| The Blues win the FIFA Club World Cup to complete their already bursting trophy cabinet |
When Australian referee Christopher Beath blew the whistle on 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, several Chelsea players collapsed to the Abu Dhabi pitch of both exhaustion and joy. For Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta, playing one hundred and twenty minutes of football in stifling heat at 37 and 32 years-old respectively is no easy feat. Coupled with the added pressure of rounding out the Chelsea trophy cabinet against a Palmeiras side intent on spoiling the party, and one could forgive the Brazilian and Spanish defensive duo for taking a moment to revel in the achievement.
That said, broadcasters and journalists alike took the bizarre stance of admonishing the Chelsea squad for their heartfelt celebrations after winning a new trophy that had previously eluded them in their lone chance to win it post-2012 Champions League glory in Munich. Where they had once vaunted Liverpool for raucous celebrating their own win back in 2019, ESPN chose to take the bizarre stance of raining on the parade. Former Chelsea player-turned-pundit Craig Burley tweeted, “Whilst Chelsea were winning that plastic cup and it was lapped up like a World Cup win. Man City were racking up a sixteen point gap on them, in a competition that really matters. Let that sink in.” While Burley rightfully pointed out the gaping chasm in quality between Chelsea and City’s domestic form this season, the stance was a wee bit strange given the praise for the Merseysiders that was so forthcoming off the back of their own Champions League and Club World Cup triumphs when they too had fallen victim to City’s superiority.
Aside from simply being biased, the comments also betray an unfamiliarity with the keys to Chelsea’s success in Thomas Tuchel’s 3-4-3. Just as under Antonio Conte in 2016, wingbacks are immensely important to Chelsea’s possession-heavy play, perhaps even moreso than other advanced players – Tuchel has gone so far as to call them midfielders in his system. With Ben Chillwell and Reece James both out since the fall, the German has had to rely on Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta to fill in as deputies. Good players while they are, the Spanish fullbacks hardly possess the technicality, or the pace to serve as like-for-like replacements for the young English duo on the mend.
Chelsea are a different side without Chillwell and James, and that will not have eluded owner Roman Abramovich who was in attendance at Abu Dhabi. The controversial Russian oligarch will no doubt have been convinced to splash the cash in support of his generational manager during this summer’s window. With several young fullback and midfield talents available – the likes of Borna Sosa and Aurélien Tchouaméni have been touted around – the West London side will surely strengthen in a bid to properly contend for their first title since the 2016-2017 season.
And they’ll go for the title of best team in England in 2022-2023 as the rightful best club in the world.
