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Is Cesar Azpilicueta No. 1 in the Premier League?
Vendetta 10 years ago Edited
Chelsea FC, Egypt 202 3025

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher think so.

"For technical defending, not making a mistake, not being in the wrong position, not getting caught out… I don’t see [Azpilicueta] making a mistake. And I have to say the Chelsea defenders aren’t far behind him; Gary Cahill, John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic. But Azpilicueta, when I watch him, he’s as near to perfect as possible when it comes to defending; he’s immaculate.-Gary Neville. Source: Sky Sports.

I totally agree. I think those Chelsea players, all of them, they defend properly. We see that in terms of the number of goals they’ve conceded, the clean sheets they keep. Azpilicueta is an out-and-out defender. You very rarely see anybody get the better of him. He’d be my number one [in the league].-Jamie Carragher."

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  • History
Showing previous versions of this text.

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher think so.

For technical defending, not making a mistake, not being in the wrong position, not getting caught out… I don’t see [Azpilicueta] making a mistake. And I have to say the Chelsea defenders aren’t far behind him; Gary Cahill, John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic. But Azpilicueta, when I watch him, he’s as near to perfect as possible when it comes to defending; he’s immaculate.

-Gary Neville. Source: Sky Sports.

I totally agree. I think those Chelsea players, all of them, they defend properly. We see that in terms of the number of goals they’ve conceded, the clean sheets they keep. Azpilicueta is an out-and-out defender. You very rarely see anybody get the better of him. He’d be my number one [in the league].

-Jamie Carragher.

Comments
Eden17Hazard17 10 years ago
Chelsea FC 157 4232

Cesar is the best FB in the PL at the moment, no doubt. Yes, Brana is exceptional as he defends well and attacks just like any FB, but Cesar has that spark. Luis is a great attacker but is caught out sometimes as he needs to adapt to the PL. Only others from other clubs that are close are Zabaleta and ...... yeah that's about it.

Cesar is one player who has definitely benefited from Mourinho.

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Tuanis 10 years ago
Manchester United, England 87 2311

a little out of topic, but I think O'Shea is more like Ivanovic if it were to compare a player with him.

Azpi is great but, if you had to build a team with any players you liked would you really choose him as your RB/LB?

imo players like Lahm, Piszcek, Alaba, or even Ivanovic are still a little ahead of him.

Could be the best in the EPL but at this point he should have already won some kind of recognition or an award to back up that thought.

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Marcus2011 10 years ago
Chelsea FC, England 277 6501

Let's look at it from this point . Reason why Dave is playing left back position is because Ivanovic was and still is occupying right back positions . So , basically Ivanovic forced Azpi to adapt to left back position . At which Dave turned out to be excellent so that forced our veteran Cole out of the starting 11 and now still keeping Luis on the bench .

To me Ivanvoic is complete defender and full back IMO . He can defend set pieces , score , defend flanks , and lead attack or counter attack . One problem , he can't cross well , but other qualities just overshadow this minus .

No doubt , Azpi is probably better at defending and his tactical awareness is better but going into attack , he is little clumsy and his heading at set pieces is very bad . So, i think overall Ivanovic is better at everything . More complete .

In fact both are fantastic players and we are lucky to have them . And both are keeping new signing ( world class ) Luis on the bench . I think it is question of who we going to face and based on opponent , particular player would start .

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Marcus2011 10 years ago
Chelsea FC, England 277 6501

@thegame

Easier would be ask who or what he does not hate .

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Lodatz 10 years ago Edited
Tottenham Hotspur, England 150 4992

To be fair, I think what undermines Neville's claim is the fact that Cesar Azpilicueta simply seems to be the new version of.... Gary Neville. He's defensively intelligent, plays the angles and odds cleverly, and mainly keeps his flank safe, tidy, and perhaps above all: boring.

And there's something to be said for that, certainly. It helped Neville keep England's right flank safe through to 3 international quarter-finals, and earned him the name: Reliable.

But, and here's the truth, he really was never MORE than: Reliable. He was a very good defender, but he was never in the elite tier of full-backs. I think the same is true of Azpi, especially when set against Luis, Ivanovic and Ashley Cole before them. I reckon Neville is just seeing himself in Azpi and doesn't realize his own bias.

