César Azpilicueta: “There are similarities between Tuchel and Luis Enrique” | Soccer Eurocup 2021

César Azpilicueta (Zizur Mayor, Navarra, 31 years old) entered the Eurocup list after proclaiming himself European champion as captain of Chelsea. After the draws with Sweden and Poland, Luis Enrique granted him the title in his quest to give the team a higher hierarchy and defensive solidity.

Question. Has the pressure been taken off after going to the second round?

Answer. We have fulfilled the first objective, which was to qualify, although not first, as we wanted. We had the responsibility that we are Spain and when you get to the last game and you can stay out there is tension, but it is part of football.

P. He had to go out to explain a video in which it was seen how they did not greet the people who were waiting for them at the hotel door.

R. It is a shot of a few seconds in which you see that not many players say hello and since we did not have good results, it seemed that there was a disconnection with the people, but after each game we went to say hello and we thanked the affection. Criticisms have to be accepted, you have to learn from that. Sometimes, transmitting a little more when the results are not good helps to prevent everything from being so negative. From there, against Slovakia we were able to live the day that we all needed.

P. Do the memes and jokes that have been made with some players on the networks bother you?

R. In this concentration we lived through the vaccination, with many people against it and we were on everyone’s lips. That negative environment was created against footballers. We accepted whatever it was, it was not our decision. A somewhat negative environment was created, the results did not help and everything was magnified.

P. You created an e-sports team and on campus they dedicate part of it to managing social networks.

R. When I created the Falcons one of the objectives I had was to bring children and parents closer to social networks. It is a new world where there are problems that children do not know how to express. The important thing is the proper use of social networks, because education is the basis for society to improve and grow. A few years ago social networks did not exist and suddenly they are part of our lives, it is not easy to manage it and it was something that I put a lot of emphasis on when I started the project.

P. What has changed for you from when you joined the national team in 2013?

R. When I debuted there was a group of players who had won everything. My role has changed, with more experience I can contribute other kinds of things.

P. Have you led any youth talks?

R. It’s not just the talks, it’s the day-to-day, in training, in coexistence … Young people are experiencing a competition like the Eurocup for the first time and the start was not as we wanted. It was important that we remain calm and balanced because it was a matter of time before the goals arrived, that is what Busquets, De Gea, Koke and Thiago have also transmitted. With a good start it would have been the other way around, we should have stopped their feet to keep their balance, which is very important in a tournament like this.

P. At Chelsea he is central and his return to the national team, after three years absent, is back again.

R. Until January, when we changed coaches and Tuchel arrived, he had played as a winger. I’ve been in the federation for half my life. The first time I came here when I was 15 years old I played as a right winger, in the European Under-19 that we won in 2007 I played the final and part of the championship as a midfielder, I was a left back to the European Championship in France and I was a center back to the World Cup in Russia.

P. Do you perceive that your entry into the team has been to contribute your job to defense?

R. I play as I am, but with experience you feel another type of role in the most difficult moments. I feel the responsibility to defend and in attack to provide different options because we are an offensive team and we have to go up and occupy the spaces well.

P. Do you need to be more forceful in the back with that offensive style?

R. In the first two games the control was overwhelming, but they came to us twice with great danger. We work as a block, we do not depend on stars, we do not do the work for others. We all work defensively and offensively, but when they come to our area we have to be more forceful.

P. With Chelsea they won the Champions League pressing very high, are there points in common between Tuchel and Luis Enrique?

R. There are similarities, at Chelsea we also like to push up, we are not a team that gives space to the rival and allows them to have the ball. Here the idea is the same, press and recover as soon as possible, and when we have the ball look for spaces and fear patience. We have different player profiles, but the idea of ​​the collective is similar. The intensity of the workouts is also similar.

P. Does the competitiveness of Croatia impose on them?

R. They are the current runners-up in the world and in recent years they have competed very well. We have to be ready. I play at Chelsea with Kovacic and, despite the titles he has won with Madrid, he always wants more. It is the player profile that they have, he likes to participate in attack and combine, but defensively he also works.

P. If they beat Croatia, France could be the rival in the quarterfinals. How do you explain the phenomenon of your partner Kanté?

R. He knows how to adapt to the companions who play alongside him. If he plays with Jorginho he is capable of adopting a more offensive role with his driving and if he does it with Kovacic he is more defensive, but he always covers a lot of field.

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