Chelsea: Why Jorginho remains the midfield architect under Lampard

In Chelsea's 3-2 win against Norwich at Carrow Road last Saturday, what seemed the impossible happened. Midfielder Jorginho's name was sung loud and clear by the traveling fans. This is in stark contrast to the booing and criticism he had to face last season.

There is no secret that Maurizio Sarri's time at Chelsea was full of fan discontent. For whatever reason, the club's match-going fans never warmed up to him. All through the season, there was frustration regarding his stubborn tactics and team selections at Stamford Bridge.

Former manager Maurizio Sarri with Jorginho.

One player who suffered because of the irrational mood in the fanbase was Jorginho. The Italian international joined Chelsea from Napoli in the summer of 2018 in the same deal that saw Sarri join the club.

It did not take any time for the world to realize how highly Sarri rated Jorginho and why it was so important for Chelsea to beat Manchester City to his signature. The 60-year-old coach's attempt to change the Blues's playing style revolved around the former Napoli midfielder.

However, as time passed, the central midfielder started becoming the center point of all criticism of this Chelsea team. Be it the debate between his and Ngolo Kante's position or him being blamed for Chelsea's defensive frailties and lack of incisiveness in attack, everything was pinned on Jorginho's head.

When Sarri left the club for Juventus this summer, there were major doubts on Jorginho's future. It was widely believed that the Italian will struggle to fit into another system and a new manager's plans. However, the reality has turned out to be completely different, with Frank Lampard instead making him a central pillar of his team.

Since taking charge, Chelsea's record goalscorer has praised him multiple times. In a press conference post the Blues' heartbreaking loss to Liverpool in the Super Cup, Lampard said

“I thought Jorginho was fantastic the other night. He was constantly talking to people around him and constantly talking to the backline to drag them up and playing with quality. The players are the ones who drive that when they get out there. He is a fantastic player. I saw that on the first day of training in Dublin. Talking about his attitude, he is a driver of the group and he has real quality"

Last week, the Englishman once again highlighted his importance in an interview to Sky Sports saying

‘I watched him last year and I thought he finished the season really well but you only really know a player when you see them day in and day out. ‘From the first day of training he showed me instantly his quality and his attitude. ‘I am actually fortunate to have Jorginho.’

Quite clearly, the new Chelsea boss has been impressed as much as the previous one. He was labeled as "Sarri' son" and widely seen as somebody that only figured in the Chelsea XI week in week out due to the manager's bias. In fact, last year, the midfielder started 37 out of Chelsea's 38 Premier League games. However, it has barely taken a month under a new coach for Jorginho to dismiss any such claims.

It is clear that his leadership skills are something that's won the heart of Lampard. This is something every Chelsea fan would have noticed since his first match for the club. The former player is visibly the most vocal voice in the Chelsea team.

Time and again, he is seen guiding his teammates and helping them make the right decision. With the current group of players lacking any sort of leader especially after the exit of David Luiz, these are certainly very important qualities for a player to have.

Above that, it's his mentality that is bound to impress even his biggest critics. The constant flak he received from fans and pundits is bound to anyone down. However, Jorginho is not one of them and instead has fought his way to make the Stamford Bridge faithful change their mind. His interview after the Super Cup spoke a lot about him, where he said

'I was a little sad seeing people thinking I arrived here only because of [Sarri]. I arrived here because of my hard work, my day to day work, my sacrifices.It's a challenge for me to show the fans that thanks to my work it's why I got here. I want to take this opportunity to have a good season and also for my name to be recognised by Jorginho who plays for Chelsea, not Jorginho who only works with Sarri."

His willingness to fight for the badge is bound to make fans embrace him and feel that he is someone who is one of them.

Criticism

But beyond that, it looks the Italian is finally going to get the appreciation he deserves. Rio Ferdinand famously said after Chelsea's 2-0 defeat against Arsenal in January that

"Cant run, no assists, cant assist".

This was a common opinion in the British media. While he was a subject of extreme criticism, it is debatable whether his performances deserved it. He was clearly doing what Sarri wanted from him and additionally statistics do not back up all achievements of a footballer.

His off-the-ball capabilities were doubted the most. He was labeled as a "defensive liability" by most and someone who was unable to give adequate protection to the back four. While he is someone who is not the typical English defensive midfielder who lunges into tackles, it is unfair to say that he cannot defend.

According to squawka, Jorginho covered the third most distance (418.8km) for any player in the Premier League last season with only Jack Cork and Luka Milivojevic above him.

He had a better rate of winning tackles per 90 than prominent players in his position like Sergio Busquets and Fernandinho and also more interceptions per 90 than Fernandinho. According to Opta, no player in the Premier League's famed 'top 6' won possession more times than him. In fact only three midfielders (Wilfred Ndidi, Declan Rice, Ruben Neves) in the entire league made more ball recoveries than him through the course of the season.

While he is known for passing ability, he received a lot of flak for not getting even a single assist. Quite simply, its completely unfair to expect to play so deep to get assists. His role for Sarri was never to play the final but to help retain and recycle possession. One has never seen the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Xavi or Sergio Busquets being looked down upon for a relatively low assist count or even being judged on that criteria.

Further, one cannot ignore the fact that some better finishing from the Blues forward would have made the stat look a lot different. Time and again, the Italian did create some great chances but the ball did not go into the back of the net. Lampard himself downplayed the talks around his assists in an interview to sky sports by saying

"I have a bit of an issue with assists because I think they can be a bit false. An assist can be because of a goal from your pass or a deflection from your corner. There is quite a wide spectrum.

What I see in Jorginho is a quality of pass and I want to see him use his range. He played some great through-balls against Liverpool and I know he can do it. He can do what’s asked of him and he is eager to do it. I love his spirit, how he trains and how he plays. I keep going on about that but it’s infectious and it’s important"

Despite recording the most completed passes in the league last season, he was accused of playing passes that did not contribute to anything significant.

It's worth noting that only David Luiz played more through balls than Jorginho in last season's Premier League. In fact, the Italian had the more accurate ones across the whole league. Further, no player in the 'top 6' player more passes in the final third than him. He also played the most forward passes across the English first division.

Moreover, Jorginho's best qualities are not represented in any sort of numbers. His intelligence to occupy the right space for teammates to find him help him continuously get on the ball and dictate play.

Further, his ability to receive the ball in tight areas and capability to quickly release it with one-touch help the team transition from defense to attack at a fast rate. He also has shown a great sense of judgment in order to play the right pass and hence not losing possession easily.

Slowly but surely, all the criticism that Jorginho faced is fading. With time, the Italian is adapting to the league and becoming a stronger player.

More and people are seeing his quality. Frank Lampard has made his admiration for him clear from day one. Probably, Sarri going away and him being to build his individual identity is the best thing that could have happened to the 27-year-old. while his role this season might differ from what he was asked to do last year, he is still clearl going to be the architect of Chelsea's midfield.

Edited by S Chowdhury