CALLUM HUDSON-ODOI: I’m in love with basketball

AFTER seeing the atmosphere at Wembley as large crowds returned to football in England during the latter stages of Euro 2020, England and Chelsea player Callum Hudson-Odoi has explained why he can’t wait to walk out in front of the Chelsea fans at a packed Stamford Bridge again.

The Blues welcomed supporters back in smaller numbers at the end of last season, after a long absence while games were played in closed stadiums due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 10,000 Chelsea fans witnessed the crucial Premier League win over Leicester City at the Bridge and a crowd of around 20,000 watched the FA Cup final against the same opposition.

However, as Euro 2020 approached its climax, there were as many as 60,000 present at Wembley Stadium for the semi-finals and final of that competition as Government ‘test’ events trialing the return of crowds to sporting events.

With Hudson-Odoi watching England’s run to that final as closely as anyone else in the country, especially with three of his Chelsea team-mates in the Three Lions’ squad, the sight of the stands packed with cheering fans has got him excited by the prospect of seeing the same at the Bridge as we approach the start of the 2021/22 season.

‘I think I watched every single game at the Euros and England did really well to get to the final,’ he said. ‘Obviously it was unfortunate that they lost the game but they did really well, it was a good tournament to watch as well.

‘I loved the atmosphere, fans coming back gives you more of a buzz watching it. The crowd make the game sometimes, when the atmosphere is high everybody on the pitch is high as well, and when you’re creating chances and scoring goals on the pitch the whole crowd makes it even better.’

After the Government lifted restrictions on large outdoor events in July, near capacity crowds are expected at Stamford Bridge for a couple of London derbies when we face Tottenham Hotspur in The Mind Series on 4 August and then begin our Premier League campaign at home against Crystal Palace 10 days later.

With the anticipation for the start of a new season and the return of a full crowd to Chelsea games, Hudson-Odoi admits he can barely wait.

‘It’ll be amazing to see everybody, we’ve all missed the crowd. Every time someone scores a goal there’s no crowd to celebrate and you miss the screams and shouts every time something happens.

‘When we see the crowd back, especially after winning the Champions League, we’re going to be delighted to show the trophy to them. Hopefully when we get there it’s a game where we go out all guns blazing and win the game.’

The England international forward shares a passion for basketball with a group of players in the Blues dressing room, watching matches when he can and also playing video games based on the sport. He has even been compared to one of Miami Heat’s star forwards!

He said: ‘I’m a basketball fan and I try to watch whenever I can It’s very late sometimes for us in England but I like to watch the games or the highlights the next day and see how things are going over there.

‘I follow it a lot. If a game is on early in England, I’ll try to watch it and see what’s going on. It’s a fun sport, everyone looks like they enjoy it and it has good vibes and energy so it’s nice to watch. It’s a completely different sport to us so it’s good to follow.’

‘There’s loads of us who follow it, not just me. Obviously we have Christian, who is from America so he watches it as well, and there’s Andreas [Christensen] as well.

‘I see Willy Caballero always talking about it and the boys even call me Jimmy Butler [a forward with Miami Heat]. It’s nice and hopefully we can get over there and watch a game together soon.’

Gaming connections

‘I play NBA on the PlayStation, as well as Call of Duty and FIFA. I like to mix it up and change rather than stay on one specific game. When I’m at home, I get on my phone, video call my friends and if they’re playing a certain game, we’ll just jump on and play together.

‘I like to chill with Netflix, just watch some new movies that have come out and unwind. I do a lot of recovery at home with the Game Ready [compression therapy boot] so I just put a movie on while I’m doing that.

‘I recently watched a movie called ‘Us’ and there’s a new film called ‘Run’, which was crazy to watch. It was actually pretty intense and you really felt for the girl involved with her mum. Those are the movies that I enjoy but usually I just go on Netflix and see what’s trending.

‘I’m still waiting for the new series of Money Heist and Lupin to come out. Those are the two I’m really waiting for right now because I really enjoyed watching them – hopefully they’ll be out soon.’

Changing habits

‘I haven’t watched proper TV in a while. Unless there’s a match on, I don’t really watch TV much at all. It’s more movies or PlayStation.

‘If it’s not that, I’ll be on FaceTime on my phone or literally just chilling. It’s nice to be able to come home and just unwind.’