3. Marc Cucurella

[Vesper 29,065]

Finally paying it back

Very happy with him atm, after he drove me crazy for ages

[nyikolajevics 2,599]

24 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Finally paying it back

Very happy with him atm, after he drove me crazy for ages

Was great Yesterday.

After one year I was ready to have my Cucurella moment, but Sanchez ruined it…

[DH1988 1,317]

Cut that damn mop.

[Vesper 29,065]

6 hours ago, DH1988 said:

Cut that damn mop.

I so wish he would.

It's ugly as fuck.

[YorkshireBlue 3,126]

9 hours ago, DH1988 said:

Cut that damn mop.

Maybe he identifys as an "electrocuted victim" it's 2023 who fucking knows with this day an age! 

[Vytis33 1,171]

 

[Mário César 1,002]

good news 

[Blue Armour 4,318]

4 full backs in the team, and almost always, 3 of them are out. You can't make this up.

[Fernando 6,489]

 

From boo-boy to cult hero: how Marc Cucurella has sparked Chelsea revival

Spanish left-back seemed to sum up club’s travails but he has found form to aid late, unlikely surge towards a European place

It is safe to say few people at Chelsea predicted this season would end with Marc Cucurella performing a turn as an inverted full-back. As one figure inside Stamford Bridge put it recently, who could have imagined that a Cucurella revival would be one of the key reasons behind Mauricio Pochettino’s team making a late surge for European football?

Let’s roll this back. In August 2022, with the new order at Chelsea still asserting itself, Cucurella was invited to Mykonos to meet the interim sporting director. Todd Boehly, it turned out, was a man who knew how to conduct a charm offensive.

The American had seen Manchester City fail to meet Brighton’s asking price for the left-back. A window of opportunity emerged. Chelsea’s scouts were long-time admirers of Cucurella.

Boehly, keen to do the deal, agreed to pay. Brighton, who bought Cucurella for £15.4m in 2021, were somehow convinced to sell him for £55m plus £7m in add-ons, a deal that left many wondering whether Chelsea’s owners were perhaps getting a little bit too giddy in the transfer market.

“He’s a good player,” a Spanish source said at the time. “He’s just not a £60m player.” And sure enough, before long before Cucurella was finding it difficult to live up to his fee.

He struggled with injury and illness, his performances were sketchy and he soon became a scapegoat for frustrated supporters, who booed the Spain international when he came off the bench during Chelsea’s first-leg defeat by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last season.

Here we had it: one of the most pertinent examples of Chelsea’s wild, destructive overspending. Cucurella was a joke, a flop, maybe even a hate figure. Fans winced if they saw him in the starting XI.

They saw a defender who couldn’t defend. They saw little evidence of the full-back who had given Brighton so much in possession. They were disappointed when Manchester United decided not to sign Cucurella on loan last summer.

Pochettino, though, has refused to give up on the 25-year-old. The vibe has changed since Cucurella suffered in a back three when Graham Potter’s Chelsea were hammered 4-1 by Brighton last season. He is in a much better place before returning to the Amex Stadium to face his old club on Wednesday evening.

View image in fullscreen

Marc Cucurella was a figure of fun to some Chelsea fans but his recent performances have silenced his doubters. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters

 

There is clearly a defiant streak to Cucurella. He delivered a tenacious performance as a right-back when Chelsea played Brighton in the Carabao Cup this season. Predictions about Cucurella being ripped apart by Kaoru Mitoma were wide of the mark. Cucurella, who also had a good game against Bukayo Saka in October, snapped into challenges and kept the dangerous Japan winger quiet.

Admittedly there have been times when Pochettino has been reluctant to trust him. He used Levi Colwill, the young centre-back, on the left during the first half of the season and nobody seemed particularly bothered when Cucurella was ruled out for three months after ankle surgery in December. His return to action in March hardly seemed cause for celebration.

But something changed. Last month, with Chelsea 2-0 down at half-time to Aston Villa, the situation seemed terminal for Pochettino. His team had just lost their FA Cup semi-final to City and been thrashed 5-0 at Arsenal. Another humiliation was on the cards when Cucurella scored an early own goal against Villa. Then, thanks to a little tactical tweak from Pochettino, the comeback began.

Cucurella’s role was pivotal. Finding the right formula in midfield has been a challenge for Chelsea all season. There was rarely any balance when their £222m duo, Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández, played together. Caicedo was too often left exposed by Fernández, whose physical shortcomings were exacerbated by playing through the pain of a hernia problem for six months.

It was better once Fernández had surgery and the energetic Conor Gallagher moved back to play alongside Caicedo, who has gone from strength to strength in recent weeks. Yet the real trick was shifting Cucurella inside, giving Chelsea an overload in midfield. Villa couldn’t handle it. They didn’t know how to combat Cucurella, whose positioning allowed Chelsea to dominate and draw 2-2.

It has since been asked why Pochettino took so long to reposition Cucurella. After crushing wins over Tottenham and West Ham, though, he pointed out that he has had to build slowly.

“You cannot sit if you don’t have a chair,” Chelsea’s head coach said. “It’s like an engineer who is going to build a building, who says: ‘I want to see so quickly the nice furniture and the flat.’ First of all, we need to build the structure.”

It is a fair point. Cucurella, who came through Barcelona’s academy, is technically gifted enough to make the system work. Yet it is a work in progress. Last Saturday, Nottingham Forest neutralised Cucurella by creating a blockage in the middle.

