Chelsea Keeper and Defenders of the Decade: Azpilicueta joins CL heroes

Only one of the defenders in Chelsea’s Team of the Decade was not in Munich on that night in 2012. He has been everywhere else, doing everything else, for Chelsea since arriving soon after.

Jose Mourinho once said a team of 11 Cesar Azpilicueta’s could win the Champions League. Our Chelsea Team of the Decade nearly realizes that dream. Cesar Azpilicueta was the only player to earn votes in three positions, earning a place as starter at one and the top substitute at two others. He edged out Branislav Ivanovic twice, leaving the Serb out of the starting XI. Three players at the back were unanimously selected for the team, and are noted with an asterisk (*) below.

Goalkeeper: Petr Cech* (Abhishek Pancholi)

A legendary footballer, an excellent drummer and an all-round gentleman walk into a restaurant. The hostess asks, “Table for one?” How is that possible?

Apologies for the lame attempt at humor, but in case you hadn’t guessed it, they’re all Petr Cech. The modern-day Chelsea legend is the obvious choice for Chelsea’s Team of the Decade. He could give a tough fight to Peter Bonetti for Chelsea’s greatest ever goalkeeper and might even beat “The Cat” to it in some people’s opinions.

Chelsea had arguably the world’s greatest goalkeeper in their ranks and they paid only £7 million for him. Petr Cech spent the first part of this decade extending his dominance of England to the European competitions. He stopped Lionel Messi from scoring against Chelsea for as long as he was the custodian. It was only when Thibaut Courtois decided to part his legs and wave Messi through that the run was broken.

But I digress.

Didier Drogba may be the Munich hero, but Petr Cech was the silent protector, a watchful guardian. Cech kept out Arjen Robben’s penalty in extra-time which would have surely meant game over for Chelsea. If that wasn’t enough, he saved two spot-kicks in the shootout and dived the correct way for every one of them, setting the stage for Drogba to deliver the crowning moment of the night.

For all his contributions to Chelsea, there can be no other goalkeeper who deserves to be in Chelsea’s team of the decade. Period.

Right back: Cesar Azpilicueta (Vishnu Raj)

Many players deserve to be in Chelsea’s team of the decade. Some could be a candidate for goalkeeper, right back, striker, left midfielder and so on. But only one player is a worthy candidate for multiple positions: Chelsea’s current captain, Cesar Azpilicueta.

Azpilicueta came from Marseille for just £7 million in 2012 as a right back. In the next 7 years, Chelsea fans saw him thriving as a left-back and center back, as well. Jose Mourinho played him at left-back; and, under Antonio Conte, Azpilicueta was part of a successful back three. He even had stints as a wing-back for Chelsea, too.

Azpilicueta has been one of the standout players of the decade for Chelsea, and is going into the next decade as one of Frank Lampard’s trusted members. The youngsters on the side can learn a lot from playing alongside him.

Centreback: John Terry* (Olaoluwa Nwobodo)

John Terry joined Chelsea in 1995 at 14, but in the last decade John Terry has not only been a fixture in the Premier League, but in world football. He was a fixture in Chelsea’s back-line, winning three Premier League titles. Terry is part of the reason Chelsea had any defensive credibility, being important on the pitch and a leader in the dressing room.

Toward the second half of the decade John Terry was featuring less and less on the pitch, and more and more in the dressing room. This was perhaps one of the more important roles he played in Chelsea’s title winning 2016/17 season. He could not play as much, but Antonio Conte knew that he needed a leader in the dressing room, especially as he was not the most eloquent in English.

Antonio Conte knew that Terry understood the squad more than he did, and knew that he’d need Terry to play a vital leadership role. Conte was right.

John Terry was also a major reason Chelsea won the Champions League in 2012, even though Terry got sent off before half-time of the second leg of the semi-final. He was a reason Chelsea had a chance to qualify for the final in the first place. Terry won three league titles, two FA Cups, one Carabao Cup, one Community Shield, one Champions League, and one Europa League.

Not a bad decade, eh?

Centreback: Gary Cahill (Vishnu Raj)

Brought in during the 2011/12 January transfer window, the rise of Gary Cahill is an example for any aspiring young footballer. Cahill went from a relegation battle to winning the biggest prize of them all in five months.

With injuries to key players, Cahill was brought in to add depth to Chelsea’s defensive unit. Not many would have foreseen what he was to achieve in the next seven and a half years. The standout match of his Chelsea career was the Munich final, where he was excellent despite playing through immense pain. He was part of Chelsea’s excellent defense alongside John Terry under Jose Mourinho, and then as part of the back three under Antonio Conte during the years ahead.

When John Terry bid his farewell to Stamford Bridge, there was no doubt in Conte’s mind about appointing Gary Cahill as Chelsea’s next skipper. Despite not being known for his ball-playing abilities, he excelled in the middle of the defence during Conte’s second season after injuries to Andreas Christensen and David Luiz, whom Conte had preferred previously.

Even though he left Chelsea at the end of last season after falling out of favor under Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea fans will fondly remember this legend’s glorious time.

Left back: Ashley Cole* (Kevin Peacock)

Ashley Cole owns the one thing every football fan wants. Right now, Frank Lampard would love him in his side. In fact, it’s arguable that since his departure, he’s never been replaced.

His arrival at Chelsea was controversial and the fans of the club loved him for that. He allegedly met with Chelsea officials whilst still at Arsenal and believed the Gunners hierarchy were undervaluing him. He was almost certainly right. There may have been one or two raised eyebrows on the terraces when he arrived but his performances on the pitch soon put paid to those.

Cole was an integral part of Chelsea’s most successful side ever. He made 338 appearances for the Blues and won every trophy going including seven FA Cups (three with his previous team). Cristiano Ronaldo called Cole the toughest opponent he’d faced and he ought to know – he’s a decent player.

Returning to the first sentence, it was Ronaldo’s nemesis, Lionel Messi, that Cole owns – metaphorically speaking – and who wouldn’t want that magician in their team? Time and again when they faced each other the 107-cap England international prevented the Argentinian from scoring.

When you look at who Chelsea have played at left-back during the last ten years and the competition, there really is only one choice for the place in the Team of the Decade.

Substitute: Branislav Ivanovic (Nate Hofmann)

He scored a last-gasp header to win a European trophy. What more do you want? He also collected a satisfying 34 goals and 34 assists in all competitions over his nine seasons at the club. Players he has outscored include: Juan Mata (33), Michael Ballack (26), Hernan Crespo (25), Andriy Shevchenko (22), George Weah (5), and Radamel Falcao (1).

For a defender, those numbers aren’t too shabby. In a sense, he was the inverse Cesar Azpilicueta: originally a center back, eventually converted into an atypical but exceptional fullback.

Unfortunately, Ivanovic, like John Terry, was suspended for the 2012 Champions League final, but he played in 10 of the 13 matches, scoring the decisive goal in extra time against Napoli in the round of 16.

Ivanovic finally moved on after the 2016/17 season, riding off into the Russian sunset with another Premier League winner’s medal around his neck. By then, he had hauled in eleven trophies with Chelsea. Of those, eight came in the 2010’s.

Ivanovic was a defining part of the second wave of Chelsea greatness under Roman Abramovich, bookended by the league titles under Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte. Ivanovic, a serial winner with a penchant for the spectacular.