Chelsea: The rise and fall of Antonio Rudiger with the Blues
Once Chelsea’s best central defender, Antonio Rudiger has been hit with a harsh reality that his stock has decreased in the eyes of his manager.
10 December 2019: Chelsea celebrates a 2-1 victory over Lille in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge to secure its spot in the knockout phase. The significance of this date goes beyond the end result; it signaled the return of Antonio Rudiger after an 84-day absence following a groin injury suffered prior in September.
In that period, the Blues recorded ten wins, however, they only managed four clean sheets out of the 18 games that they were Rudiger-less. This justified the fanfare over the Germans selection against the French side. He would miss just six matches throughout the continuation of the campaign as Frank Lampard had seemingly stumbled upon his saviour in defence; a competent, mature character who could marshal those around him.
Unfortunately, the facts did not entirely support this statement. Chelsea would only achieve seven further shutouts with Rudiger in the starting XI, winning 50 percent of the fixtures he was involved with (12 of 24). Over the summer, it became evident for all to see that Lampard needed an overhaul—or at least a drastic change in operations—in his back line. Marcos Alonso’s future appeared uncertain—as did Fikayo Tomori’s—yet, few questions were raised over Rudiger’s role at Chelsea as the new season rumbled on.
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The 27-year-old’s inclusion had previously been justified. He was a consistent figure in the league for Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri since he joined from Roma in 2017. He was coming off the back of Confederations Cup triumph with Germany and a second place finish in Serie A. Yet, as the sun started setting earlier and the days became shorter as the newest Premier League adventure begun, not all was rosy in the Rudiger camp.
The signing of Thiago Silva was an early signal that someone’s centreback position was under threat. Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma initially looked nervously over at one another, junior to Rudiger in terms of age and experience.
Lampard flipped this narrative by playing the pair in the opening tie against Brighton & Hove Albion, leaving Rudiger on the bench. Chelsea had tried this combination on match week one of 2019/20—losing 4-0 to Manchester United—mainly because Ruidger was still undergoing knee surgery. Now fully fit and functional, he watched on as the Blues rather unconvincingly beat Brighton 3-1. At home to Liverpool, Rudiger’s name was not even amongst the substitutes bench, a pattern that continued for the next six games. Meanwhile, Christensen received a red card versus the Reds, Silva’s debut coincided with a 3-3 draw away to West Bromwich Albion and a personal mistake for the Baggies’ second goal—plus another 3-3, this time with Southampton.
Chelsea had not completely amended its problems—the introduction of Edouard Mendy has settled a lot of nerves—so why was Rudiger not included? Perhaps there was unrest between player and manager? Lampard quashed this by stating he and the player had a positive relationship prior to their European clash with Krasnodar. “I have always had a positive relationship with him,” Lampard said about the German veteran, diplomatically continuing with “everything I do, I do for the club and selections and the team. At the minute, sometimes you have to have players out of the squad and it is big news for everybody.”
It seems bigger news now, considering it looked likely Rudiger would be transferred before the window closed on the 6th of October amidst talks of his continual exclusion. As it stands, he is still in the Chelsea squad; for how long is another question. Silva’s dominate display in the stalemate at Manchester United confirmed his quality and alongside Zouma, Lampard hopes to build a partnership for the short-term future, at least. Christensen and Tomori also remain on the roster and probably higher up the pecking order than Rudiger. Malang Sarr is another waiting in the wings, the talented Frenchman sent on loan to Porto to enhance his skills ahead of taking on the English division.
Chelsea could have a special visitor at the match in Krasnodar. dark. Next
Maybe because of Lampard’s loyalty to Chelsea, he preferences those who have a greater affiliation with the club; Tomori has been a Blue since 2005, Christensen since 2013 and Rudiger just three years. Whatever the case, Rudiger is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only way out is to smash through with some sterling performances. Otherwise, he will be squashed and tossed aside.