goalkeeper. Good, yes; phenomenal, no. That descriptor has to be reserved for the great goalkeepers, and Schwarzer isn't in that league. Sorry, he simply isn't. He's a solid, elite level keeper, but he's not a great.
SlickAs
Guest
I agree with you nickoldschool. Although Schwarzer has made much noise about being motivated by the world cup, this is a cynical money grab. He may have sold his 3rd appearance at a world cup for what ever Chelsea are paying him. His gamble is speculating that no-one is really pressuring him, Ryan won't be able to establish himself, etc and despite this self-interested move he'll still get the gig so that he can have his cake and eat it too. But let's not kid ourselves that this is a good thing for Australias world cup performance next year, this is a bad thing for Australia and a good thing for Mark Schwarzer. As an aside I have no problem with players looking after their own best interests and find it puzzling when fans all go on about loyalty and 'Lucash' or whatever. They all do exactly what you would expect them to. But I'd rather just call a spade a spade rather than all this double-speak about it all being in the best interest of the 3 or very possibly 4 games he might play next year. And I'd love to see Langerak go out in loan, his own calculations that he does in his head about his own best interests just changed too with this move.
AGO74
Guest
Playing in the worlds best league (or at the very least one of the top two leagues) for the last 16 years is indeed phenomenal. You can count on one hand the number of players who have matched or bettered this. Bosnich had one season at man u as number 1 b4 fergie punted him. Otherwise bosnich played at villa - a middling club most of the time just like Boro and fulham. Not nice to think of it that way but it's the truth once u take away your "hyperbole".
Realfootball
Guest
More to the point, too old to be sitting on the bench. Now more than ever he needs to be playing every week. It may in the end have come down to limited options for a very senior GK.
Realfootball
Guest
You really need to tighten up on your use of "phenomenal". Also, take the time to look up "hyperbole".
AGO74
Guest
Disagree. A "good" keeper does not play 16 straight seasons in the EPL. He is a phenomenal keeper. Just ask middlesbrough fans who after 10 seasons of unprecedented success (by Boro standards) in EPL saw their side miserably relegated the season after he left.
Stefanov
Roar Pro
The man is too talented to be sitting on a bench :( Still as dominant as ever at Fulham. Not a happy salmon.