'There Were Big Names In That Team' - Aina On Chelsea Youth Team That Dominated Europe, English Football

Published: May 21, 2020

Nigeria international Ola Aina has spoken highly of the Chelsea youth team that dominated English and European football.

The Torino fullback was an influential member of the Chelsea U19 team that won two UEFA Youth League titles in 2015 and 2016 and appeared in back-to-back FA Youth Cup finals against Fulham and Manchester City.

The Chelsea youth team contained up-and-coming stars such as Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and Reuben Loftus-Cheek, and the quartet went on to make their first team debuts for Chelsea and play competitively for England's senior team.

"Every man in that team, we could do something. 100 percent we are in the Championship playoffs with that team," Ola Aina said on Instagram Live .

"Tammy, Charlie Colkett, Kasey Palmer, Izzy Brown, Reuben Loftus-Cheek, Andreas Christensen, Fikayo Tomori, there were big names in that team. We reached the final of the FA Youth Cup three times straight.

"We won back-to-back UEFA Youth League titles, the team was on another level, the team was crazy.

"We had one manager, he is now assistant coach at Coventry, Adi Viveash. He doesn't play about, serious coach, old school guy, everyone would die for him.

"These players had something serious about them, they are either playing in top leagues or they are in and around the first teams, or in the Championship."

With 20 games across three seasons, Aina was Nigeria's all-time highest appearance-maker in the UEFA Youth League until September 2019 when the record was broken by Tottenham Hotspur defender Timothy Eyoma.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com

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