Cesar Azpilicueta announced that he will be retiring from football after this season this morning. It is an announcement that nobody had really expected. After all, we were all ready to debate Thomas Tuchel’s squad selection today, with the likes of Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill being left out. Instead, it is our former captain who ended up grabbing the headlines.
It also felt like the perfect occasion to pen him an open letter. Of course, I do not have any right to speak for ‘every Chelsea fan’. After all, it is merely my personal experience. I just hope that the admiration and love for “Dave” shines through this, and every supporter can relate to it in some way.
An open letter to Chelsea’s Champions League-winning captain Cesar Azpilicueta on his retirement
Dear Cesar,
It has been quite a while since you pulled on the Royal Blue jersey. The club has missed you badly. The quality, the experience, the professionalism, we could have done with all of that over these past few years. That just goes to show the mark you left on his club. That even 11 years and 508 appearances did not feel enough. But let’s start from the beginning.
The summer of 2012 was a great time to be a Chelsea fan. Newly crowned champions of Europe, all of us felt on top of the world. A long chase for the cup with the big ears had come to an end. But so had an era.
The likes of Frank Lampard, John Terry, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole and several others were in the twilight of their careers. Didier Drogba left after winning Chelsea the Champions League with what we then thought was his last kick of the ball for the club.
As a club, we had somehow reached our peak and a crossroad at the same time. The next generation’s heroes needed to be brought in. That summer’s business reflected that. Eden Hazard. We all know what he went on to achieve. Oscar. The mercurial Brazilian, fresh off scoring a hattrick in the FIFA U20 World Cup final. Marko Marin. The German Messi. Victor Moses. Wigan Athletic’s rising star.
Amid all this, it was easy to overlook the Spanish right-back signed from Marseille for a transfer fee in the region of £7 million. It was the kind of signing that gets lost in the shuffle, ends up on loan and finally just moves on without much fanfare.
Instead, you were able to make your mark from the very first season. But even then, nobody could have predicted what was to come.
I won’t bore everybody with the entire story. We all know it. The trophies are there for anyone who does not. The Premier League titles. The FA Cup. The League Cup. And the Champions League, won as captain. Your arms must have been tired lifting silverware at some point.
It was not supposed to go this way though. You were the signing that was not supposed to work out. The one who had been brought in for squad depth. The one who was expected to end up stuck in a never-ending loan cycle or warming the bench.
Instead, you solidified yourself as one of the greatest players in the history of this club. And now, as you head towards retirement, I would be remiss not to mention what a privilege it was to witness a legendary career unfold week in, week out.
Thank you for the memories. Thank you for everything. And don’t forget, you will always be just “Dave” to us.
Best wishes,
From every Chelsea fan