Why Armando Broja wants to play like R9

The Players Tribune pieces are rightly teased for being repetitive and formulaic, but they really work, and there’s no denying it’s an effective way of telling a player’s story.

We won’t spoil the narrative of Armando Broja’s effort, which went up today. We will just focus on the football part of it.

His dad trained him hard as a kid, and demanded the young Armando try to play like Ronaldo Nazario, or “R9” as Broja senior called him.

Of course Armando doesn’t have the electric pace and acceleration of the Brazilian, but in his muscular presence and forward burst we can see glimpses of the legendary former Real Madrid and Barcelona player.

Broja has had his first trickle of chances this season as a sub, and we expect to see a lot more of them now that Graham Potter has arrived with fresh eyes to consider his options.

Bit by bit, he can help Broja unlock the R9 inside.

Chelsea News