Radja Nainggolan: the latest in a long line of Chelsea FC midfield generals?
The latest reports claim that Chelsea FC have signed Radja Nainggolan. Could the Belgian be the latest in a long line of Blues midfield generals?
Football matches are won and lost in the midfield. That’s where the dirty work, the water carrying, and the battle happens. Other positions are important but are, by nature, sort of peripheral. During Chelsea FC’s most dominant era in the mid 2000’s we possessed the kind of three-man midfield that any team in Europe would have been proud of.
Frank Lampard rampaging forward and putting most strikers to shame with his prolific goal scoring, Michael “The Bison” Essien patrolling the midfield with animalistic authority and Claude Makelele playing the position of defensive midfielder so well they renamed it the “Makelele” position.
Even as that team started to fade into the ages they were supplemented by the not insignificant talents of Michael Ballack and eventually Ramires. In fact, I’d challenge you as a reader to think of a single team that has won a major trophy that didn’t have a stellar midfield. It is for this reason I say “Welcome to Chelsea FC Radja Nainggolan”.
Nainggolan is exactly the kind of player that we have been led to believe characterizes an Antonio Conte team. He is vicious in the tackle and hard working not just for the first half, sixty minutes or even seventy five but for every single second of every single minute for the whole ninety.
Needless to say I don’t think I am alone amongst us blue bloods in saying that this is something we have sorely missed for a long time. Our midfield is too static and weak between the featherweight nature of Cesc Fabregas and the mental case that is Nemanja Matic; a proper midfield enforcer could not be more called for.
It isn’t simply that Radja Nainggolan wouldn’t be out of place in a mafia movie as a hit man and looks like the sort of person that would leave you screaming for your mother and a higher power if you saw him in a dark alley, it’s that he is genuinely one of the most productive midfield players in all of Europe. Our supposed signing of him for less than £30 million is not only a triumph in teambuilding but in negotiation.
The obvious hallmarks of Nainggolan game are his industry and tenacity. Those two things alone would make him a valuable addition to our merry men. Yet it is my belief that these things often lead to some of his even better but less flashy characteristics being overlooked.
For instance he is such a good distributor of the ball that he was third in the Serie A last season in passes completed, behind the hall of fame midfield maestros Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi (according to FourFourTwo). His average pass length is actually 18 metres (Squawka) which is almost 60 feet so it’s not like he just picks the easy sideways pass either.
The Belgian is exactly the sort of player we have needed at Chelsea for years. He is a high character (sadly we don’t have a lot of those either) workhorse who plays for every inch of grass on the pitch. I have been asking us to sign Conte for years as our coach. This isn’t simply because I am a massive fan of calcio but because for a while I have felt that our team was coasting too much on reputation and lacking the sort of iron backbone that brings pride to a football club.
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Certain clubs have identities when they succeed. For instance Arsenal, if they win (and I acknowledge it’s been a long time) will play continental triangle short passing patterns. Manchester United will play at speed with buccaneering and attacking spirit. When Chelsea win we do it with steel and heart.
We’re the club with the small stadium from a small neighborhood in London who are willing to fight anyone no matter how big. We’re giant killers when our back is pushed up against the wall and as Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United have come to learn. That is why Stamford Bridge, when we are winning, is called a fortress.
I am proud of our identity at Stamford Bridge and I expect Conte to reestablish that, He is starting to do so perfectly by adding players like Nainggolan. Now, I’m not saying we don’t also attack; the “park the bus” or “boring” monikers are something I think our competitors saddle us with more out of jealousy than spite. However, when we are attacking and Chelsea are playing well, we have one of the best defenses and midfields in Europe.
Conte famously once told his players that he wants them to “eat grass”. He wants them to cover the entire field and play hard and with heart for every second of the game. Nainggolan is exactly that kind of player and is perfect for us.
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Energy is contagious and a little spark plug like Nainggolan could be enough to see huge improvements in the rest of the team. He strikes me as the symbol of a new age starting. So to Radja Nainggolan, welcome to Chelsea FC I couldn’t be happier that you’re here. We are not the biggest club in the world but on our day we truly are the best.
That is, of course, if the reports are true…