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  • History
Showing previous versions of this text.

To be fair, I think what undermines Neville's claim is the fact that Cesar Azpilicueta simply seems to be the new version of.... Gary Neville. He's defensively intelligent, plays the angles and odds cleverly, and mainly keeps his flank safe, tidy, and perhaps above all: boring.

And there's something to be said for that, certainly. It helped Neville keep England's right flank safe through to 3 international quarter-finals, and earned him the name: Reliable.

But, and here's the truth, he really was never MORE than: Reliable. He was a very good defender, but he was never in the elite tier. I think the same is true of Azpi, especially when set against Luis, Ivanovic and Terry. I reckon Neville is just seeing himself in Azpi and doesn't realize his own bias.

To be fair, I think what undermines Neville's claim is the fact that Cesar Azpilicueta simply seems to be the new version of.... Gary Neville. He's defensively intelligent, plays the angles and odds cleverly, and mainly keeps his flank safe, tidy, and perhaps above all: boring.

And there's something to be said for that, certainly. It helped Neville keep England's right flank safe through to 3 international quarter-finals, and earned him the name: Reliable.

But, and here's the truth, he really was never MORE than: Reliable. He was a very good defender, but he was never in the elite tier of full-backs. I think the same is true of Azpi, especially when set against Luis, Ivanovic and Terry. I reckon Neville is just seeing himself in Azpi and doesn't realize his own bias.

rayrex7 10 years ago
Real Madrid, Croatia 26 797

Azpi in the Epl is like carvajal in la liga both underrated, but overrated by their fans
End of story

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TheGame 10 years ago
Manchester United 104 1380

@Lodatz, completely agree +1. Just like Neville was with SAF, Azpilicueta is a reliable player for Mourinho.

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tiki_taka 10 years ago Edited
Barcelona, France 367 9768

But he got a point, some players may have limitted potential, if they do always the perfect choice they are still better than many better players than them potentially.
Laurent Blanc and Didier Deschamps got this, they werent the most physical or technical but they did what is asked for them perfectly in their own way, and it paid off.
Intelligence of a player is underrated comparing to potential, and thats was should be pointed out of this comparisons.

Varane is the same style of players, he is called '' Mr Clean '' because he does the right move the right time and Football is all about this.

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  • History
Showing previous versions of this text.

But he got a point, some players may have limitted potential, if they do always the perfect choice they are still better than many better players than them potentially.
Laurent Blanc and Didier Deschamps got this, they werent the most physical or technical but they did what is asked for them perfectly in their own way, and it paid off.
Intelligence of a player is underrated comparing to potential, and thats was should be pointed out of this comparisons.

Marcus2011 10 years ago
Chelsea FC, England 277 6501

@lodatz +1

Mmm now that i think about it ... Certainly makes sense . They are very similar .

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mladen 10 years ago
Manchester United, Yugoslavia 253 2319

@ Vendetta, I have eyes and know how performing almost every player in EPL. Azpi is class, but CFC can play without him, Without Cahil or Ivanovic it would be more difficult ..

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Dynastian98 10 years ago
Real Madrid 483 7140

I'd like to put this out there: I believe Gary Cahill is one of the best CB's in the world. I rate him immensely.

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raimondo90 10 years ago Edited
Valencia, Argentina 89 2492

Well, following whoscored and their pretty accurate rating, Baines is currently the best Left Back in the premire league.
Current Season League leader Baines Rating of 7.5
Current Monthly leader Baines Rating of 8.0
Current weakly leader Clichy Rating of 8.5

Azpi has a season rating of 7.1
Clichy has a season rating of 7.2
Bertrand has a season rating of 7.2

Im not saying ratings are everything, but they are important as its the most objective data you can use.

In my opinion Azpi offers little going forward and nowadays its expected that fullbacks contribute to attack. Also he is very predictable as he is really weak with his left foot and 9 out of 10 he has to play towards the inside with his right foot. that has also been noted many many many times by the spanish speaking comentators and analysists.

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  • History
Showing previous versions of this text.

