Dublin – David Luiz has an appetite for trophies, and he does not mind that this year's offering is different from last. The Brazilian goes into the Europa League final on Wednesday night, nearly one year on from winning the Champions League. It is not quite the same, but Luiz is desperate for success.
“It's one more big title,” Luiz said. “Always I say, when you win something and you finish you are hungry again. So last year I ate beef, now I have chicken but I'm still hungry again and want to win more titles. Now is the time to win.”
Luiz has been, behind Juan Mata, Chelsea's second best player this season, starring in defence and midfield. He was criticised recently for laughing after Manchester United's Rafael da Silva was sent off for kicking him at Old Trafford, but Luiz insisted he was laughing at banter with the crowd rather than his compatriot's dismissal. “I laughed when the fan sang about Sideshow Bob,” said Luiz, referring to The Simpsons character he is compared to, “but everyone said I laughed at Rafael. I didn't laugh at Rafael, I laughed to the fans, five seconds after the tackle. So I laughed before the red card. I respect everyone on the pitch and can laugh when people sing something at me. It's better I laugh than cry, no?”
Luiz faces an emotional meeting with Chelsea's opponents, Benfica, tomorrow. He played for the Portuguese giants for four years before joining Chelsea in January 2011. “It will be a special day for me, special day for my team-mates,” Luiz said. “It will not be strange emotionally, it will be nice emotion because I'm a happy guy because I've played for two big clubs. Two big clubs that have helped me a lot and taught me a lot about football and given me the opportunity to show my football to the world.
“So the emotion is a good emotion but when it is time to start the game I forget everything and I want to win, I play for Chelsea.”
Ramires also played for Benfica and Luiz said their knowledge would be helpful. “I know a lot about Benfica, the players and the coach. They play a lot with the ball and possession and press a lot. Oscar Cardozo is a fantastic striker. He scores many goals every season. People in Portugal sometimes speak bad about Cardozo but he always scores more than 25 goals in the year!” – The Independent