Chelsea FC: Players Fighting For Their Future
Ramires Santos do Nascimento
Nicknamed “Rambo” by Chelsea fans (due to his brutal tackling style) and “the Blue Kenyan” by Cruzeiro’s fan (a comparison to Kenya’s long distance runners due to his speed and stamina), he is one player that has divided public opinion as to his qualities as a player.
His combative style, aggressive tackling, stamina, work rate and versatility (as he can play in central midfield, defensive midfield or down the right flank) and his willingness to put the good of the team over personal glory may be the main reason why he is a favourite of Jose Mourinho, but these traits have overshadowed his understated technically abilities only seen when the shackles are taken off, which is not unusual for a player groomed in Brazil.
When a player scores contenders for goal of the season almost every season, it tells you that he offers much more than brute strength and work rate as evidenced by his goal against Barcelona in the 2nd leg semi-final of the 2011/2012 UCL (a delicate lob over the head of Victor Valdes), his brilliant solo goal against Manchester City in the 2010/2011 EPL season (dribbling past 3 City players to score) and more recently his brilliant goal from long range against Leicester City in the EPL.
But he has had to consistently fight to prove his quality as a player since joining the club in 2010 under Carlo Ancelotti till date (a period which has witnessed Chelsea hire 5 different coaches), with many (especially the members of the footballing media) questioning his abilities.
While his brutally aggressive style of tackling, (which has seen him booked on numerous occasions, most notably his red card for a horror tackle on El Ahmadi against Aston Villa in the 2013/2014 EPL season) may not have helped his cause, the recent craze for more technically sound ball-playing midfielders in the mould of Xavi, Pirlo and Toni Kroos means that his work ethic is not well appreciated. His exclusion from Brazil’s squad to the 2015 Copa America in Chile clearly indicates that Dunga is in agreement with the general view.
And even at Chelsea FC, his versatility has been made less relevant by the signings of Fabregas and Matic, players who possess parts of his qualities, but to much greater extents. This has seen his number of appearances drop to just 28 for the season (many of which have been from the bench), which is slightly over half his previous worst return in appearances (41 in 2010/2011 season), indicating that he has basically become more of a back-up option at the club.
With the emergence of youngsters like Kurt Zouma (a centre-back who has excelled in defensive midfield) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, coupled with the media speculations surrounding Chelsea FC’s interest in players like Sami Khedira, Koke and Paul Pogba, his position in the team is in serious threat. With him clocking 28 recently, it means that he would most likely need a really monumental 2015/2016 season to be guaranteed a future at the club long-term.
Next: Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello