In Chelsea's official release "CFC Unlocked," Morgan Rogers discussed his journey from West Brom's academy to Chelsea, his loan spells, his friendship with Cole Palmer, and his feelings about facing Messi in the World Cup semi-final. This article is the second part of an exclusive interview.

Related Reading:

Rogers: Our front three doesn't need to find a name, we'll just use the popular one.

In this section, we'd also like to learn about the player himself. Let's start from your childhood. What kind of child were you?

Rogers: I think I was a kid who didn't want to stand out too much, but had inner confidence. When I was with my family, I could express that confidence in myself, but when I was around a lot of people or away from familiar surroundings, sometimes I couldn't do it. But I was always very talkative and energetic, and I wanted to play football freely and happily. During my childhood, my life revolved around football.

To put it simply, I think it's the same now. In the dressing room, I'm usually the loudest, always joking and laughing. When it's time to play, I try to enjoy every moment of the match.

What's your earliest memory of playing football?

Rogers: It was probably being a ball boy at West Brom. I played for West Brom when I was young, in their academy. But when I think back to my earliest memory, it was watching matches and getting the chance to be a ball boy. I especially loved being able to sit on the sidelines, touch the match ball, and be so close to the game. I could see the players warming up and see them in the tunnel. As a child, it was the closest experience I'd had to professional football.

At that time I thought: "I want to be like them too. One day I want to be part of that pitch, I want to be one of them." That's why I loved being a ball boy. That was probably the first time I thought: "This is amazing, I want to play like this too."

At that time, you watched the players and said you wanted to be like them. Did you believe from a young age that you could reach that level, or was it just a wish?

Rogers: I don't know. It's hard to say now what I was really thinking back then. I don't know if I thought about the end goal during my childhood. Back then, I only thought about being one of the best 10-year-olds or 11-year-olds in the country, and I didn't think that far ahead about the future.

I'd like to think I can keep it that way now too. There would be less pressure. But as I got older and learned more, I couldn't help but think about what could happen in the future. I think my childhood was simpler. Yes, there were expectations and I had confidence in myself, but that only really became real as I got older.

At what age did you really feel you could play at the top level?

Rogers: It was probably around when I finished my academy scholarship and became a full-time player. After that, when I finished school and trained every day, I thought: "This could really happen, I can really do it."

Before that, opportunities seemed very limited. People cited ridiculously low percentages, saying only one player from each age group makes it, and it was almost laughable how rare the odds were. Coaches would say: "This path isn't for everyone." When I heard that, I didn't believe early on that I would succeed. So I think that's when I started to believe it could happen at that level.

Let's talk about your early football experiences. Did you play mostly on the streets, or did you join the academy early on?

Rogers: I joined the academy when I was very young, but I was still able to play other matches back then. I think the structured academy training started around age nine or ten. Before that, I went to West Brom a few times a week and played matches on Sundays, and I also played in parks and on the streets with friends. Like most children, we'd gather friends from one street or one neighborhood and play together.

Did you often play with older children? Cole mentioned in the program that when he was young, he often played with older children on training pitches, so he learned how to deal with physical contact.

Rogers: For me, I played mostly with my older brothers.

Really?

Rogers: Yes. Especially with one of my older brothers and my father. They never let me off easy. I think they were the first to teach me how to deal with those things. So when I later played with older players in the academy, I was more prepared.

When I was young, they didn't let me off easy, they didn't let me win on purpose, or get what I wanted. They didn't give anything away for free; they taught me to understand that I had to try to earn it myself. These lessons were very important to me.

Why did the coach put you in the older age group? Was it because of technical ability, physical strength, or match intensity? Did you have some special quality?

Rogers: I think when I was young, it was because of my technical ability. When I got older, I wasn't the biggest player, and playing against physically stronger opponents was uncomfortable. I was one of the first to complain about being fouled, pulled, or hit. So it definitely wasn't because of my physical strength. Fortunately, I grew taller and became stronger later on. By then, I could use other qualities in the match.

You once said that a player's development isn't a straight line. You were one of the best in Manchester City's academy at one point, then went out on loan and spent time in different leagues. How important was that experience in becoming the player you are today?

Rogers: That was everything. I needed new challenges, to take the next step, to get out of my comfort zone, and to understand what kind of player I would become in professional football. If you'd seen me in the academy, I don't think I'd be the kind of player everyone sees every week now. I was completely different, and I learned those things during my loan spells.

Academy football is valuable, it's true. It teaches you the technical details of how to play and the specifics of technique. Football is football, and there are things you learn in matches and training. But you can't replicate what professional matches are like—how they're played, how much opponents want to win, what they need to win, and what tactics teams want to use—in academy matches. You can only get those experiences in senior football.

Because I got that experience very young, I was able to progress and evolve over time. By the time I was ready for the next step, I had already faced good situations and bad situations. I learned how to deal with difficulties and how to play matches in different ways. These experiences were the key factors that have made me who I am today.

Everyone's path is different. When I was 14, 15, or 16, people probably thought I'd succeed, progress in the England youth levels by 17. But my path wasn't like that, and it didn't turn out that way. I wasn't ready to be that kind of player yet. Some people have the qualities to play professional or senior football at 16, 17, or 18, and they stand out immediately, but I couldn't do that. I needed time to grow, learn, and understand myself better. Now that I'm here and I know I can reach this level, I think my past experiences have made this path smoother for me.

AI ဘာသာပြန်ဆိုသည်။

AF ၏ PC ဝဘ်ဆိုက် စတင်ထွက်ရှိပြီ! သင့်ကွန်ပျူတာမှ သတင်းများ၊ မှတ်ချက်များ၊ ပွဲစဉ်အသေးစိတ်နှင့် စာရင်းဇယားများကြည့်ရှုနိုင်သည်။ ဝင်ရောက်ရန်: www.allfootballapp.com