It has been cool to cast doubt on Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta. Most of this doubts are unfounded or overreactions to various factors.
The past few years have been weird for Chelsea. There was the completely emphatic, chest thumping run to the Premier League title. But Antonio Conte was quickly turned on as Pep Guardiola cast his spell over yet another league. All of a sudden, canned phrases like “the right way to play” came out and Maurizio Sarri followed soon afterwards. What had been Chelsea’s way was left on side as many turned on players not suited to the system.
The greatest example of this is how fans began to turn on Cesar Azpilicueta. Azpilicueta has always been a defender first, attacker second. Sarri’s way exposed the fullbacks constantly through its very build and Azpilicueta often found himself on the wrong end of simply doing as his manager asked. Even worse than that is how his exposure on the pitch led to many questioning his captaincy (while often suggesting ludicrous replacements).
When Azpilicueta could play his game, he was Chelsea’s best defender. But too often in recent seasons he has not been allowed to do that. The doubts about him continue but they are unfounded or simply overreactions.
Azpilicueta is Chelsea’s best right back. Davide Zappacosta has always followed the line of being fine but that is about it. Reece James is promising, but to proclaim that he will unseat Azpilicueta this season is foolish. He could, in time, but James is still much rawer than many believe.
Azpilicueta is also Chelsea’s best fullback. Last season the fullbacks were exposed by the system and that showed as Marcos Alonso could not track back in time and Emerson simply would not half the time. Azpilicueta is not the fastest, but he is by and far the smartest fullback. He knows when he can get forward and when he cannot and he knows when he can get a job done or when he needs to steer the opponent towards a teammate.
He is also a good captain. To claim otherwise is to deny reality. He is not a John Terry blood and thunder captain; he is a lead by example captain. Almost any Chelsea player will say Azpilicueta trains hard and asks questions of anyone. If he needs to hold a player’s hand on the pitch, that is less of a problem for him not doing so than the player who needs to have their hand held in the first place.
Azpilicueta will be a Chelsea starter for some time to come. He will be Chelsea captain for longer. One of Frank Lampard’s most important tasks will be combining his preferred style with a system that asks for Azpilicueta’s best traits rather than shoehorning him into a role he is not comfortable with or overly exposed.
To say Azpilicueta is past it, assume James will displace him this season, or to demand the captaincy go to someone else is ridiculous. Azpilicueta is part of the best of Chelsea. Everything else is unfounded or an overreaction.