{"id":300082,"date":"2023-12-10T00:24:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T00:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=300082"},"modified":"2023-12-10T00:24:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T00:24:29","slug":"the-wonder-of-willian-fulhams-sushi-loving-samba-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/the-wonder-of-willian-fulhams-sushi-loving-samba-star\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wonder of Willian! Fulham&apos;s sushi-loving Samba star"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> The Wonder of Willian: No Brazilian has played more Premier League games than Fulham&#8217;s sushi-loving Samba star &#8211; and he&#8217;s not done quite yet!<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Willian has enjoyed a fine top flight career for Chelsea, Arsenal and Fulham<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He has grown to call London home and doesn&#8217;t plan on stopping just yet<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>There&#8217;s a lot of anger at Man United &#8211; it&#8217;s them against the world! Listen to It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The afro shimmering through the crisp air is unmistakable. The shift inside his full-back towards the edge of the box is unstoppable. The arcing finish beyond the diving goalkeeper is glorious.<\/p>\n<p>Willian, ladies and gentleman, is the introverted Brazilian who has been strutting his Samba style in England \u2014 but for a brief period back with boyhood club Corinthians \u2014 for a decade now.<\/p>\n<p>Against Nottingham Forest last Wednesday, the 35-year-old became the first Brazilian to rack up 300 Premier League appearances.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most potent attacking players in the modern era of English football. Breathless in full flow as he pounces on his full-back. Relentless in tracking back to help his own defence.<\/p>\n<p>A head coach\u2019s dream. But what\u2019s his secret? Sushi. Willian is very particular about what he eats but put a spicy tuna roll in front of him and he\u2019ll find it hard to resist.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/22\/78778283-12846013-image-m-28_1702161426439.jpg\" height=\"528\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The evergreen Willian is the first Brazilian to rack up 300 Premier League appearances\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778285-12846013-The_winger_made_his_name_during_a_decorated_seven_year_spell_at_-a-48_1702163771987.jpg\" height=\"429\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The winger made his name during a decorated seven-year spell at Chelsea from 2013 to 2020<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Willian takes his diet very seriously. He is a stickler for portion control and will never eat out of proportion. Minimal oil, no fried foods. Lean meats, green vegetables, low carbohydrates.<\/p>\n<p>His regimented approach to nutrition has worked wonders: his shape has hardly altered since that day he arrived at Chelsea from Anzhi Makhachkala as a 25-year-old in 2013. It is that discipline that made him a mainstay of five Chelsea managers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778563-12846013-image-a-49_1702163772011.jpg\" height=\"746\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Of course, you can\u2019t discuss Willian\u2019s successes in England without acknowledging THAT collapsed move to Spurs. The story is well told, Willian \u2014 at the Tottenham training ground ready to sign \u2014 dashes across London to sign for Chelsea.<\/p>\n<p>Why? Cynics will say it was the money: Chelsea were among the best payers at the time. But it wasn\u2019t just about the finances. \u2018Willian\u2019s heart wanted to play Champions League football \u2014and Chelsea were always the team he followed,\u2019 said a source. The rest is history. Two Premier Leagues, one FA Cup, a League Cup and a Europa League during his time at the Bridge.<\/p>\n<p>A shy man, there were concerns how Willian might settle into the Chelsea dressing room that still included huge characters like John Terry and Frank Lampard.<\/p>\n<p>But Jose Mourinho took a shining to Willian and played a key role in his settling-in period.<\/p>\n<p>Willian naturally gravitated to his countrymen and grew close to David Luiz, Oscar and Ramires. But he also grew close to mighty Eden Hazard.<\/p>\n<p>That clique spent much of their time off the pitch in each other\u2019s company. Their children would play together at each other\u2019s houses, they would take turns to host each other for dinner.<\/p>\n<p>But really Willian was liked by everyone at Chelsea. He was shy but humble. \u2018He isn\u2019t a guy who had enemies,\u2019 said a Chelsea source. But behind the nice-guy persona is a streetwise and intelligent man.<\/p>\n<p>He has a firm grasp of Russian and English in addition to his native Portuguese. On the pitch he doesn\u2019t suffer fools. He is maybe 5ft 9in but he isn\u2019t a pushover. His body of work is proof of that.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778281-12846013-He_famously_snubbed_a_move_to_Tottenham_after_dashing_across_Lon-a-50_1702163772018.jpg\" height=\"446\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He famously snubbed a move to Tottenham after dashing across London to sign for Chelsea<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778289-12846013-His_move_to_Arsenal_was_seen_as_a_coup_for_Mikel_Arteta_but_unfo-m-53_1702164053941.jpg\" height=\"441\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>His move to Arsenal was seen as a coup for Mikel Arteta but unfortunately it didn&#8217;t work out<\/p>\n<p>His upbringing in Brazil is described as tough, and he had to grow quickly at Corinthians. He knows how to handle himself.<\/p>\n<p>And his career in England hasn\u2019t always been a bed of roses. His move to Arsenal from Chelsea in 2020 was heralded as a coup for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta, taking charge of his first full season, wanted to add winners to his squad. In a clandestine meeting in London Arteta liked what he saw in Willian. Equally, Willian liked what he saw of Arteta. In retrospect, it was the right player at the wrong time for Arsenal, who were going through a transitional period. The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe were still at the club. Shkodran Mustafi too.<\/p>\n<p>When he left to fulfil his dream of retiring to Corinthians just 12 months later, Willian hated the thought of people thinking his best days were behind him.<\/p>\n<p>Upon returning to his homeland, Willian\u2019s mind started to wander. He felt he could still cut it in England.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, he missed London. He\u2019d dreamed of returning home to Brazil one day.<\/p>\n<p>But having fulfilled that dream, he soon realised home was no longer in Brazil \u2014 it was back in England. In the big smoke. In the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>He joined Fulham in 2022 and remains a key figure for Marco Silva\u2019s team.<\/p>\n<p>How long for, however, remains to be seen. He could have joined a club in Saudi Arabia last summer but still felt he could compete at the highest level.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778359-12846013-He_is_still_strutting_his_stuff_for_the_Cottagers_and_remains_a_-a-52_1702163772021.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He is still strutting his stuff for the Cottagers and remains a key figure for Marco Silva&#8217;s team<\/p>\n<p>Moving forward, whether he is able to resist the lure of a huge payday again next year will be interesting to see.<\/p>\n<p>He will have offers from Saudi, once more. But it is understood a number of MLS outfits are also monitoring his situation ahead of next season.<\/p>\n<p>But if Willian does leave the Premier League, he will do so for a club who can compete for trophies.<\/p>\n<p>We may well be seeing the last of Willian on these shores. We\u2019ll miss him when he goes.<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12846013\/Willian-Brazilian-Premier-League-Fulham.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Wonder of Willian: No Brazilian has played more Premier League games than Fulham&#8217;s sushi-loving Samba star &#8211; and he&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Wonder of Willian! 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