Source: Telegraph
Matt Derbyshire realises a dream with Olympiakos
While many English players never get the chance to play in the greatest club tournament in world football, Derbyshire, through an unconventional but ambitious transfer, will have the chance to test himself against the best in Europe with Olympiakos, the Greek champions who visit Arsenal on Tuesday. [LNB]Derbyshire left his hometown club, Blackburn, in the summer, joining Olympiakos in a £3.5million deal a move that was greeted with some bafflement. [LNB] Related ArticlesSanta Cruz prepared to sacrificeFletcher seeks fulfilmentMourinho: Italy and Spain can top Europe"Some of my family aren't that into football and they were saying 'where?' But when they came out they could see what a massive club it was I had joined. [LNB] "English players should definitely thinking about moving abroad. Those that do try it tend to be 30-35 but I think even young players should try it. I've only been here a short while but it has been amazing; it is once in a lifetime opportunity. [LNB]"Now I'm at a huge club playing Champions League football rather than sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League. [LNB] "That's nothing against Blackburn, they've been my club since I was knee-high and I am very proud to have played with them. Never in a million years would I have thought I would play abroad I couldn't even imagine leaving Blackburn! But I had to move on and I believe I've come to a bigger club. Now I think I'd be ready to play anywhere in the world. After all, it's only a short career."[LNB]Like Rooney, Derbyshire is 23, but while Rooney was emerging as a gifted teenager at Everton, Derbyshire was playing non-league stuff with Great Harwood Town. [LNB]Rooney moved to Manchester United for £25 million while Derbyshire was picked up by the side he'd supported as a boy. They've taken strikingly different paths, but now occupy the same stage. [LNB] "For me this is the best tournament in the world outside of the World Cup. I never thought I would play in it, so having the opportunity to do that this season, and in the coming years, well, that's a dream. [LNB] "We all watched the draw down at the training ground and I was doing a live interview with Greek television as it happened. I just knew we'd get an English club and it was great that Arsenal came out."[LNB]Having been part of Mark Hughes' robust Blackburn team that famously got under Arsenal's skin (Cesc Fabregas's in particular), he is encouraging his team-mates to try and disrupt Arsene Wenger's side from playing in their fluid style. "You've got to get among them," he said. [LNB]"We're away from home but if we sit behind the ball, they'll just pass it through us and round us. We've got to get at them from the first minute to the 90th, not let them pass it around. Everything they do, we have to stop them."[LNB]Derbyshire had won folk-hero status in Athens with eight goals in 13 games during his loan spell at the club in the second half of last season, winning the league and playing a hero's role in an epic Greek Cup final, scoring twice in a 4-4 draw as Olympiakos beat AEK Athens 15-14 on penalties. [LNB] "The fans are fantastic and I think what I did in the cup made me popular with them. I have them coming up to me on a daily basis people grab me and kiss me in the street from the moment I leave the house. It is a terrifically supported club and the fans were part of the reason I wanted to join. [LNB]"I found the first month really hard to adjust but everyone was so welcoming and that helped. Now I want to repay the club I've signed a four-year contract and I want to help them win trophies." [LNB]There have been a few footballing adjustments, aside from the added attention. The heat is so intense in the summer that they train in the evenings while kick-off times are later 9.45pm for the Champions League. [LNB]"Athens is a big city with everything you could want so it hasn't been hard to adjust," he said. [LNB]"We live two minutes from the beach and my wife and the boys [he has twins] go out in the sun. It's a really relaxed lifestyle. [LNB]"The only thing that's suffering is my credit card, paying for the flights of all the friends and family who want to come and visit!"[LNB]
