Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma has played down manager Jose Mourinho’s praise following the Blues’ triumphant League Cup campaign.
Zouma was signed from Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne in January last year and spent the remainder of the 2013/14 season with the French outfit before he joined Mourinho’s team at the start of the current campaign.
The Frenchman has done well in his inaugural season in England having made 17 appearances in all competitions so far. An assured presence in defence, Zouma has contributed at the other end of the pitch as well having scored twice and assisted once so far.
Short of a defensive midfielder for the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday following the two-match ban on his first choice Nemanja Matic, Mourinho chose to deploy Zouma in front of his defence.
And the 20-year-old justified his manager’s faith by putting in a splendid display that limited Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s attacking threat as Chelsea won 2-0 to seal their first trophy since Mourinho’s arrival at the start of the 2013/14 season.
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Following the youngster’s heroics, the former Real Madrid manager lavished praise on Zouma and compared him to World Cup winning Frenchman Marcel Desailly in his post-match comments.
But Zouma modestly played down the comparisons with his compatriot.
“I’m not like Marcel Desailly, no”, Zouma told the club site.
The defender added that he still has a long way to go before he can be compared to a World Cup winning legend like Desailly.
“I’m very proud to hear that, but I have to keep working because I’m too young to say that.
“Marcel Desailly is a legend and me? I’ve only played about 10 games so I have to keep improving every day.”
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