EXCLUSIVE: Bosingwa - Reborn and hungry for medals

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • In pursuit of excellence: Jose Bosingwa wants to add more medals to his cabinet with Trabzonspor.

    Jose Bosingwa has had an outstanding career but it could have sadly been remembered for the wrong reasons. A player who has won two Champions League medals with Porto and Chelsea should be held in the highest regard but a torrid season with relegated side Queens Park Rangers in 2012-13 saw the defender leave the Premier League as damaged goods. His pay cheque garnered more attention than his performances and his motivation was regularly questioned.

    – Monaco's UCL win a lesson in humility for Arsenal and rest of Europe
    – #CWC15: World Cup Stick Cricket is here!

    However, this is a tale of rejuvenation, not ruination. 

    With QPR demoted from the Premier League, Bosingwa departed Loftus Road – joining Turkish side Trabzonspor in the summer of 2013. The Super Lig appears to have breathed new life back into the Portugal international. He has shown himself to be a dependable senior player and leader on the pitch, even captaining the side in the absence of regular skipper Onur Kivrak.

    Bosingwa wore the armband for Trabzonsport against Napoli in last week’s UEFA Europa League last-32 encounter and it was clear that he was both a key player and a fans’ favourite.

    “I am proud to be captain of Trabzonspor,” he told Sport360 in an exclusive interview after the game. “It’s my second season here and I am enjoying it very much.

    “Trabzonspor fans are very special. I have played in big teams but here there is something different. They live for the club and they live for the players. Sometimes I would like to go out more but I can’t go because they love us so much! It’s good because you can see passion from them; I’ve played in front of some amazing supporters before but this level is something I’ve never seen before – it’s extra special.”

    Being loved is a world apart from his stint with QPR when he was made the scapegoat for all their problems. Then manager Harry Redknapp claimed his attitude was “disgraceful” and he was fined two weeks’ wages for refusing to sit on the bench in a match against Fulham.

    Despite some unhappy times, Bosingwa actually smiles about his spell at QPR as he feels it helped him develop as on and off the pitch.

    “It’s very difficult when you love your job and you live your job with passion but you don’t win games,” the 32-year-old said. “We had good players but not good team spirit. It was a different challenge because all my life I played for trophies. It was good personally to grow up as both a player and a person. It makes me anticipate football in a different way now.”

    Since joining Trabzonspor. Bosingwa hasn’t looked back and has even re-established himself on the international scene for Portugal. “After four years it was great to play again for my country. I played two games and we won them both so it was fantastic to be back.”

    Playing on the big stage is a familiar scenario for Bosingwa. Before joining Chelsea in 2008, he won the Champions League in 2004 with Jose Mourinho’s Porto and then three league titles in the next four seasons. His performances didn’t go unnoticed. Sir Alex Ferguson was believed to want Bosingwa to be Gary Neville’s replacement at Manchester United but Chelsea captured him for £16.3 million (Dh92.53m). 

    Bosingwa won six titles in West London side but his fondest memory was unquestionably a dramatic night in Munich in his final season. After being rescued by a last-minute Didier Drogba equaliser, Chelsea beat Bayern in a penalty shootout to claim European football’s top prize for the first time.

    “To win the Champions League is the creme de la creme. I will never forget this moment. I cannot imagine anything better than this.

    “During the game you don’t feel a lot but during the warm-up I saw my family and I started to cry. The emotions were so high and it was very special to see all my family. All the season rides on one game and we made all Chelsea fans happy so it was a very special moment.”

    Bosingwa wants to add even silverware to his cabinet at Trabzonspor – a club he can’t envisage leaving until he hangs up his boots.

    “I would like to finish my career winning a title with the club. In the future, I want people to remember me by not just – ‘Bosingwa was a good player’ but ‘Bosingwa was a good player that won something with Trabzonspor’.

    “I am enjoying my football very much and I like the people here. I just want to say thank you to everybody.”

    JOSE BOSINGWA:

    Best players he’s ever played with 

    I played with a lot of world class players. For me, Deco was very important and a very special player because we played together in Porto, for the national team, and then with Chelsea.  We won a lot of titles together. His talent has no limits so for me he was the best player I’ve played with.

    On Frank Lampard and John Terry
    Frank Lampard and John Terry share a joke as they celebrate with the FA Community Shield in 2005.

    They are fantastic professionals and a big example for the young players. It was fantastic to share the dressing room with them because we won important titles together. It was fantastic to play with them.

    On Jose Mourinho

    It was eleven years ago when he first coached me. He’s a fantastic coach. Everybody knows his qualities. He will be remembered as the best coach of all time. 

    Recommended