B/R Exclusive: Branislav Ivanovic Talks Alexandre Pato, Matt Miazga and More

Branislav Ivanovic is a significant figure at Chelsea. Seen as future captain material, he’s one of the leaders in Guus Hiddink’s squad.

Thankfully for Alexandre Pato and Matt Miazga, the duo get to call him a team-mate.

Chelsea signed Pato and Miazga in the 2016 winter transfer window, but given their lack of match fitness, we’re still waiting to see them in action.

Neither has played a competitive game since November and were in the throes of pre-season training with Corinthians and New York Red Bulls, respectively, before they boarded flights to London and the Premier League.

Their absence has meant Hiddink’s squad has looked stronger in number, although not in practice. Ivanovic is predicting it’s only a matter of time before that changes, however.

"It’s normal that Pato and Miazga are not ready yet," Chelsea’s vice-captain explains, speaking exclusively to Bleacher Report. "They know they need to be 100 per cent to play in this team, and they’re working hard to achieve that.

"I think Pato’s chance will be coming very soon, and he will be scoring many goals for us."

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Ivanovic is uniquely placed in this Chelsea squad to not only offer advice to his new team-mates, but also empathise with their situation.

The Serb himself arrived at Chelsea as a mid-season signing, joining the club from Lokomotiv Moscow in January 2008. Fans weren’t quite sure what to expect from him at the time, as Ivanovic was far from the player he has become in his eight seasons at Stamford Bridge.

Back then he was an up-and-coming star of the game. Like Miazga and Pato now, Ivanovic hadn’t played for close to three months due to the different season schedules in Russian football.

That held Ivanovic back significantly. He had to wait nine months for his debut, and the concern was that he would never establish himself in the Premier League on the back of those torrid first months.

"I was not really ready to play and the team was playing every three days," he says, recalling that early period as a Chelsea player. "It was a Chelsea team with great players, too. Everything was set up, so it was very difficult to even get on the bench. I just tried to do everything I could, hitting training hard for those first six months.

"Of course, it affected my confidence. Every footballer, when they’re not playing, will feel their confidence drops. But I always had the faith in my ability and I knew that my chance would come. That’s what I focused on and I tried to use as much good of the situation as possible. It was tough, but it was still good for me as I learned so much.

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"Because I was working so, so hard, I was disappointed when I didn’t get to play. But I also understood that it was difficult on the manager [Avram Grant] because we were fighting in the Premier League and also in the [UEFA] Champions League."

Ivanovic’s story of success is one of patience and character that drove him on to overcome his demons. He didn’t play a single minute of 2007/08, waiting until September 2008 before he eventually made his long-awaited debut against Portsmouth in the Carling Cup.

"It was a very long time and I found it very difficult on the football side," he says. "When you join a club in the January window—especially a team that is playing every three days—it’s very difficult to settle in.

"I got a small injury as well, so I had to work very hard. I had to use that period to adapt to life in England and everything here. It’s a lot different to where I was before in Russia."

The language barrier didn’t help, even if Ivanovic could speak English in small doses.

"I knew a couple of words and phrases, but not a lot," he continues. "I learned a lot every day, though. I tried to do everything in the beginning and I made a lot of mistakes. Even now I’m still learning and sometimes it can be difficult. If you don’t speak the language, it’s harder to feel like you’re a part of the team.

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"I was trying to learn the language, but even then I didn’t feel confident to speak the words that I knew.

"My team-mates were great to me. A lot of the players came to me asking questions, telling me to go to them if I needed anything. When you look from the outside, you don’t get to see that. Everybody was together and it helped me."

Now Ivanovic is helping Pato and Miazga as they attempt to establish themselves in a team that is showing signs of returning to it’s best.

Since Jose Mourinho’s departure in mid-December, the Blues have lost just one game—against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. They’re slowly climbing the Premier League table and are going strong in the FA Cup after thumping Manchester City 5-1 last weekend.

"Miazga and Pato are in a similar situation to what I was. They haven’t played a lot of games since November, so they’ve been on a break and they’re working to get fit,” Ivanovic tells Bleacher Report.

"The hope is that they will be ready quicker than I was. I hope they get their chance because just training with them, you can see they have quality.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

"We’re stronger now that we have them. Whenever a new player joins, it freshens things up, so Miazga and Pato have done that with us. It’s something different, and the squad feels bigger now; the manager has more players to choose from."

Miazga and Pato also have unfinished business away from the pitch. Still to make their Chelsea debuts, we’ve learned the new recruits are still to be fully inducted into the Chelsea dressing room with their initiation songs.

"They haven’t done their songs yet as they haven’t travelled with the team all the time," Ivanovic reveals. "We sometimes do the initiation when we have home matches, but we didn’t want to do it when we travelled to Paris to play PSG as it was such an important game."

When the time comes for songs to be sung and football to be played, knowing Ivanovic is around will certainly make Pato and Miazga feel more at ease.

• Branislav Ivanovic was speaking at a special event to promote Topps’ new Match Attax card collection. Like his Facebook page for exciting updates on his life away from the pitch, including exclusive images and videos from behind the scenes at Chelsea.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes