Thiago Silva delivered on his promise to Chelsea as he guided Brazil to a 4-0 win over Chile in their World Cup qualifier. The 37-year-old centre-half, who set his sights on growing into the Blues' very own Paulo Maldini, captained his country to a seven-point gulf at the top of the South American group ahead of Argentina.
While goalscorers Vinicius Junior, Neymar, Coutinho and Richarlison may have stolen the limelight, Silva marshalled Tite's backline with excellent effect. The veteran defender saw out his 57th clean sheet for Brazil alongside former Paris Saint-Germain teammate and former Chelsea transfer target Marquinhos.
Silva's Rolls-Royce moment — which raked in thousands of likes on social media — inside the final half an hour of the tie saw the Blues defender race back into his own half like a leopard after an antelope. The Brazil captain threw himself at the ball to dispossess his opposition, typifying a great display.
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His longevity at the highest level is to behold; from lining up alongside David Beckham in the Champions League for AC Milan to Neymar on the international stage, Silva is staying true to his word — and follows on in Maldini's footsteps. Chelsea's number six has vowed to play into the golden years of his career.
"I hope I can do the same thing that Maldini did at Milan, playing until he was 40 or 41 years old," Silva told Chelsea's official website. "When you're young, you think you're a superhero.
"I'd play one game a day, so in terms of recovery, it was a lot quicker. Whereas, now 24 hours seems like no time at all in which to recover."
Silva, who sees his contract at Chelsea run until June 2023, continued by detailing his plan to prolong his success in west London, having already revelled in European and World glory. Tuchel's right-hand man has proved to be a fantastic coup by Frank Lampard, and with an array of defensive talent at Cobham in the pipeline, Silva can pass on his wisdom.
"You've always got to be active and up to speed with the new recovery methods out there," he said. "I've got lots of things I do at home like physio work, and nowadays I've got a better diet than before.
"You need to fuel yourself well, not with the bad stuff. This is part of what I've got to do so that I can optimise this recovery process, which for me needs to be quicker."
Football fans love cliches, so it'd be rude not to say that Silva is ageing like fine wine.
