Willian

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Willian
0Full Name	Willian Borges da Silva
0Date of Birth	9 August 1988
0Place of Birth	Ribeirão Pires, Brazil
0Position	Attacking midfielder Winger
0Chelsea career	2013 - 2020
0Debut	18 September 2013
0Games (goals)	TBC
0Other clubs	Corinthians Shakhtar Donetsk Anzhi Makhachkala

Willian Borges da Silva (born 9 August 1988), known as Willian, is a Brazilian international who spent seven years at Chelsea. An attacking midfielder or winger, he signed from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2013, having previously played for Shakhtar Donetsk and Corinthians.

Contents 1 Before Chelsea 1.1 Corinthians 1.2 Shakhtar Donetsk 1.3 Anzhi Makhachkala 2 Chelsea career 3 Statistics 4 Honours 4.1 Club 4.2 International

Before Chelsea

Corinthians

Willian started his career at Corinthians having come through the São Paulo club's youth system. He made his debut in May 2007 at the age of 18 [1] and went on to make 16 league appearances, scoring twice.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Just three-and-a-half months after making his debut for Corinthians, and still a teenager, Willian made the move to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of around £12m. [2] He made his debut on 15 September 2007 and went on to make 28 appearances in his debut season, scoring once. He subsequently established himself in what was a highly successful side, his team winning four league championships and three Ukrainian Cups between 2008 and 2012, with Willian one of the stand-out performers. Donetsk were also successful in European competition, winning the UEFA Cup in 2009. In 2012 Willian faced Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League group stage, impressing in both ties and scoring twice at Stamford Bridge against the reigning European champions. Despite losing that match 3-2 the Ukrainian champions eventually reached the knock-out stages at Chelsea's expense.

Anzhi Makhachkala

Now established as a significant player on the European stage, Willian was sold to ambitious Russian Premier League side Anzhi Makhachkala on 31 January 2013 for a reported fee of €35m (£30m). [3] The Brazilian was one of many expensive signings in the two years since Dagestani billionaire Suleyman Kerimov had taken control of the club, but in early August 2013, following a lack of success on the field, all of the club's players were reported to be for sale after Kerimov drastically reduced the club's considerable budget. [4] As one of Anzhi's most valuable assets, recent signing Willian became the subject of considerable transfer speculation over the following days, with a move to the English Premier League reported to be the player's likely destination. Initially Liverpool were reported to be favourites to sign the Brazilian, with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur also cited as possible suitors in the UK media. [5] Just a few days later Willian seemed set to sign for Tottenham; the Brazilian having flown to London for a medical ahead of a reported £30m move. [6] However on 22 August reports emerged that Chelsea had intervened by submitting a similar bid to Anzhi, [7] and his signing was confirmed a few days later. [8]

Chelsea career

Willian was confirmed as a Chelsea player on 28 August, for a fee in the region of £32m, after Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had reportedly contacted fellow Russian billionaire Kerimov personally. Clearly happy with the late change of destination, the Brazilian international commented "I'm very happy to be here, it's been a dream of mine to come and play here. Chelsea are one of the best clubs in the world, and now I'm going to play for one of the best managers in the world, so I'm very happy and looking forward to it." [9]

Willian made his Chelsea debut as a substitute in a shock home loss against FC Basel, and made his full debut for the club in a League Cup win against Swindon Town the following week. He scored his first goal for Chelsea on his Premier League debut, a sublime long-range effort against Norwich City that clinched a 3-1 win for the Blues in early October. Having been eased into the Chelsea side by José Mourinho, by December Willian had established himself as a regular starter along side Oscar and Eden Hazard in the triumverate of attacking midfielders behind the striker. By the turn of the year he was consistently demonstrating his skill in attacking areas and his notable workrate was no doubt a factor in Mourinho's evident faith in the Brazilian. He scored his second goal for the club against Southampton on New Year's Day. Reflecting on his move to Chelsea in January 2014 he told the FIFA website “I kept an eye on Chelsea’s fortunes after they first tried to sign me. I developed a bit of a soft spot for the club. The problem was that Shakhtar didn’t want to let me go. And then Anzhi came in and met my release clause fee... But that made my desire to play for Chelsea all the stronger. It took a while, but now I’m here, and I couldn’t be happier.” [10]

Statistics

See also: List of Willian goals

Season	Prem		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2013-14	25	4	3	0	3	0	11	0	0	0	42	4
2014-15	36	2	2	1	4	0	7	1	0	0	49	4
2015-16	35	5	4	1	1	0	8	5	1	0	49	11
2016-17	34	8	6	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	41	12
2017-18	9	0	0	0	1	1	3	0	1	0	14	1
Total	139	19	15	6	10	1	29	6	2	0	195	32

Correct as of 26 October 2017"

Honours

Club

Shakhtar Donetsk

• Ukrainian Premier League: 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012
• Ukrainian Cup: 2008, 2011, 2012
• Ukrainian Super Cup: 2008, 2010, 2012
• UEFA Cup: 2009

Chelsea

• Premier League: 2014-15
• League Cup: 2015

International

Brazil Under-20

• South American Youth Championship: 2007

Current Squad
1 Sanchez • 2 Disasi • 3 Cucurella • 5 Badiashile • 7 Sterling • 8 Enzo • 10 Mudryk • 10 Madueke • 13 Bettinelli • 14 Chalobah • 15 Jackson • 16 Ugochukwu • 17 Chukwuemeka • 18 Nkunku • 20 Palmer • 21 Chilwell • 23 Gallagher • 24 James • 25 Caicedo • 26 Colwill • 27 Gusto • 28 Petrovic • 31 Casadei • 33 Fofana • 42 Gilchrist • 45 Lavia Manager: Enzo Maresca