Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel, has named the untouchable in his squad ahead of the Blues’ Champions League semi-final first leg tie with Real Madrid on Tuesday night in Spain.
According to Tuchel, captain Cesar Azpilicueta will always be on the pitch for Chelsea, adding that the Spaniard is everything the west London club means because he is reliable.
Tuchel said at his post-match press conference following Chelsea’s 1-0 win against West Ham in the Premier League over the weekend that “Cesar Azpilicueta is everything Chelsea means.”
“He is fantastic, and I want him absolutely to be on the pitch because he is a fantastic captain and a fantastic sportsman.
“He’s everything Chelsea means in my point of view – he is humble, he’s a fighter, he constantly thinks about winning, and he does everything to be in shape every three days. He is a true professional, and there is no work too hard or distance too long for him.
“We used him as a wing-back, and it was a bit hard because he had to do several long runs. It was a bit different for him, but we chose the back three with Andreas, Toni [Rudiger] and Thiago [Silva] because we knew about West Ham’s strength in set-pieces, and we wanted to gain some centimetres in height.