Cesar Azpilicueta: Just how good is he?

Cesar Azpilicueta has arguably been Chelsea’s signing of the season. His first month or so would have been difficult as he had to make do with second fiddle to the in-form Branislav Ivanovic as well as adapt to living in a new country. But as with the controversial appointment of interim boss Rafa Benitez at the helm, the player made the right back berth his own. Some would credit Benitez’s rotation policy, nevertheless, it would have been hard to see past Cesar’s exemplary ability and work ethic. Since he’s become a regular in the interim’s first team plans, it became apparent to the fans that Chelsea, through Emenalo, Di Matteo or whoever, have come up with a gem of a signing. His performances for Chelsea did not go unnoticed in his native Spain as La Roja Boss Vicente Del Bosque called him up to the National side for the first time ever in February of this year. He duly impressed on his debut as Spain emerged victorious in their friendly 3-1 win over Uruguay in Doha.  He has perhaps been seen as a step up from worrisome Jose Bosingwa, who left the club only to duly be relegated from the Premier League with QPR during the current campaign. Cesar has been excellent in defense, but he isn’t exactly Phillip Lahm; and here’s why..

It is perhaps stating the obvious, but Cesar is one of the best right backs in the Premier League, and it can be argued that he is one of the best right backs to have ever played for the club since Abrahmovic’s takeover in 2003. He is solid at the back, his concentration is immense and his anticipation is world class. He was one of the key performers during our last encounter against AVB’s Tottenham as he kept danger man Gareth Bale at bay for the entire game, which helped us on our way to 3rd place.

My only concern with Azpilicueta is that he has not been the best going forward; he seems to lack the courage or confidence to beat his opposite number and whip crosses in. In most cases, he looks for the easiest option in the pass and rarely, if ever, switches play to the alternate flank. We have not seen many balls crossed in from him since his crosses usually get blocked off by the opposing left back or winger. He tends to allow the attacking trio of Oscar, Mata and Hazard to do the creative play and does not pose a threat going forward at all.  When examining the oh-so controversial stats, we have to be frank and say that 4 assists in 27 league games is hardly good enough; especially when compared with Phillip Lahm’s 18. Perhaps it is an unfair comparison, although it is imperative to compare our players with the best in order to improve and strengthen. Some may argue that providing for Fernando Torres is an altogether challenging task when compared with whomever Lahm has to service, and you probably have a point but yet again, statistics play a part.

In the 27 Prem games that Cesar played in this season, he has attempted 87 crosses, with only 25 reaching their intended targets. Should we take the Torres excuse into account, we don’t need to look past his last game for Marseille to invalidate that argument. During his last game for Marseille, Cesar attempted 9 crosses with only 3 being accurate, i.e. 33%. Need I say more? it is not surprising that his overall short pass average stands at 80.8%; especially since almost all his passes are 5-yard ones that even Ramires would be expected to complete. Even with this stat, it is troubling to note that he has missed over 300 short passes in the Premier League in 27 matches in addition to 100 passes in only 8 Europa league ties. When looking at his dribbling stats, we see that Cesar, in 27 league games, has only ever attempted to dribble past his opponent 7 times. On reflection, that isn’t the best and we definitely expect better of him next season. 

Cesar Azpilicueta was definitely one of the better performers at Chelsea this season and with only £8m spent to lure him to the Bridge, he was an absolute bargain. He has been solid and consistent whenever he’s played and is always fired up no matter what the occasion is. His tackling and overall defensive work is remarkable. We would although like to see Cesar become one of the best, and hopefully with a bit more attacking panache, he will be a much greater asset in the squad for next season.