In the 115th minute of the Club World Cup, Chelsea were awarded a penalty after a Cesar Azpilicueta volley was unjustly stopped by the hands of Palmeiras centre back Luan.
Azpilicueta immediately seized the ball, pretending as if he was going to take the penalty, only for us to find out that it was Kai Havertz who would be ready to take the penalty—in an attempt to release the pressure off Kai Havertz.
The incident seemed so subtle that most of the audience didn’t even notice the significance which sums up Azpilicueta's career at Chelsea.
A leader by instinct, Cesar, 32, has been one of the standout Chelsea players of the last decade and remained loyal and resilient in an eventful decade that saw a number of managerial changes at the club.
When he was acquired from Marseille for a fee of 7.0 million, few people knew him and fans were doubtful whether he could compete at the highest level required for a Champions League winning team.
The lack of options in the right-back position helped his cause and he grabbed the chances with both hands.
Being one of the versatile players, Azpilicueta was given a left-back role by manager Jose Mourinho during his stint at Chelsea and has successfully established himself in the left-back position, much to everyone's surprise. The Spaniard ended up winning the Premier League.
Under Mourinho, he endured the lowest point in his Chelsea career in the year Chelsea finished 10th in the premier league points table. But, his unmatched resilience and continued patience were key to his comeback after a tough period.
The arrival of Antonio Conte was a gift for him at Chelsea. The Italian's fascination with impenetrable five-man defence hugely favoured him.
He was again deployed on the right side of the defence, albeit in a much easier but tricky role. The Spaniard, although in a limited role, found himself rediscovered and played an instrumental part in Chelsea's league winning campaign in the 2016-17 season.
One can say his toughest season with Chelsea was 2019-20. The transfer ban on Chelsea held them back tremendously and pushed them as far as to fight for a Champions League spot, especially due to the transfer of the star man Eden Hazard.
It was not an easy task for Lampard, but with Azpilicueta's leadership and inspiring presence coming to his aid, Chelsea managed to escape that. In the meantime, Azpilicueta earned the Europa League glory in Baku.
Fast forward to Tuchel's appointment, he was again used in a 5 man defence, preferred by the German, which won them a much coveted Champions League and made him a champions league winning captain.
This year's Club World Cup was substantial for Azpilicueta as well, given he's the only remaining member of the Chelsea side that lost to Corinthians in the 2013 Club World Cup. More importantly, he could complete the football with that trophy.
Chelsea's win yesterday means Azpilicueta joins an elite list of footballers who won every possible trophy with a certain club and probably boosts the claim of a Chelsea legend.
If this is the year Chelsea bids farewell to him, then barring any unwanted events, he should go down as one of the most underrated leaders in the Premier League era.
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