Piazon: Good to be back

Lucas Piazon has returned to Cobham after
a successful loan spell in Holland last
season and a summer representing his
country and then watching them in action
back in Brazil.
The official Chelsea website caught up with
the 20-year-old between one of the double
training sessions those players at Cobham
are now partaking in and we started by
asking Piazon what he had made of time on
loan at Vitesse Arnhem last season.
‘It was a really good experience,’ says the
attacking midfielder. ‘I played a lot of
games which is very important for me now.
I think I did a good job in the beginning.
After about February until the end of the
season the team dropped a little bit but if
you see the season as a whole I think it
was a good one for me.’
‘It’s a nice league. All the teams try to play
football and try to play forward. Every team
wants the ball. They want to play on the
ground. They don’t play long balls, they
always try to pass and so I think it’s a
good league to play in.’
Piazon struck 11 goals in 29 games in the
Dutch Eredivisie and his performances
earned him a call-up to the Brazilian
Under-20 side that triumphed at the
prestigious Toulon tournament. Then it was
off back home to savour some World Cup
action.
‘I went to four games, two of Brazil,’ he
explains. ‘I went to the first game against
Croatia and the game against Chile. I also
saw Argentina play Switzerland in Sao
Paulo. The atmosphere in the stadiums was
fantastic.
‘The atmosphere in the country was great
as well. It was really nice to be there. I
think Brazil is a good country to receive
people; we are good at this. I think the fans
from the other countries that went to Brazil
were happy,’
And what of Toulon, where Piazon made
three appearances, scoring once, as Brazil
retained their title?
‘I met my friends again, who I hadn’t
played with for a long time, so it was really
nice. We had a good time together. We just
enjoyed our time there on and off the pitch.
‘When we had a day off we all went to
beach together. I played in nearly all the
games so it was a good experience and it
was really good to be back.’
It is obvious that is a sentiment Piazon
shares as he considers his return to London
and, for now, our training base in Cobham.
‘It’s always nice to be here and to see
everybody again and to see the friends that
I’ve spent a lot of time with,’ he smiles as
Nathaniel Chalobah jokes next to him,
trying to put him off.
‘I don’t know what is going to happen but
at the moment I’m really happy to be here. I
will play in pre-season until we make a
decision and I will try to do what’s the best
thing for me.’