Chelsea FC - Why Azpilicueta And Bertrand Will Be Crucial For Mourinho After The Break

After a disastrous month of September that saw Chelsea lose at home to Basel in the Champions League and to Everton in the Premier League, October brought joy to the Chelsea contingent, as the team went on to register six wins in as many games in all competition, stabilizing their European campaign and defeating both Manchester City and Arsenal to reaffirm their position domestically.

November, in recent years, hasn’t been kind to Chelsea. They won only once in seven games last season. In the previous two seasons, Chelsea lost three games in the month, that left their campaign in shambles. The carnage wasn’t just limited to the results, as Ray Wilkins, previously and Roberto di Matteo last year lost their jobs in the same fateful months. So when the Blues traveled to St. James’ Park to take on Newcastle on the 2nd of November, many were skeptical from the onset. What followed was a spineless display from the players, as Chelsea went on to lose without scoring a goal. In the last league game, Jose Mourinho’s unbeaten home record was seconds away to being smashed to smithereens by Steve Clark’s West Brom, but luck was on the home team’s side as they narrowly escaped with a 2-2 draw to head into the international break.

Jose Mourinho, on his part, has rubbished suggestions that Chelsea are cursed in November, “I wonai??i??t go for that, it makes no difference. If the game at Newcastle was on October 30 rather than November 2, there is no difference“, but he can’t deny the fact that there are problems which need to be rectified, if the West Londoners are to stem the rot and end the year on a high, thereby increasing their chances of winning silverware come May.

That there exist problems in the personnel being deployed in the 4-2-3-1 shape is no secret, and none is more disconcerting than the existing situation at the full-back positions. Jose Mourinho will perhaps have to rethink his strategy before Chelsea take on West Ham next weekend.

Chelsea, today, have four full-backs in the first team squad. Out of them, two are horribly out of form and one is injured. Ashley Cole isn’t the player he once was and while his contract situation is a matter for another day, the Englishman doesn’t deserve to start for Chelsea based on current form. On the opposite flank, Branislav Ivanovic has owned the right-back position ever since Jose Mourinho had returned. The Serbian offers the manager flexibility to drastically alter the shape of the team midway through the game and deploy a three-man backline and his sheer physical presence during set-pieces at either end of the pitch saw him become the starting right-back for the club. His positive influence, however, ends there as neither is he fast enough to take on a tricky left winger by himself nor is his passing/crossing decent enough to hurt the opposition in any way. Rather, even average teams are happy to let him receive the ball on the right with acres of space and deliver one horrible cross after another. Ergo, only one thing has become a certainty as far as Cole and Ivanovic are concerned; both of them can’t start for Chelsea together.

The abysmal form of Cole should have, otherwise, come as a blessing in disguise for someone like Ryan Bertrand, who has spent most of his Chelsea career in the shadow of his more illustrious compatriot, but after a few fine performances (most importantly against Arsenal in the Capital One cup), he was injured. This is a second successive year, wherein Chelsea have gone into the season with only Bertrand as a cover at left-back and with Cole’s time coming to an end, a decision will be taken about the position. Apart from Bertrand, the club also have Patrick van Aanholt on loan at Vitesse, but so far none of them has risen to the point of being considered as a sure-shot successor of Cole. There won’t be a better time for Bertrand to stake his claim. Chelsea have a reputation of not handling their youth well, but in the case of Bertrand, they have been quite patient. On the contrary, the player himself has failed to rise to the occasion. He hasn’t been poor per say and has in fact been quite stable defensively, but is yet to prove that he’s the man to replace Cole. He is yet to transcend the realms of the average and step into the territory of the extraordinary.

Meanwhile, the one man who has grabbed the opportunity to stake a claim by both hands is Cesar Azpilicueta. Despite being played out of position, at left-back, Cesar has been a revelation. His positional awareness is impressive and is able to keep even the trickier opponents in check by virtue of his pace and industry. At the other end of the pitch, Chelsea are again able to reap benefits of a full-back capable enough to consistently stretch the opposition’s defence by his overlapping runs. This has seen the link-up play drastically improve on the left in the last two games.

And, the Spaniard’s performances haven’t gone unnoticed. “I love these players who play where the team need (sic) them, when the coach wants, whether it is for 90 minutes or coming from the bench for one minute. For them it is the team first, the team second, and the team third – and finally they think about themselves. They train hard every day, they are self-motivated, but they are also pushing others in the same direction. I decided for Azpilicueta to play against Schalke [home] and he was fantastic. On Saturday he was very good again“, remarked Jose after the last game. He went on to state, “Ashley is a top professional, he is a fighter. He has to work hard, to fight hard because the place (in the team) is his place. Of course it is not Azpilicueta’s best position, and it is not a position where Ashley can think that he is in trouble now. No, he has to just work and fight and the position is there waiting for him, no problem.“

Meanwhile, Azpilicueta himself is happy to be playing again, regularly, “Every time I have more minutes I feel better. Provided I can play and be useful to the team Iai??i??d be delighted to stay on the left for the whole season“. Under Rafa Benitez, Cesar was the first choice right-back and started in most games, but as was the case with other players, he has had to prove himself all over again after the arrival of Mourinho. Now having worked excruciatingly hard to reclaim a starting position in the side, it’s difficult to imagine that he’d let go of it easily.

In the next game, Jose is expected to continue with Ivanovic and Azpilicueta. If, however, Ivanovic fails to deliver again, he may be tempted to throw Azpilicueta on the right and start Bertrand (if fit) on the left against Basel in the Champions League. The performances of these two will determine the fate of both Cole and Ivanovic thereafter. Good, consistent performances from Cesar and Ryan will surely not mean the end of the road for their senior counterparts, but game time will surely be split between each competing player for a particular position thereafter and the onus will then be on Ivanovic and Cole to fight and win back their places in the side.

One man, by virtue of his talent and passion is not only improving Chelsea’s game but may just also be pushing two stalwarts into delivering better performances. His versatility has put not one but two positions in the first team in danger. And, he couldn’t have emerged at a better time than November for Chelsea.

Tags: Cesar Azpilicueta Chelsea FC Juan Mata

Chelsea FC – Why Cesar Azpilicueta Will Be Crucial For Mourinho After The Break

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