Petr Cech runs out of complimentary words describing ‘precious’ Chelsea player after hitting milestone

Chelsea technical director Petr Cech has been writing in his regular column on the Chelsea website this morning, a column that is always enjoyable to ponder.

This morning’s subject was speaking on Chelsea captains past and present.

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Cesar Azpilicueta is the current club captain of course and last week he reached the milestone of 200 matches as Chelsea captain, and that led to plenty of praise from the former Chelsea goalkeeper turned board room member.

Cech is a Chelsea legend and he also wore the captain’s armband on occasion. But he believes it takes a special type of person to lead the team.

He says that Azpilicueta led by example and perhaps isn’t always the most vocal captain, but that doesn’t make him a bad captain. Quite the opposite and in fact, Cech almost ran out of complimentary words whilst speaking about the Spanish international!

It’s not only that you captain the team in 200 games. If you count all the trophies, he completed the whole set, including some as captain,” Cech wrote in his column today. “That makes it even more special. Not everyone has that privilege of picking up the trophy.

“Huge congratulations to him. It shows how hard he worked throughout his career, and how well he played. It’s not only about being captain, it’s about playing well enough to be on the pitch regularly and being a key part of the team. He’s been all that.

“When it comes to captain material, there is something in the player, and with experience it comes out. One thing that has always struck me about Azpi is that he is an honest player, he goes on the pitch and does his best, no matter what. He plays with the right commitment, with the right attitude, with his full heart. This is what makes him consistent.

“He is a very good trainer. He prepares the same way as he plays, and that’s the key to his level of performance. You know what you get. He might occasionally make a mistake like everybody does, he might not always have a spectacular game, but you always know you will get a high level of performance from him. This is what is precious.

“If you’re man of the match one game and the worst the next, and you have that up and down, after a while even the manager says ‘I would rather have a guy who delivers a very good performance every week than an inconsistent player’. That’s something Paulo Ferreira had. Azpi has taken that on. Now’s he is the leader of this team and the captain, and that’s not an accident.

“He can let his emotion show. He’s not as vocal a leader as some others, but he leads by example. That’s what you need. Leading by example is the best. It’s not what you say, it’s what you do: how committed you are, what your preparation is like, how professional you are. That shows the other players how it’s done.”

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