Right back: Cesar Azpilicueta
There is no doubting that the current decade has been one of blue dominance, with the two best teams in England over the last ten years being Manchester City and Chelsea. As far as right-backs go, Azpilicueta is right up there with the best of them, and had to beat off competition from current City full-back Kyle Walker and ex-City right-back Pablo Zabaleta.
Cesar Azpilicueta arrived at Chelsea in 2012, just months after the London club had lifted the Champions League, following 2 excellent seasons in France with Olympique Marseille, preceding which he had broken out in La Liga for Osasuna. In his first season with the Blues, Azpilicueta lifted the Europa League after the club dropped out of the Champions League. That season, he completed 69 tackles at a success rate of 82.1%, as well as making 1.6 interceptions per game, and providing 2 assists for good measure.
Always considered a defensively-minded player, contrary to the modern use of full-backs as attacking threats, 'Dave' is equally comfortable at centre-back and left-back as well. Although not the most physically gifted, his tenacity and work rate enable him to consistently make things difficult for opposition attackers. Across the last 7 seasons in the Premier League, he has a tackle success rate of 76.6%, and averages 1.9 interceptions per game, which is not to be scoffed at, as it would not look out of place for even a top quality ball-winning midfielder.
A model professional, Azpilicueta leads a quiet life away from the pitch and maintains his fitness excellently. A measure of his professionalism and reliability can be seen in the fact that, over the last 4 years, he has missed only 325 minutes of league action, even playing every single minute of Chelsea's victorious 2016/17 season, no mean feat for an outfield player. Now 30, and in his prime as a defender, he remains ever dependable and continues to churn out performances for club and country alike.
