When Cesar Azpilicueta joined Chelsea he was the new kid coming in to a squad of Champions League winners. A decade on and he is welcoming in a host of new faces as captain and a reminder of what can be achieved at the club.
He is no longer the reigning European or world champion but he is a winner of both trophies and stands to show the success of both himself and the club in the past decade. The 33-year-old is slowly moving on now. Used less and less frequently, he has a smaller role to play on the pitch.
There is little that the Spaniard can do in 90 minutes that Reece James can't. Thiago Silva is just as much a leader despite his lack of English language. In 2021 Azpilicueta was very much still central to the team though. Now he is occupying a very different responsibility.
