Former Chelsea defender admits to making mistakes to get the crowd into the game

Antonio Rüdiger is considered by many to be one of the best defenders in the world. The Real Madrid player has been a rock at the back for all four teams he has played for.

That is why it was eye-raising to hear that the former Chelsea defender would intentionally make mistakes to get the, at times, quiet crowd at Stamford Bridge into a match. In an interview with Sport in Germany, Antonio Rüdiger admitted to making deliberate mistakes during a match against Newcastle United.

‘I’ll be honest: I deliberately made a few mistakes because it was just too quiet in the stadium for me during this game, I wanted to wake people up with it.”

Antonio Rüdiger on getting opponents riled up

Antonio Rüdiger also admitted that he had tactics to get the opposition riled up while playing against him. ‘I like to analyze my opponents and think to myself: “Okay, let’s see how they react if I provoke them a bit”. ‘But it’s not like I pick someone before every game. That happens spontaneously.’

Antonio Rüdiger (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Since his move to Real Madrid, Rüdiger continues his world class form having played 6 games and scored 1 goal for the Spanish giants in LaLiga. Rüdiger won five titles during his time at Chelsea.