Ex-Chelsea ‘geezer’ David Luiz settled in Paris

Paris: David Luiz bounces into the sweeping entrance hall of the Royal Monceau Hotel and some well-to-do Parisians taking afternoon tea instantly recognise the Twiglet-haired defender.

“Geezers,” he exclaims, falling back on his favourite English word when he spots the faces of some friends waiting for him after the morning’s training session with Paris Saint-Germain.

“The first word I learned in England was ‘geezers’,” revealed Luiz during an intriguing walk-through of his three-and-a-half-year career with Chelsea.

“I didn’t speak one word when I arrived — even ‘good morning’ was difficult. ‘Bulldog’ [Chelsea’s coach driver] taught me them all. Mashed potato, rice and beef were the next words. But geezer — if you are happy, you are a geezer.”

Luiz is a geezer then, one of the most laid-back, relaxed footballers imaginable as he prepared to face his former club Chelsea in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg clash at Parc des Princes, which ended honours even at 1-1.

He is settled in Paris following his £50 million move, enjoying life at this European superpower alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marquinhos, Lucas Moura and Edinson Cavani.

Inevitably, though, because of Luiz’s genial temperament, the Brazilian defender amuses himself by making a little bit of mischief. Luiz is a good, fun guy to be around.

“I can wake up crazy or normal,” he admitted. “I’m not an actor and I don’t do something because people love it.

“This is home now. My mommy will come next month. It’s her first time in Paris.”

Regina Celia was a regular at Stamford Bridge, easy to recognise on the traditional lap of honour at the end of the season because she always wore a curly wig.

Luiz’s own frizzy hair, grown out to cover his ears because the weather was so cold when he moved from Bahia to Lisbon to play for Benfica, became part of his character. He was even nicknamed ‘Sideshow Bob’.

So let’s rewind the episode and take Luiz back to the telephone conversation with Jose Mourinho when he was at Granja Comary, Brazil’s training centre, before the 2014 World Cup.

“When Mourinho left Real Madrid he said he wanted to go when he felt good — I was not feeling good and I said I wanted to leave,” he admitted. “Chelsea offered me a new contract and I said, ‘I’m not feeling the same thing I was feeling years ago’. People tried to make stories about me and Mourinho, but we never had any history. He was the boss and he decided who plays and who doesn’t.

“When he didn’t put David Luiz in, it was [feigns horror] ‘Oh my God’ — but I’m just one more player, no problem.

“Mourinho is a coach who has a different style. He doesn’t talk to you about your life. As a player you will not know too much about his personal life and he will not know too much about his players.

“He didn’t try too much because I was in Brazil — he said, ‘It’s OK, you can go’. I had a great life in London, great moments, we were champions of Europe, I had an amazing connection with the fans, my teammates and everyone at the club. But I decided my cycle was finished. I was not playing as much, but I still played in all the big games. You can check.”

He is right. In one of them, against PSG at the Parc des Princes last April, he scored an own goal during a 3-1 defeat in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

There was a twinkle in Luiz’s eye, but there was also some serious stuff to discuss after a varied career with Chelsea.

Luiz is a top player, which is why PSG spent £50m on him last summer to partner him with Brazil captain Thiago Silva at the heart of the French champions’ defence. Others were not so easily convinced.

Gary Neville later admitted he was wrong to claim Luiz played as though he was ‘controlled by a 10-year-old in the crowd on a PlayStation’.

When Chelsea beat PSG in the second leg at Stamford Bridge last season to advance to the semi-final, Luiz memorably stopped in the mixed zone to tell the media: “You’re killing me.”

The truth is that Luiz, with his flamboyant, driving runs upfield, was never quite suited to a team that prioritised defensive organisation when Mourinho returned. He was a little misunderstood.

“Sometimes people attacked David Luiz for nothing, but sometimes they are right,” he added. “When I make a mistake I always take responsibility.

“Sometimes there are lies, but it’s part of my life and I am more experienced about it now.

“Gary Neville changed his mind, but he could have been more sensitive because he had been a footballer. The next day, when they asked me about Gary Neville, I said ‘I love Gary Neville’ because I trust the job I did.”

Luiz is a big part of Chelsea’s history, a Champions League winner on that dramatic night in the Allianz Arena, when they beat Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout in 2012.

He forced himself to play despite a nine-inch tear to the hamstring on his right leg.

By far the best story of that night, though, is the chatter with Bayern Munich’s forward Mario Gomez throughout the game.

“I was telling Gomez, ‘We play badly, but we will win — look, your team is better but we are going to win’. All the time I was saying it to him. Bastian Schweinsteiger marked me at the corner and I said, ‘No problem, it’s not me who will score’. And Didier Drogba scored.

“When Gomez scores the penalty, he walks past me and said, ‘OK, I want to see you now’. And I scored.

“After we won, I went over to him and he said, ‘Oh my God don’t talk to me, you must have some magic’.”

Luiz carries some fairly deep wounds from the World Cup, too, with memories of him chasing around the pitch during the semi-final, where the hosts were routed 7-1 by a ruthless Germany team in Belo Horizonte.

“It was one, two, three, bang.” he admitted. “When you lose and you try to score — and don’t — you lose energy. It finished us.

“It was like a nightmare. After the game I was not happy, especially because it was in Brazil. We expected many things, but not that.”

— Daily Mail