Roberto Dimatteo reflects on Chelsea Legends charity match

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Ex Chelsea manager Roberto Dimatteo reflects on Chelsea Legends charity match after coaching the ex pro Chelsea Players  11/10/2025  Stamford Bridge, London, UK

Transcript

00:00Yes, at the end of the day when the players go on the pitch, they're competitive.

00:06It was great to see that they put effort in and it got a little bit fiery as well

00:15because they want to win. We were disappointed with the goal at the end.

00:20The main aspect of the game was to get all the players on the pitch.

00:27A huge thank you to all the players that came far to come and join us today in this charity game.

00:39They're going to have a big impact on the lives of many people

00:44that will benefit from the money that will be raised today.

00:48Also, a huge congratulations to Liverpool that came here and put on a good team as well.

00:55I think it was entertaining for the supporters.

00:59A massive thank you to the supporters that turned up today.

01:04I wanted to ask you about Diego Costa's...

01:07Love him. I love him.

01:09Love him. Fantastic personality. You need fiery players like that.

01:14My team, tennis-wise, it rattled the opposition a little bit.

01:20I understand why managers loved him to have him in their team.

01:26Hi Roberto. There's a lot of players out there who were part of your squad in 2012 in Champions League.

01:36I'm just wondering, 13 years on and connecting with some of them again,

01:41what's your sort of overarching feelings about that Champions League win?

01:45What do you remember about it? How do you feel?

01:48Well, I think when you win a competition, a trophy, it just connects you for the rest of your life.

01:57So every time we get together, it's a great feeling and a lot of emotions to see these players again

02:05and manage to lift the trophy with the big ears.

02:10They always turn up when we call them for these sort of games.

02:17They love to come back and put the blue shirt on.

02:21We've created a lot of memories for the players and for the supporters as well.

02:27So overall, it's a wonderful day today to see all these guys again.

02:36I wish them all could help.

02:39One of the greatest players in Chelsea's history who's not really been back and has odd.

02:45He obviously means a lot to the club.

02:47What do you think he represents to the Chelsea fan base and what he did here?

02:52Well, he was obviously a special player and I think from the first minute that he wore the Chelsea shirt,

03:01I think everybody fell in love with him.

03:05He arrived actually in 2012 when I was in charge and you could see the talent that he had,

03:13even though I think he was only 19 back then.

03:16He showed his capabilities and his qualities over the years and had a very successful stint here with us.

03:27Thank you to him that he came today and showed again some of his qualities.

03:37I think that the people absolutely loved seeing him on the pitch for Chelsea today.

03:42What do you think they learned from the Chelsea team today?

03:51Well, they probably learned that they're going to get older as well.

03:55Because when you're younger, I remember you meet some of the older players and you don't really realise that one day that's going to be you.

04:08So today's Chelsea team is magnificent.

04:12I think they're doing very, very well.

04:14They won the Conference League last year, the FIFA Club World Cup.

04:18So they are back winning trophies and this is what this club is about, winning trophies.

04:25So it's a team full of talents with some experience now as well.

04:32And after two or three years they've been here and I think they are showing that now on the pitch

04:37and they're playing very good football and the manager is doing a great job.

04:41How do you say to Enzo Mariska?

04:44To Enzo Mariska?

04:47Yeah, sometimes I speak to him.

04:50We're both Italian, so there's no language barrier.

04:54No, no, he doesn't need any advice.

04:59He knows football very well, he's very well prepared, he's got a lot of knowledge.

05:05Perfect.

05:06We all agree that those games are very popular and interesting.

05:11Do you feel that those games should be played, let's say, regularly once a month?

05:15And when will be the next game?

05:19You miss the feeling to make it like a regular, once a week, once a month at least?

05:25Once a month.

05:27Yeah, no, no, I mean, we had the previous game was in Liverpool and there were 66,000 people,

05:37so there is an appetite for the support.

05:39But I think if you do it too regularly then maybe you lose the special effect of these games

05:44and also the ex-players, they all have busy schedules.

05:47It's not that easy to get them all in the same place at the same time to be able.

05:54So I think we normally do one game a year, so this year was a bit unusual that we had two games,

06:01normally one year game, so it's a special occasion for everybody.

06:05And the money that is raised makes a huge difference in many people's lives.

06:10Brilliant, thank you everyone.

06:13Liverpool are doing a better conference.

06:15Yeah, brilliant.

06:16So, everyone.

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