Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta has played a ridiculous amount of minutes for Chelsea. He is a legend in the making but the future is uncertain.
Recently, a tweet has started to circulate of just how many Premier League minutes Cesar Azpilicueta has played. A whopping 9681 minutes out of Chelsea’s last 9990. That is roughly 107 and a half full games out of 111. That on its own is an insane stat, and it does not even include the other competitions.
Cesar Azpilicueta is fast on his way to becoming a legend of Chelsea. His utility has made him a vital tool for the Blues. But a jack of all trades is a master of none. And Azpilicueta is looking towards an uncertain future.
It is perhaps best to look backwards before looking forward. Azpilicueta came to Chelsea as a virtual unknown. No one knew how to pronounce his name. His career started about as expected at the Blues. He would often come off the bench in his natural right back spot late in matches or start in rotation.
Jose Mourinho must have seen something in him, especially on the defensive side. Mourniho’s trust is not easily earned but The Special One trusted Azpilicueta enough to start him over trusted lieutenant Ashley Cole in an unnatural position. It proved to be a master stroke.
Later, with Antonio Conte’s arrival, Azpilicueta returned to his right back spot. Famously, Conte then put him on the right side of a back three and little has changed since.
But what comes next is a genuine question. Azpilicueta was the perfect fullback for Jose Mourinho because of his defense first attitude. Conte used his read of the game and calmness on the ball to slightly push him up but the idea generally remained the same. But going forward, it is hard to find an ideal place for the Spaniard.
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In the scenario where Conte stays, it is likely that Azpilicueta remains as a centre-back in a back-three. But his height will always be a weakness there. And Chelsea know that there are more ideal and traditional center backs in the market and already at the club. That could see Azpilicueta’s weakness play against him.
Azpilicueta may also struggle under a new manager. Most of the managers Chelsea have been linked to prefer attacking, overlapping fullbacks. Azpilicueta has surprised before and proven he is capable of many things, but offensively he has lacked. Conte tried him at wingback a few times but his defensive nature made it less than ideal.
So if Azpilicueta is less ideal than a traditional center back and too defensive for a modern fullback, where does that leave him? And that is the interesting question. There are more ideal players for both roles than Azpilicueta and that could see him dropped to the bench. Even worse, it could hasten his departure.
But there are also two other possibilities. The first is the Chelsea manager next season sticks by Azpilicueta (either in a back-three or back-four) and simply adjusts their style around Azpilicueta. He is an amazing player, and a good manager finds a way to get good players in no matter what.
The other possibility is dipping into the utility Azpilicueta offers. Some have, occasionally, raised the idea of Azpilicueta in midfield. An experimental manager may attempt that if it can get Azpilicueta on the field in a position of success.
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Regardless, Azpilicueta is very close to going down in Blues history. Fans will sing his name for years to come. And hopefully whoever is manager next year can find a way to accommodate him in the lineup.