Cesar Azpilicueta
Cesar Azpilicueta is Spanish footballer who plays as a right-back.
Cesar Azpilicueta
• Date of birth: 28 August 1989
• Age: 34 years old
• Place of birth: Pamplona, Spain
• Nationality: Spanish
• Position: Right-back
• Height: 178cm / 5ft 10ins
• Weight: 78kg / 172 lbs
• Wages: £145,000 a week (unconfirmed)
• Facebook: @CesarAzpilicuetaOficial
• Instagram: @cesarazpi
• Twitter: @cesarazpi
The versatile defender started his professional career at Spanish outfit Osasuna before he moved to Marseille in 2010.
Cesar spent two seasons with the Ligue 1 side before he completed a move to Premier League champions Chelsea FC in the summer of 2012.
Azpilicueta has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Europa League, the FA Cup and the League Cup during his Stamford Bridge career.
He received his first call-up to the Spain national team in 2013 following his impressive performances for Chelsea FC.
Azpilicueta represented Spain at the 2014 World Cup and the European championship in 2016.
Osasuna
Cesar managed to progress through Osasuna’s youth team to break into the first team of his hometown club.
Azpilicueta made his La Liga debut for Osasuna in a 2-0 loss to Spanish giants Real Madrid on 8 April 2007.
Although he played as a forward and a midfielder during his formative years, Cesar established himself as a right-back in the Osasuna team.
The versatile defender amassed 108 appearances for the Spanish club over four seasons before he left his boyhood club in 2010.
(Photo: Cesar Azpilicueta / Instagram)
Marseille
Azpilicueta signed a four-year contract with Ligue 1 side Marseille on 21 June 2010 after the French club agreed a €7m (£6m) fee with Osasuna.
The Spanish defender made his Marseille debut in a 2-1 loss to Caen on 10 August 2010.
Azpilicueta scored an own-goal in a 1-0 loss to Spartak Moscow on his Champions League debut in November 2010.
Cesar then scored at the right end of the pitch for the first time as a Marseille player in a narrow 2-1 victory over Monaco in the French Cup.
The right-back ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in a 4-0 loss to Montpellier to rule him out of action for six months.
Azpilicueta made his return from a lengthy injury lay-off as a substitute in a 2-2 draw with Valenciennes on 21 May 2011.
Cesar was a regular in the Marseille team throughout his second season in the French top flight.
Azpilicueta scored one goal and made two assists in 30 appearances in Ligue 1 that season.
The Spanish defender netted his only goal of the 2011-12 season on the final day of the campaign when he scored in a 1-0 win against Auxerre.
Azpilicueta made eight appearances in their Champions League campaign before a 4-0 loss to Bundesliga outfit Bayern Munich in the last 16.
Cesar left Marseille after the defender won the Trophees des Champions in 2011 and 2012.
(Photo: Cesar Azpilicueta / Instagram)
Chelsea FC
Cesar completed a £6.5m move to Chelsea FC from Marseille on 24 August 2012.
He made his first Blues appearance in a 6-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup. A week later, he made his first Premier League appearance as a substitute in a 4-1 win over Norwich City.
Azpilicueta was a regular in the Chelsea FC team under Rafael Benitez throughout the 2012-13 season. The Spanish defender was part of the Blues side that won Europa League title thanks to a 1-0 victory over Portuguese giants Benfica in the final.
Jose Mourinho took over the reins from Benitez in June 2013. Cesar continued to be a regular in the team, with his versatility ensuring that he was an important player for the new Chelsea FC boss.
Azpilicueta netted his first Chelsea FC goal in a 2-0 win over Arsenal in the League Cup. He made a further two appearances in the competition.
Cesar started 26 games and made three substitute appearances in Chelsea FC’s season as the Blues finished in third place.
He started his third season at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea FC’s first-choice left-back ahead of summer signing Filipe Luis.
(Photo: Cesar Azpilicueta / Instagram)
Azpilicueta signed a new five-year deal with Chelsea FC on 14 September 2014.
A month later, he was shown his first red card in 2-1 win against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Cesar started Chelsea FC’s 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final at Wembley in February 2015.
Azpilicueta was a key member of the west London side’s title-winning team after the versatile defender made three assists in 29 games in the Premier League.
The Spain international didn’t score his first Premier League goal until his fourth season as a Chelsea FC player.
Azpilicueta scored in a 3-2 win against West Brom at The Hawthorns on 23 August 2015.
Quite remarkably, Cesar then netted in a 2-2 draw with the Baggies in the return fixture on 13 January 2016 under interim boss Guus Hiddink after Mourinho’s dismissal.
The former Osasuna defender played under his fifth Chelsea FC manager when Antonio Conte was named as Mourinho’s permanent replacement in May 2016.
Azpilicueta was used as a centre-half as part of a three-man defence under the new Blues manager alongside Gary Cahill and David Luiz.
The Spanish defender signed a new three-and-a-half year contract with Chelsea FC in December 2016.
Cesar was a revelation at centre-half alongside Cahill and Luiz as the Blues managed to win 13 successive Premier League games.
The Blues won the title in Conte’s first season in charge, sealing the 2016-17 trophy with two games to spare.
Azpilicueta scored his first goal of the campaign in Chelsea’s 4-0 win over Watford after winning the title a week earlier.
Cesar started all 38 games in their title-winning season. He scored one goal and made four assists.
The Spanish defender was unable to help the Blues win the FA Cup as they suffered a 2-0 loss to Arsenal in the final at Wembley.
He scored his first Champions League goal for the Blues in Chelsea FC’s 6-0 win over Qarabag back in September 2017.
While Chelsea FC struggled in the opening months of the 2017-18 season, Cesar was in good form with a return of one goal and six assists in their opening 26 Premier League appearances.
Remarkably, Azpilicueta’s six assists were all for his compatriot Alvaro Morata.
His second goal of the season came in a 1-1 draw with West Ham in April 2018. Cesar started Chelsea FC’s 1-0 win against Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
(Photo: Cesar Azpilicueta / Instagram)
He helped the Blues to win the Champions League title in the 2020-21 season under Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel. Azpilicueta made 11 appearances in the Champions League en route to their success that season.
International Career
Azpilicueta was a regular in Spain’s youth teams and was part of the squad that competed at the London 2012 Olympics, shortly before his transfer to Chelsea FC.
Cesar made his first appearance for the Spanish senior team in a 3-1 win over Uruguay in Doha on 1 February 2013.
Azpilicueta represented Spain twice in the Confederations Cup in 2013.
He started at right-back in Spain’s opening two fixtures of the 2014 World Cup. Spain lost 6-1 to the Netherlands in their opener before a 2-0 loss to Chile in their second fixture.
(Photo: Cesar Azpilicueta / Instagram)
Personal Life
Cesar’s older brother Pablo Azpilicueta was also footballer but never featured in Spain’s top flight.
Azpilicueta married his partner Adriana Guerendiain in 2015. The couple have three children together.
(Photo: Cesar Azpilicueta / Instagram)
Cesar Azpilicueta – Did You Know?
• Azpilicueta is widely known as ‘Dave’ at Chelsea FC. On his nickname, Cesar said: “Even in the street, they call me Dave, so I know that it is done in a good way. I’m OK with it. I think they know my name really, and they probably all spell it [right], but its an affectionate nickname for me, so I don’t mind.”
• Azpilicueta is trilingual. He is fluent in Spanish, French, and English.
