Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has spoken candidly this week with The Telegraph about his changing role at Stamford Bridge and how he’s always pushing in training to earn more minutes on the pitch.
Azpilicueta has been a superb servant to the club since he signed back in 2012 for £6.5m, but of late the Spaniard has seen his playing time diminish with the emergence of positional rival Reece James.
The 31-year-old may have lost his regular right-back position to the young Englishman, but the skipper hasn’t lost any of his professionalism, saying: “You know, I push and I train hard to get as many minutes as possible, when the manager needs me to be ready for him, but you know when I’m out I try to help from the stands.”
A defensively solid operator who perhaps lacks thrust going forward by comparison to James, the Spaniard added: “I want my team to win and to fight for every trophy. That’s the responsibility I have and I feel I have to show the example every day to push my team-mates, to help, in this case Reece. And I think it’s very important we fight together and we are not selfish just thinking of our own situations.”
Azpilicueta’s efforts in training haven’t gone without reward as Frank Lampard continues to utilise his experience. The 25-cap Spain international has appeared nine times this season for the Blues and started this week against Rennes as Chelsea qualified for the last 16 in the Champions League.
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Amassing 276 Premier League appearances as a Chelsea player is no mean feat and the versatile defender isn’t finished yet.
Capable of playing centrally, as a left-back or in his more natural right-back position, Azpilicueta still has plenty to give as part of Lampard’s squad, although his days as the undisputed first-choice full-back could be behind him owing to the form of his younger counterpart.
For certain fixtures, the experience and nous of the Spaniard could be invaluable. It’s unlikely that Chelsea will dominate the ball in every game, and there will be days when his defensive acumen could be more suitable to Lampard’s plans than James’ attacking prowess.
