HAIL CESAR
I learned to be a leader from JT, the captain’s captain, says Azpilicueta
WHEN it comes to leading Chelsea, Cesar Azpilicueta has learned from some of the very best.
He arrived in 2012, just after the Champions League triumph, to join a squad captained by John Terry.
And the club’s greatest-ever skipper was backed up by stalwarts like Petr Cech, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole (right) and then, two years later, by the returning Didier Drogba.
Six years on, Azpilicueta is now one of Chelsea’s senior stars, doing what Terry and Co did for him by using his experience to lead by example.
Officially, that has not quite extended to Azpilicueta being named Maurizio Sarri’s captain, and he is not the type to crave confirmation that the honour is his now that Gary Cahill has been largely squeezed out of the first-team picture.
But the fact Azpilicueta has led Chelsea out in 10 of their 14 games this season is a big indication of his standing in the leadership pecking order.
And the 29-year-old said: “When I came I was lucky to have JT and Lamps and, even though they didn’t wear the armband, Ashley,
Didier, and Petr.
“I always felt from their behaviour that they were helping you. Sometimes not even by saying anything, just with their eyes.
“They made me understand what it was to play for Chelsea, for the fans, the club. It is something that, as soon as you come in, you feel.”
Azpilicueta hailed Terry as the best captain he has ever played with but also highlighted Cole, whose left-back position he took even though he arrived from Marseille as a right-back.
“He always treated me with great respect,” Azpilicueta said. “That was amazing from a big player like him, the best left-back in Europe. We built a good relationship.”
Those games at leftback demonstrated the versatility that has now become Azpilicueta’s trademark.
He impressed as a centre-half in Antonio Conte’s back three and has now returned to rightback under Sarri.
Azpilicueta shifts positions with minimal fuss but maximum effect and has managed to avoid the fate of many versatile players, ending up a jack of all trades but master of none.
Azpilicueta, a striker and right-winger in his younger days, said: “When the manager asks me to change positions I never take it as a bad thing.
“It gives me the chance to learn from different players, to learn different positions and to get better.
“There is no secret – it is all about hard work and consistency.
“I always try to train hard, to analyse games, to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next game.
“There is no personal glory without team wins so I always put the team first.”
With a selfless attitude and setting an example like that, it is easy to see why the Spain star is seen as an ideal leader for Chelsea’s current crop.
Cesar Azpilicueta was speaking ahead of the release of the Battlefield V Deluxe edition out November 15th. You can pre-order your copy at https://www.ea.com/ games/battlefield/ battlefield-5/buy