Every championship winning team has a heartbeat, the foundation of the team that when backed against the wall will resuscitate the rest of the team and push itself out of the corner. Chelsea FC have had moments this season when they were backed against the wall and seemingly out of it as a team. The biggest turning point was a 5-3 loss to Spurs on Thursday January 1st, 2015.
I remember it vividly, I was on my honeymoon and I was slyly checking the score of the game while we were out shopping. I couldn’t believe what my phone was telling me. The coverage was choppy and I kept telling myself that the score was just messed up because of the bad coverage.
This game was massive in the Premier League, should Chelsea FC lose the game, Manchester City would be equal on points. After I got reliable cell service I checked the score of the game and was in shock. They lost 5-3……to Spurs?! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and gasped. I tried explaining to my wife how significant Chelsea losing to Spurs was, she didn’t care.
This was a turning point in the season for Chelsea. A moment when the heartbeat of the team had to come through and push Chelsea past the surging Manchester City. When I say “the heartbeat of Chelsea” I mean the core of the team that performs when the expectations are for the team to collapse. For championship teams there is always a backbone to a team that is the voice in the locker room and the feet on the pitch that dig in deeper then anyone else.
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Breaking down the important components of Chelsea can be partitioned into a few different groups. The back line are a key group along with Hazard and Cesc as the second key group, in my opinion. Obviously, the lean mean Belgian in goal and Costa up front were two of the best individualistic components of the team and performed so well throughout the season. I’m speaking of key groups in this instance. The key group that I believe was the heartbeat and spine of Chelsea throughout the season was the backline of the Blues.
By CFC Unofficial (Debs) (Chelsea 2 QPR 1) , via Wikimedia Commons
Hazard and Cesc had more impactful moments and are more exciting to watch. However, there were chunks of the season that you wondered what happened to them. That is what makes the backline of Terry, Ivanovic, Cahill, and Azpilicueta so special to Chelsea FC’s season. There were so many games this season that the attacking prowess of Chelsea looked stagnant and out of touch. In those games the backline of Chelsea protected Courtois and helped Chelsea get results they needed when it appeared they weren’t going to survive.
An iconic moment in the season for the backline of Chelsea wasn’t even a defensive play. The goal against PSG when it was an all defensive scoring play was the moment that defines the season for me. The backline of Chelsea was the backbone of the team that kept them in the race for the Premier League trophy all season long.
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