Well, following whoschored and their pretty accurate rating, Baines is currently the best Left Back in the premire league.
Current Season League leader Baines Rating of 7.5
Current Monthly leader Baines Rating of 8.0
Current weakly leader Clichy Rating of 8.5

Azpi has a season rating of 7.1

Im not saying ratings are everything, but they are important as its the most objective data you can use.

In my opinion Azpi offers little going forward and nowadays its expected that fullbacks contribute to attack. Also he is very predictable as he is really weak with his left foot and 9 out of 10 he has to play towards the inside with his right foot. that has also been noted many many many times by the spanish speaking comentators and analysists.

Well, following whoschored and their pretty accurate rating, Baines is currently the best Left Back in the premire league.
Current Season League leader Baines Rating of 7.5
Current Monthly leader Baines Rating of 8.0
Current weakly leader Clichy Rating of 8.5

Azpi has a season rating of 7.1
Clichy has a season rating of 7.2
Bertrand has a season rating of 7.2

Im not saying ratings are everything, but they are important as its the most objective data you can use.

In my opinion Azpi offers little going forward and nowadays its expected that fullbacks contribute to attack. Also he is very predictable as he is really weak with his left foot and 9 out of 10 he has to play towards the inside with his right foot. that has also been noted many many many times by the spanish speaking comentators and analysists.

Vendetta 10 years ago
Chelsea FC, Egypt 202 3025

I'd like to inform you two that Cahill had his best time last season, but now he's struggling - to the point where 19 year old Kurt Zouma is challenging him for the spot. Ask any Chelsea fan, not just me, and they'll tell you he's been shaky at the back.

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Marcus2011 10 years ago
Chelsea FC, England 277 6501

Go ahead Dyna Ask me , I will answer

And I will confirm it , Cahill has been shaky but not yet to the point to loose his spot to Zouma .

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Vendetta 10 years ago
Chelsea FC, Egypt 202 3025

@rai: It's unfair to judge Azpi's attacking when he isn't even playing in his natural position. Check some videos of Azpi on the right for Chelsea in 2012/13 and you'll see him bombing forward and getting assists. By the way, Baines and Coleman are brilliant attacking fullbacks but they suck at defending. You can compare all three's defending if you rewatch Everton-Chelsea this season. You'll see who is the better defender. And if Azpi was playing on the right, you'd also see who is betterbat going forawrd and still keeping a defensive shape.

@Marcus: He's getting close to losing it though.

Also, I dont think Ivanovic or Cahill do any better at defending, Most of the goals we concede come from the right side of the defense, rarely the left. Ivanovic may be amazing at going forawrd but just like Baines, he can't balance attack wuth defense, thus creating a gap on the right. Cahill is physically immense but without Terry backing him up, you should expect mistakes from him.

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Dynastian98 10 years ago
Real Madrid 483 7140

Hey, I love Ivanovic. The man is amazing. And I have heard some Chelsea fans say that Zouma has potential to be better than Varane. I wouldn't be surprised since Varane has lost almost all form recently, and is performing very poorly.

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Vendetta 10 years ago
Chelsea FC, Egypt 202 3025

A defender's first job is to defend. All those fancy assists, attacks, overlaps and goals Ivanovic has may catch the eye of someone just looking at stats or the results, but to a Chelsea fan, it means very little if that also causes us to concede later in the game. If only people also looked at the reason to why teams concede instead of just looking at how they helped in the attack.

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Vendetta 10 years ago
Chelsea FC, Egypt 202 3025

Now tell me has has nothing to offer offensively. Just wait until Ivanovic loses his touch and Azpi gets his place back. He'll not only be the best defender, but the best attacking fullback as well.

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tiki_taka 10 years ago
Barcelona, France 367 9768

^ If you conede one and help to score 3 then you are performent. I know defence is very important at Chelsea and their fans but mostly what matters most is to win a game.
A full back main role is to defend, its a bonus when he scores from headers and set pieces. For an LB or RB, limitting their role to defence is not fair.
Other clubs philosophies are very demanding offensively toward wingers, and they are forgiven their few mistakes in the back if they are decisive up front. ( only if they are decisive ).

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zminami 10 years ago
Chelsea, Indonesia 0 1

I think there are so many good defender in PL, but Chelsea's is the best!

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