Cesar Azpilicueta made his senior international debut under Vicente del Bosque in February 2013. One of the most versatile defenders in the world, he is one of the old guard in the revamped squad that Luis Enrique will take to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Ask the people that know the Chelsea captain, however, and they will tell you that what stands out about him are not his career achievements but his down-to-earth approach to life and his modesty.
Born in Pamplona 33 years ago, Azpilicueta describes the World Cup as a “great show”. The defender can reel off the names of his new teammates in the Spain dressing room, and is certain that one of them, Gavi, will amaze the world at Qatar 2022.
As for himself, he brings much more to the table than just playing ability. His experience, character and leadership are also vital to La Roja.
In beating Portugal to earn a place in the Final Four of the UEFA Nations League in the last international break before Qatar 2022, Spain gave themselves a timely confidence boost. Ahead of the big event, Azpilicueta offered his views to FIFA.com and discussed La Roja’s upcoming rivals.
FIFA: How are Spain approaching this World Cup?
Cesar Azpilicueta: We’re very excited. You can see it in the dressing room. We know it’s a very important event and we’ll try to be at our very best when the moment comes. It’s no ordinary World Cup because it’s halfway through the season but we’ll just have to adapt as best and as quickly as we can. It’s a pretty short tournament too and we know how important it is to make a good start to such a big competition.
Let’s talk about the Spain team, which is pretty young overall with some experienced players mixed in.
We have a lot of young players and this will be their first World Cup, so the older players will obviously be a help in that respect. We’re lucky that we have such a great squad. A lot of the younger players have played in tournaments in other age categories, which has helped them prepare for this big step-up and be on top form. They’re so committed too and they have a great attitude. They just want to keep on learning.
The younger members of the squad bring lots of drive with them, while the likes of you and Sergio Busquets offer experience. How positive is all that?
We’ve got an amazing team. We’re all working for the team and we’re always trying to improve. And it’s great to have that energy that young players bring. It’s natural to have that in football and it’s important to strike the best possible balance between experienced and young players making their World Cup debuts, so you can go into the tournament in the best possible shape.
On a personal level, how different does it feel to have more responsibility at this World Cup with all the new faces coming in?
The level of responsibility you have changes, and you expect that. When I made my international debut in 2013, at the age of 22, it was different. You’re coming into a new team, you’re one of the youngest and you have to learn. Now I’ve got experience and that obviously changes my role.
I try to help the team in every respect and make the young players feel as comfortable as possible so they can play their best football. In football, there’s nothing unusual about that and you have to accept that responsibility and give it your best shot.
Just in case anyone’s not been keeping up with the Spain team, which young players should we be looking out for?
Pedri for one. He’s played at the EUROs already and he’s experienced, even though he’s still only 19. He already knows what the highest level and the national team are all about. Players like him are the present and the future of the national team. Then there’s Gavi. He’s still a bit of an unknown, but people are going to be talking about him a lot more very soon.
We’ve also spoken to Busquets, the only survivor of the squad that won the World Cup at South Africa 2010. How important is it to have him in the team?
He’s an essential player and he’s our captain. He knows how it feels to win the World Cup, which is not something every player can say. He just controls the game and he’s in the right place at the right time. He’s always helping out and he’s a unique player. His positioning on the pitch has changed the way we understand football.
Spain have gone from winning the World Cup and two European titles to going out in the group phase or the round of 16. What are the expectations for Qatar 2022?
This is a bit different. We made history when we won two EUROs and the World Cup. Spain had never achieved anything like that before and it’s only natural that you expect to keep on winning after something like that. The way in which the team worked was absolutely amazing, but it’s very difficult. What we’ve got to do now is go out and show it. We’ve not done that well in international competitions of late, but reaching the semi-finals at EURO 2020 showed that we can compete at the very highest level and against everyone. We’ve got to keep showing that in every game, that we’re up to the job and can compete. There are little things that will determine how things go for us and we have to work on them so we can go as far as we can.
On a personal level, are your preparations for this World Cup any different?
It’s different in comparison to other seasons, for everyone. The league started earlier, pre-season was shorter, we had the transfer window in September but we won’t get a rest in October.
We’ll be spending more time with our clubs. We’ll all have our responsibilities and we’ll have to work hard to be at our best for the tournament so we can all come together and be as strong as we can as a team.
What about Spain’s group?
There are a lot of things to look at, like the way in which each team qualified for Qatar, but then you’ve got to go out there and show it, haven’t you? Like I said before, we have to make a good start. It’s a mini tournament with three matches, which is how I like to see it. We’ve got three matches to make the next round, which is totally different and where we could come up against some tough teams. We’re talking about a World Cup and the best teams in the world will be there. Every match is hard, as we saw at the last World Cup in Russia. We were in with a chance of going through to the next round. We fought until the very last minute, though. We’ve always seen every game as a mini final because football’s getting more and more competitive.
You’re up against Germany, Japan and Costa Rica first, all of them vital games.
We’ve played Germany lots of times, at the EUROs and World Cup. They’re a young side with a lot of new players coming in. They’re very strong. We played Japan at the London Olympics in 2012 and things didn’t go our way. They’re a very disciplined side and they play as a team. We know there are no easy games. They’ve shown how good they are and we’ll have to be at our best.
As for Costa Rica, they have a lot of World Cup experience. They’ve done a good job and that experience could give them the confidence to perform well and go far in the competition. All I can say is that we need to be at our very best if we want to go through to the second round. They’re all very good sides and obviously they’re going to see Spain as a threat, as a tough side too. Every team will be doing all they can and we have to go out and show that we deserve to be there in the top two.
What is the greatest moment in World Cup history?
For me it has to be Spain winning the Trophy at South Africa 2010. As a fan, that was unique. Second for me was the chance to play at the World Cup and make my debut in the tournament in Brazil.
