Interview: Hernan Crespo on Chelsea, Aguero and Gerrard

River Plate, Parma, Lazio, Inter Milan, Chelsea, AC Milan, Genoa and Argentina; that’s an impressive calling cast of clubs to attach to any footballing CV andSquawka caught up with the man that enjoyed this excellent career, striking legend Hernan Crespo.

Courtesy of our good friends at Heineken, we were able to gain exclusive one-on-one access with the 38-year-old, and in this first of a three part series, we discuss his opinions on all things Premier League, ranging from Jose Mourinho and Aaron Ramsey to Steven Gerrard and strike partnerships.

James McManus: Having worked with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea before, now that he’s returned, how do you rate their Premier League title chances?

Hernan Crespo: I’m happy for him and that he’s returned because I know how much Chelsea fans felt about Mourinho. Now is very difficult to win the title, because there’s not only one great team, but there are 5-6 good teams. I think the best team now is Manchester City and they’re just a bit better than all the others.

I THINK THE BEST TEAM NOW IS MANCHESTER CITY

But I hope for Jose that his team, which is normally up there, maybe has a chance and he knows how to win the title and he knows the Premier League very well. He’ll know that that his main rivals are Manchester City and that Manchester United are a work in progress. He’ll know that it’s possible still to take advantage of this situation.

JM: As a striker yourself, you’ll have sympathised with Fernando Torres’ struggles at Chelsea, but he looks as if he’s turned a corner recently, can he still be a success at Stamford Bridge?

HC: Well it depends on what you ask for from Fernando Torres. Everybody remembers him most from Liverpool and everybody wants to see this Fernando Torres again, but this Fernando Torres, after a lot of time, a lot of years, has never came back in this sort of shape. But at the same time, he was very important for Chelsea in the Champions League, Europa League and even for Spain at the World Cup. If I had to choose having Fernando Torres at 100% but the team didn’t win any trophies, or this Fernando Torres and you win a lot of trophies, it’s an easy choice.

JM: Another player at the other end of the spectrum is Aaron Ramsey, after he continued his great run of form with the winner for Arsenal against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, what are your thoughts on the Welshman?

HC: Again!?! Ramsey now is having a great season, he’s started very, very well. We were all waiting for him, because everybody knew of Ramsey before, but because of injuries he had a difficult situation to try and become a great player. But finally, he’s shown everything that you need to be one and he’s shown that it’s still possible to do it despite a difficult period.

JM: We’ve been talking a lot back in England about strike partnerships recently – Suarez and Sturridge, Rooney and Van Persie, Aguero and Negredo – which one of these is your favourite?

HC: It would be easy just to say SAS – Sturridge and Suarez.

BUT AT THIS MOMENT, THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE IS AGUERO

But at this moment, the most important player in the Premier League today is Aguero…..with everybody! With Dzeko, he scores goals, with Negredo, he scores goals, with Tevez before, he scored goals. When he plays well, the whole team plays well. Of course, I don’t want to forget about Rooney and Van Persie, because with those two, we are talking about some really great players, but Aguero and whoever plays with him is the best partnership.

JM: Sir Alex Ferguson recently described Steven Gerrard as not being a “top, top player” in his recent autobiography – do you agree with his assessment?

Steven Gerrard is still one of the best players in the world.

And he’ll go down in the history books at Liverpool, 100%, as one of their best, best ever. I like him as a player, so, so much, because he does everything. He can score goals, defend, be really involved in all the action and I like this situation where he always wants to stay and play for Liverpool. I like that very much. So loyal.

We lost the final in Istanbul against him! But at the same time it’s a gift, not our gift, but it’s a gift for him, because he deserves it because he’s stayed there. He could have gone to a better team like Real Madrid, or Man Utd, or Chelsea, where he would have had more chances to win a lot of trophies, but he chose to stay and win trophies with Liverpool.

I’ve been at Anfield many times, walked around and seen the trophies and seen all the players that started there – Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher. I like this club so much.

JM: Do you wish you had played for Liverpool then at some point during your career?

HC: I always dreamed of making it as a footballer, first of all in Argentina. After that, it’s impossible to see what comes next. I went to Italy, following Maradona at Napoli, Klinsmann at Inter, Van Basten and Rijkaard at Milan, I watched all the matches, but I never decided beyond my first dream whether or not to play football in England because you never know what will happen. But when I first signed for Chelsea, I thought ‘wow’, look at these stadiums, look at these fans, the organisation, everything is great, the sporting mentality is fantastic.

FOR ME, IT WOULD BE A DREAM TO BE A MANAGER THERE [IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE] NOW.