Cesar Azpilicueta was an all-encompassing leader for Chelsea - and, now retired, he reflects on how his passion for education and attention to detail helped him build a career at the highest level. Before Chelsea's Champions League final victory in 2021, Azpilicueta could not take his customary pre-match nap and opted to study instead. He says his work towards an MBA in business management from the Berlin School of Business and Innovation took his mind off the pressure and noise on the streets of Porto.
Later that day, he lifted the Champions League trophy after captaining Chelsea to victory against Manchester City. Azpilicueta told BBC Sport: "When I was a kid my parents pushed me to get good grades and finish school. "I wasn't a professional footballer until I was 17, in my last year of school.
Education was always important. When Covid-19 arrived, we had more time. "I found some courses but I didn't start because I thought it was the end of my career.
It was more that I wanted to learn, improve myself and do it in another language. "It wasn't because I thought it was my last year as a footballer, but it did help me navigate the final years of my career, become a better person and a better footballer." Azpilicueta, 37, was speaking at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, where he joked he did not feel "entirely comfortable", while collecting a diploma in global football sport directorship through the PFA Business School, adding to qualifications that also include a diploma from Harvard Business School. Now retired from playing after spending last season at Sevilla, he replied "maybe" when asked whether he could become a sporting director one day, but says football has left him in need of a post-career break.
Now at a "different stage of life", he cannot even contemplate playing football with friends for fun because it would trigger his competitive instincts. "It was time to stop playing football because, even though I could probably still play, I didn't have the energy to commit myself fully for an entire season," he reflected. "At the moment I have another commitment, which is my family.
I want to play some golf and enjoy life. "For 20 years I was constantly travelling, playing and preparing for seasons. This summer looked completely different." After beginning at boyhood club Osasuna, Azpilicueta joined Marseille, where he learned French.
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