Chelsea's 6ft 9ins Conference League winner on Duolingo and preparing for Barcelona

Daily Mirror

a day ago

Lucas Bergstrom spent six years learning his trade with Chelsea and has now set out to make his name at RCD Mallorca and spoke to Mirror Football ahead of the start of the La Liga season
In July, people head in their droves to Mallorca. Airports are rammed with holidaygoers in search of sun, sea and sand as millions fly out for relaxation.
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This year, among their number was Lucas Bergstrom, the Mediterranean heat almost an alien concept to a life lived in Finland and west London. While tourists took to the beaches sweating to top up the tans, Bergstrom arrived to brush off his own beads of perspiration having joined the pressure cooker heat of RCD Mallorca.
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"It's been something to adapt to for sure," the former Chelsea goalkeeper told Mirror Football. "The first few days I felt like I was almost dying outside. It was so warm. It was getting manageable and now this week again, it's been a little bit hotter, so it's close to 35 degrees. I'm slowly adapting and it's just drinking a lot of water and trying to survive basically."
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It was a different kind of island life growing up in Pargas, Finland and until recently Bergstrom had never even visited Mallorca. But at the end of the season, the 22-year-old's contract with Chelsea expired after six-and-a-half years spent at Stamford Bridge and Cobham.
Bergstrom was a free agent and after being able to quickly put himself in the shop window during the under-21s Euros, Mallorca proved to be the standout candidate. "Among the options I had, it's the top division in Spain and it's a good club," he said. "I saw that they really, really wanted me here and I think it's a very good place for me to come to develop and it's a good step in my career to come here."
Now, Bergstrom's life is lived on Duolingo and adjusting to a new environment as quickly as possible. Bergstrom has fast become endeared to a 'very, very relaxed place' and plans to explore the reaches of his new home as the tourist numbers filter out in the coming weeks.
But first, the 6ft 9ins goalkeeper must implement what he learned at Chelsea to challenge his new team-mates Leo Roman and Pichu Cuelllar. Bergstrom learned a lot growing up with the Blues, and while he never made a senior competitive appearance, the Finnish shotstopper spent a lot of time around the first team and had mixed feelings around his exit.
"It was time for me to go from there," he said. "Obviously I enjoyed my time at Chelsea. I was there six-and-a-half years but I didn't see a path to progress anymore because for the last three seasons or so I I went on loan, I came back.
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"There wasn't any way for me to progress and the only way would have been to go on another loan and gambled and see what happens. So I think it was the the right time for me to go. And I think also, the people I spoke with the club really agreed that it was time for me to move on."
Bergstrom found some success in a first team environment when on loan at Peterborough United in 2022/23, but ultimately that sparked some of the goalkeeper's greatest frustration too. "You felt really good because you were playing twice a week, all of the time and then you come back to Chelsea and it's like, 'okay, yes you go with the first team'.
"So there is some step forward but then you sort of stagnate there and and you feel like, 'well, I've done really well for six months, but it didn't bring me anything'. I think that's the thing that probably annoyed me the most. It felt like I'd done really well, but didn't help me to progress in any way."
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Nevertheless, Bergstrom's time at the club was able to end on a high as he received a medal as part of Chelsea's Conference League success. The young goalkeeper was a regular in the Blues travelling squads and was able to learn from his team-mates - something he'd attempted to do from the outset of his time with the Premier League side.
"The first year I was there it was Edou and Kepa who was there. Two different goalkeepers, two different characters, good people. I learnt a lot from them. For example, like Edou Mendy his mental stability after mistakes was something I've never seen before. It's like nothing happened. It doesn't matter because it's gone. Then also like during the last season with Rob [Sanchez] and Filip [Jorgensen] and [Marcus Bettinelli], I saw a lot of like from Filip playing with his feet and watching Rob Sanchez and the saves he makes and his positioning in terms of defending the space. I tried to learn from everyone."
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But Bergstrom is clearly more excited about the future and can't hide his smile at the prospect of the season starting. The determined figure 'isn't too fond' of big end of season targets and prefers to focus on giving everything to the next game. "Whenever my opportunity comes, I'm going to be ready," he says.
And as far as first games go, few will be as tough as Barcelona visiting the Son Moix. And the pace does not let-up for Los Piratas.
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"The first five games we play Barcelona, Real and Atletico," Bergstrom remarks. "So it's going to be a good test for us and it's going to be important we start the season very well, because there's some big games. For me it's just one game at this time and then you see what comes from focus on that. The end of the season, it will tell us how good we are."
And taking on 'probably the best team in the league' has whet Bergstrom's appetite to see Son Moix in action. "I think it's going to be a great atmosphere for the first game. It's a very important one."
While long term targets on not usually on Bergstrom's agenda, it is impossible to avoid the potential of a World Cup call-up. The goalkeeper has previously been capped for Finland, and the nation currently lead their qualifying group for the United States.
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But with the country having never made the trip to the finals before, Bergstrom is quick to point out it is a moment bigger than him.
"I want to be with the national team and if I get the call up, when I'm there it's going to be the biggest focus because It's very important for for the team and it will be very great to qualify for it.
"It means a lot to the players but also to the Finnish nation because you can see how well the fans reacted for example, when we qualified for the under-21 Euros. And even when we played there we had 2000 fans turn up to a small town in Slovakia. So it's very important and obviously it's the only aim to try to qualify for the World Cup."
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