My failures were something for me - my first contact with professional football. Though it didn't go all that well, it's not a regret, it's just like that. But looking back, those failures helped me consider football differently, consider the professional game differently.

I can talk with my team-mates, understand them and it's better for understanding the coaching staff and the game itself. If someone's making a run and they shout for the ball, I know now.

I came to Chelsea to work, to keep learning and to keep improving.

Whatever you did in the past is quickly forgotten.

I always said I wanted to be a great athlete, ever since I was an overweight little kid. I just love competing in any kind of athletics.

Tennis is mostly mental. Of course, you must have a lot of physical skill, but you can't play tennis well and not be a good thinker. You win or lose the match before you even go out there.

People look at football, they don't look at what is going on around the life.

I liked the energy of cooking, the action, the camaraderie. I often compare the kitchen to sports and compare the chef to a coach. There are a lot of similarities to it.