Chelsea Season Preview Part Two: Defenders
Since the Mourinho era, Chelsea have had a very strong defense. Mourinho believed in defensive football, Chelsea were often accused of ‘parking the bus’ in front of the goal, and were also crowned the ‘1-0 champions’. This strategy, where they would score a goal and then defend the rest of the game, required for a strong defense. Former manager, Mourinho made sure they had a flawless defense lineup. Led by Captain John Terry, partnered with Portuguese international Ricardo Carvalho and supported by Paulo Ferreira and Wayne Bridge – Chelsea’s defense was the opponent striker’s worst nightmare.
However, that was a good five years ago, many of the players who formed that defensive line up have left, but their replacements are not too bad. Ashley Cole joined from Arsenal and he has proved to be indispensible for the club. A recent interest shown by Mourinho’s Real Madrid was strongly opposed by Blues manager Ancelotti, which just shows how important Cole is to the club. The England international is the best at what he does, and could even be called the best player at his position, which is left back. He not only performs his duty as a left back, but has made a habit of going forward, feeding the ball to midfielders and strikers. In the last season, he scored 3 goals, which is impressive for a left back. If Cole decides to stay, it will be entertaining to watch him perform the attacking left back role and increase his goal count for Chelsea.
John Terry and Carvalho are still the preferred pair as center backs, but after their recent performances, pundits have questioned the aging pair. John Terry, who is a solid defender partnered the more experimental Carvalho, the pair complemented each other perfectly, covering for any mistakes or missed tackles. But John Terry, who had a very disappointing World Cup, not only on the pitch but off the pitch, in the tabloids, hasn’t seemed to recover as yet. Ancelotti remains hopeful that the former England captain will regain his good form and return Chelsea to winning ways. John Terry is an inspirational captain for his club, leading them to victories and supporting the squad in the face of losses, but if he hopes to remain in the starting eleven in the upcoming season, he needs to step up his game because replacements are aplenty, for example; Brazilian Alex.
Alex is more than capable for replacing either Carvalho or John Terry, he partners well with the regulars and even manages fine with Serbian international Ivanovic. Alex is like a tank, he doesn’t let anyone past. With him in defense, the Blues don’t need to park the bus. Alex is also popular when a free kick has to be taken, in the rare case of Drogba and Lampard shying away – Alex is always ready with his thunderbolts. It will be interesting to see him battle out for a place in the starting eleven. Another contender is Ivanovic. The defender who has performed in pressure situations, he surprised everyone by scoring two goals against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter finals, Chelsea went on to win it 7-5. He is a consistent player and also performs the role of the right back very convincingly. It seems fair that he should be rewarded in the upcoming season by getting more starts.
After his sloppy mistake against Hamburg, it is highly unlikely that Yuri Zhirkov, the reluctant left back will get much playing time. But the Russian boasts the ability to play anywhere on the left flank, and Ancelotti just might be tempted to test his claims in case of an unexpected injury to any one of his starting eleven players. He is on a four deal contract with Chelsea, and after an injury ridden, disappointing first year at Stamford Bridge, there were talks of Zhirkov returning back to Russia, but Ancelotti ruled out any such move. Bosingwa is another player who has been cursed with injuries, which have kept him out for most of the season. However, he hopes to return this season and claim his place as right back. The Portuguese is quick on his feet and unlike Cole on the left, Bosingwa does not like going forward too much. With this interesting defense, Chelsea look set to retain their title.
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