Mark Schwarzer is confident he will get enough game time with new club Chelsea to be well primed for Australia’s 2014 World Cup campaign.
The veteran Socceroos goalkeeper said on Thursday he was still pinching himself less than 48 hours after agreeing to a one-year deal with the English Premier League giants.
While he has accepted his position as cover for Chelsea’s No.1 gloveman Petr Cech, the 40-year-old said he’d asked manager Jose Mourinho about how much playing time he could expect and was satisfied with the answer.
“I’ve got a big fight on my hands at the club but I’ve also got a great opportunity to work with some fantastic players,” former Fulham keeper Schwarzer told Sky Sports Radio.
“I’ve got every confidence in my own ability … to get the games that I need to make sure I’m right for the World Cup, which is also vitally important to me.”
Chelsea played 60 to 70 games last year, Schwarzer added, with fixtures in the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup as well as the Premier League, providing more opportunities for a second keeper than at a smaller club.
Schwarzer said he never entered into direct negotiations with returning manager Mourinho before signing, but did ask him about match time.
“That was one question I did pose to him. It was actually the very first and the only question I really posed to him,” he said.
“And he ticked all the boxes for me.
“I spoke to him really just about what his ideas were with me, how he saw me and how he saw that I fit in with his plans.
“Once I had those discussions with him, it was pretty obvious and straightforward for me to make the decision.”
While Mourinho has labelled Cech the “best in the world”, he told Chelsea’s official website Mark Schwazer is exactly what the club needs.
“I never say this one is the first choice and this one is the second and this one is the third, but of course as a starting point Petr Cech is Petr Cech – he is the best in the world with deference to all the others,” he said.
“Mark knows that he comes to be an important member of the squad, to compete with Petr and to give us in that position what we have in any other position where we have competition and options, giving protection to each other.”
Socceroos coach Holger Osieck endorsed Schwarzer’s move, saying he was confident he would see enough of the pitch to stay sharp ahead of Brazil.
“I think it’s a very good move for him,” Osieck told News Ltd.
“It’s a great club and I wish him all the best of course because he needs to play in order to stay fit for our team and I’m pretty sure with his professional attitude he can manage it.
“I’m pretty sure he will (play). Knowing him and his ambitions he definitely will, because otherwise why did he sign in the first place.”
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