Thomas Tuchel believes it is “very reassuring” to be able to call on players like Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly for Chelsea this season.
The experienced trio, who have lifted a host of trophies in their careers, were selected by Tuchel in a back three for our first Premier League game of the season against Everton, keeping a clean sheet as the Blues left Goodison Park with a 1-0 victory thanks to a penalty from Jorginho.
Although the three players are all over 30, Tuchel believes the experience – and quality – of Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Koulibaly is vital for the team, as Saturday’s victory showed, and thinks that they can also help some young players.
“It’s very reassuring to have players with as much experience as these guys,” Tuchel said, reflecting on Saturday’s win over Merseyside.
“They have so much experience, which could be another word for age! But more seriously, they have so much experience and so much quality in their work”.
“We are so happy to have players like Azpi, Thiago and Kalidou, but it’s also important that we have the next generation coming in to possibly take over in future years.”
“These guys are very successful for us and that’s why we have them under contract. I am very happy with them”.
“The game is very physical and very demanding, that’s the situation, so we need other players to rotate with these guys. We’re not complaining, we know the situation and when you’re at a club like Chelsea you expect that because we need to have top, top players to fight in multiple competitions.”
“Azpi is a legend of this club. Thiago, at the moment he is still very good and he is very important for us, and then with Kalidou, when the opportunity arose for us to sign him, it was something that we wanted to do because we we feel that he still has many good years ahead of him”.
“In general, it’s a fact that we have the back three, the goalkeeper and the double six today with Jorginho and N’Golo [Kante] who are all in their thirties. It’s like that and although we are very happy with these guys, we also have to think about the future”.
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