Chelsea right-back and Spain international César Azpilicueta (33) gave a quick interview to Ligue 1’s official website on Friday morning. Azpilicueta left his formative club CA Osasuna in 2010, when he was 21, to put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Olympique de Marseille. The Spaniard only played two seasons at the Vélodrome until his switch to Chelsea in 2012. However, Azpilicueta missed six months in action when he torn his ACL in September 2010 against Montpellier, which he has described as his worst memory from his Ligue 1 years.
Azpilicueta won two Coupes de la Ligue, but failed to clinch the Ligue 1 title. “I would have liked my best memory to be a French league title, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible since my best result with OM was 2nd place.” In 2011, Marseille fell short of a Rudi Garcia-led Lille side, who even completed the double with a Coupe de France win. Eden Hazard was Les Dogues’ most potent player, and Azpilicueta does not have fond memories of playing against his eventual Chelsea teammate. The Spaniard has named the Belgian international as the toughest opponent he had faced in France. “He was hard to stop !“
Azpilicueta also named Argentine playmaker Lucho Gonzalez as his favourite teammate during his Marseille years. “I also had Hatem Ben Arfa as a teammate. He was amazing but I played more with Lucho, who was very important for us thanks to his performances and his goals.”
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
