Former Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has said he will deliberately eliminate opposition players if the stadiums are too quiet for his liking.
The Germany international left the Premier League club for Real Madrid in the summer, joining the La Liga side on a free transfer.
Rudiger has now revealed he will deliberately target players to provoke when he wants to fire up the crowd, having been known for some eccentric moments during his five years at Stamford Bridge.
“I’ll be honest: I deliberately hurt people because it was just too quiet in the stadium for me during that game,” he told German media. Sports1. “I wanted to wake people up with this.
“I like to analyze my opponents and say to myself: ‘Okay, let’s see how they react if I provoke them a little’.
“But it’s not like I choose someone before every game. It happens spontaneously.”
He also pointed to last season’s 1-0 Premier League win over Newcastle in March – which saw Kai Havertz score an 89th-minute winner – as a game in which he deliberately provoked the opposition. Rudiger was cautioned during the game.
Rudiger also expressed his surprise at the sacking of Thomas Tuchel a few weeks ago, with the German soon to be replaced by Graham Potter.
Having been largely unused during Frank Lampard’s tenure, Rudiger has become a regular centre-back under Tuchel and has questioned the timing of his departure.
He added to Sports1: “First he was allowed to bring in new players, only to be released after a few games. I was surprised how quickly.
“The day of his release was sad for me. I wrote to him afterwards and thanked him again for everything.
“He was there for everyone, not just me. If you look at where we came from and where he took us, he did the impossible.
“But you know how it is in football. Sometimes you are the hero, sometimes the bogeyman.”
#ExChelsea #defender #Antonio #Rudiger #test #players #stadiums #quiet