POL picks their favourite Chelsea players: Zola, Lampard, Mikel?

Barrett Rouen – Cesar Azpilicueta

Though I now go sick in the stomach even thinking of him, Jose Mourinho’s quips and thoughts on football are often genius. He once remarked about the Champions League:

"I think a team with 11 Azpilicueta’s could probably win the competition…Football is also about character and personality and Azpilicueta has all those."

That is why Cesar Azpilicueta is my favorite Chelsea player. He’s a soldier. In an age of “play me how I want or I’ll call my agent” footballers and cry-baby moaners who shudder at the idea of sacrifice and complain that their manager needs to “understand them and their feelings”, Cesar Azpilicueta is a throwback.

He is a player who plays the way every young footballer, this one included, is taught to. He plays for the name on the front of the shirt, not the one on the back. I have said time and again I think he is the second coming of Javier Zanetti and Chelsea are lucky to have him. Whether asked to play left-back, right-back, wing-back or even center-back he doesn’t bat an eyelash.

Someday, he may move to defensive midfield like Philipp Lahm did at Bayern Munich. It’s true Azpilicueta isn’t the most technically proficient player. But he’ll never let you down. Neither on the field nor off it. He is a player with character who could someday very well be named captain of the side. No matter what, Azpilicueta plays for every single second of every match and every single supporter in the seats.

If the time comes that he is asked to take a seat to be replaced by another center-back, the rumor mill is always turning, he will handle it like he always does. A true professional and man’s man to the end, I love Cesar Azpilicueta. I truly do.