Mason Mount is hoping to join an elite band of players to have followed up a Champions League win with glory at the European Championship.
The midfielder looks set to be part of the England team that takes on Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, six weeks after tasting success in the premier European club trophy with Chelsea.
Only nine other players have done that in the past, most recently Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe in 2016, but Mount is looking to make it a double.
“To have this chance after winning the Champions League it’s such a special opportunity, one that rarely comes around,” he said.
“I don’t know how many players have done both. Nine? I saw a stat before the Euros started.
“It never really happens and it’s a massive opportunity for us and for me personally but I’m not really looking into that too much.
“It’s just focusing on the game and what happens happens. It’s a final.”
What happened in Lisbon against Manchester City will have no bearing on proceedings at Wembley on Sunday, other than giving Mount experience of winning on the big stage.
He is hoping that helps give him an edge against Roberto Mancini’s well-drilled outfit.
“I think it really helps that obviously we just played in a Champions League final and had the success of it,” he added. “Obviously the two finals I’ve played before with Chelsea, the two FA Cups, we lost.
“To have that win under my belt in a final, in a big game, I think it really helps going into a final now and going into a tournament especially.
“But now we find ourselves in a final and I think a lot of the boys are very experienced players that have been in the big games and know how to handle it.
Put your hands up if you had a good night 🙌🏼… see you Sunday! pic.twitter.com/1MVkm6hiEk— Mason Mount (@masonmount_10) July 7, 2021
“The last game that we played was probably all of our biggest games of our lives and now it’s an even bigger game.
“An experience we’ve never been in before, playing for our country in a major final, but something we will always thrive off and obviously want do our best.
“We have never won a European Championship before and we have never been in a final since 1966.
“It’s a massive game for us but the younger players and all of us as a group, we want to create our own history.
“We don’t look at the past too much, we just want to look forward. We’re buzzing for the game. The most important thing is to stay calm and go into it like we have all of the other games.”
Mount’s Chelsea team-mate Jorginho is also aiming to become the 10th player to join that double-winning list as he has been the heartbeat of the Italian midfield.
The pair are close at Chelsea and Mount was on the receiving end of pranks when he returned from a loan spell at Derby.
“There’s one that’s quite common in football. When we go out to training there’s like this big microwave which heats the boots up so that when you put them on it feels nice and it’s not tough and hard,” the 22-year-old said.
“Some of the boys put their boots in that and when you have studs that are metal and take it out, they get boiling hot.
“So when he walks out and everyone is putting their boots on he puts a hot stud on your leg. It burns your leg. He’s done that a couple of times to me, he did it in that first season when I had come back. But I know the drill now and I look out for it.
“I appreciate him a lot because I’m playing with him. He’s very good on the ball and gets the team ticking.
“Playing with him and knowing what he’s like, and training with him – I know a lot more about him than some of the other boys who are in the group, so I can give a few tips about what he’s strong at.”
Everyone with an English persuasion will hope that they will not get to see one of his major strengths – his trademark penalties, where he skips during his run-up.
“It’s a unique technique,” Mount added.
“It’s something you have to feel very comfortable doing and practice plenty times to get right. It’s something I’ve never done before and I wouldn’t change now…but it looks like it works for him.”
