Crespo Will Wait For Chance

The Argentina international, who earlier denied there was any bad feeling between himself and Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, is confident his time will come.

The 30-year-old has made just five starting appearances in the Barclays Premiership and played only 59 minutes in the Champions League for the Blues - but he is certain to be involved in Argentina’s friendly clash with England in Geneva on Saturday.

Crespo will be up against team-mates Frank Lampard and John Terry after shaking off the calf problem which prevented him being involved in Mourinho’s squads for the games against Real Betis in the Champions League and Manchester United in the Barclays Premiership.

Both matches ended in 1-0 defeats for Chelsea and while Crespo is disappointed with the amount of games he has started this season, he remains insistent that he will get his chance to shine.

Mourinho has opted for the powerful presence of Drogba in attack - even though Crespo struck the last minute winner against Wigan Athletic in the opening game of the season.

Yet Crespo, who spent last season on loan with AC Milan, is prepared to wait for a change in his fortunes instead of rocking the boat and asking to leave.

“My condition is good and I feel much better,” Crespo said. “Mourinho is a good person and I am very happy to be with him. I want to play more but I need to have patience and my time will arrive.

“When you play in a great team, you need to deserve to play 90 minutes. The season is beginning. I need to wait and work and my time will arrive.”

Earlier Crespo had acted swiftly to quash any suggestion he had fallen out with Mourinho prior to the trip to Seville for the clash with Betis.

Crespo was left at home because of the calf strain and he made it clear that the injury was the only problem.

“There is no way we have fallen out,” said Crespo. “No way. We didn’t have an argument, definitely not. That did not happen.

“I want to stay at Chelsea. You must not believe I will leave in January.

“Mourinho is one of the great managers in the world. He is a good, good person and I am very happy to work with him and our relationship is good. I am very happy.

“People think that if you sit on the bench you will not have a lot of patience. But I do have patience.

“If I have five, 10 or 90 minutes, I will always do my best. There is no problem with that. Am I frustrated? No. I know I am at Chelsea.

“If I want to play for a small team then I will always get 90 minutes but when you play at a great team like Chelsea you need to be patient.”

Crespo is relishing the prospect of taking on at least two of his team-mates in Saturday’s friendly.

That tally could rise to five if Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips and fit again Wayne Bridge get in on the action in Geneva.

Both nations have qualified for next year’s World Cup finals in Germany and Crespo will be gunning for revenge after the last game between them in the 2002 competition ended in a 1-0 win for England.

The striker likens their contests to 'derby’ games and maintains that although the game is billed as a friendly, there is no such thing between two teams with such a long and dramatic history.

“It will be fantastic to have the opportunity to play against Frank and John,” said Crespo. “When you play England, you do not need any motivation.

“It is like a world derby. More or less it is like Brazil against Argentina for us. There is no such thing as a friendly, but when we finish the game we will all be friends.

“When you start a match against anyone you want to win. We have history and it is beautiful when you play these kinds of games.”

Meanwhile, the The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have named two-time winner Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon and Drogba among five top nominees for this year’s African Footballer of the Year.

Chelsea’s Ghana international Michael Essien is also featured in the shortlist, compiled by the CAF media and technical committees.

The list will be cut to three players on November 19. Eto’o has won the last two editions of the awards in 2003 and 2004. The annual awards will for the first time take place in the Nigerian capital Abuja on January 9.

For all the latest Barclays Premiership statistics on Crespo and Chelsea, click here.

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