Even so, the fact that opponents are having to counter Pochettino’s gameplans is a good sign. But for Cucurella, this is more than a mere tactical story. It is also a tale of resilience. Fans were singing his name – in a good way – during the 5-0 win over West Ham. Against the odds Cucurella, a slightly eccentric figure on the pitch, has become a cult figure. He has done it the hard way.

 

[nyikolajevics 2,599]

3 hours ago, Fernando said:

 

From boo-boy to cult hero: how Marc Cucurella has sparked Chelsea revival

Spanish left-back seemed to sum up club’s travails but he has found form to aid late, unlikely surge towards a European place

It is safe to say few people at Chelsea predicted this season would end with Marc Cucurella performing a turn as an inverted full-back. As one figure inside Stamford Bridge put it recently, who could have imagined that a Cucurella revival would be one of the key reasons behind Mauricio Pochettino’s team making a late surge for European football?

Let’s roll this back. In August 2022, with the new order at Chelsea still asserting itself, Cucurella was invited to Mykonos to meet the interim sporting director. Todd Boehly, it turned out, was a man who knew how to conduct a charm offensive.

The American had seen Manchester City fail to meet Brighton’s asking price for the left-back. A window of opportunity emerged. Chelsea’s scouts were long-time admirers of Cucurella.

Boehly, keen to do the deal, agreed to pay. Brighton, who bought Cucurella for £15.4m in 2021, were somehow convinced to sell him for £55m plus £7m in add-ons, a deal that left many wondering whether Chelsea’s owners were perhaps getting a little bit too giddy in the transfer market.

“He’s a good player,” a Spanish source said at the time. “He’s just not a £60m player.” And sure enough, before long before Cucurella was finding it difficult to live up to his fee.

He struggled with injury and illness, his performances were sketchy and he soon became a scapegoat for frustrated supporters, who booed the Spain international when he came off the bench during Chelsea’s first-leg defeat by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last season.

Here we had it: one of the most pertinent examples of Chelsea’s wild, destructive overspending. Cucurella was a joke, a flop, maybe even a hate figure. Fans winced if they saw him in the starting XI.

They saw a defender who couldn’t defend. They saw little evidence of the full-back who had given Brighton so much in possession. They were disappointed when Manchester United decided not to sign Cucurella on loan last summer.

Pochettino, though, has refused to give up on the 25-year-old. The vibe has changed since Cucurella suffered in a back three when Graham Potter’s Chelsea were hammered 4-1 by Brighton last season. He is in a much better place before returning to the Amex Stadium to face his old club on Wednesday evening.

View image in fullscreen

Marc Cucurella was a figure of fun to some Chelsea fans but his recent performances have silenced his doubters. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters

 

There is clearly a defiant streak to Cucurella. He delivered a tenacious performance as a right-back when Chelsea played Brighton in the Carabao Cup this season. Predictions about Cucurella being ripped apart by Kaoru Mitoma were wide of the mark. Cucurella, who also had a good game against Bukayo Saka in October, snapped into challenges and kept the dangerous Japan winger quiet.

Admittedly there have been times when Pochettino has been reluctant to trust him. He used Levi Colwill, the young centre-back, on the left during the first half of the season and nobody seemed particularly bothered when Cucurella was ruled out for three months after ankle surgery in December. His return to action in March hardly seemed cause for celebration.

But something changed. Last month, with Chelsea 2-0 down at half-time to Aston Villa, the situation seemed terminal for Pochettino. His team had just lost their FA Cup semi-final to City and been thrashed 5-0 at Arsenal. Another humiliation was on the cards when Cucurella scored an early own goal against Villa. Then, thanks to a little tactical tweak from Pochettino, the comeback began.

Cucurella’s role was pivotal. Finding the right formula in midfield has been a challenge for Chelsea all season. There was rarely any balance when their £222m duo, Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández, played together. Caicedo was too often left exposed by Fernández, whose physical shortcomings were exacerbated by playing through the pain of a hernia problem for six months.

It was better once Fernández had surgery and the energetic Conor Gallagher moved back to play alongside Caicedo, who has gone from strength to strength in recent weeks. Yet the real trick was shifting Cucurella inside, giving Chelsea an overload in midfield. Villa couldn’t handle it. They didn’t know how to combat Cucurella, whose positioning allowed Chelsea to dominate and draw 2-2.

It has since been asked why Pochettino took so long to reposition Cucurella. After crushing wins over Tottenham and West Ham, though, he pointed out that he has had to build slowly.

“You cannot sit if you don’t have a chair,” Chelsea’s head coach said. “It’s like an engineer who is going to build a building, who says: ‘I want to see so quickly the nice furniture and the flat.’ First of all, we need to build the structure.”

It is a fair point. Cucurella, who came through Barcelona’s academy, is technically gifted enough to make the system work. Yet it is a work in progress. Last Saturday, Nottingham Forest neutralised Cucurella by creating a blockage in the middle.

Even so, the fact that opponents are having to counter Pochettino’s gameplans is a good sign. But for Cucurella, this is more than a mere tactical story. It is also a tale of resilience. Fans were singing his name – in a good way – during the 5-0 win over West Ham. Against the odds Cucurella, a slightly eccentric figure on the pitch, has become a cult figure. He has done it the hard way.

 

 

I'm happy for him and all, but calling him "cult hero" for having a few good games after 1.5 miserable years is ridiculous... let's not fall on the other side of the horse. Happy if he keeps up, but that's why we bought him, that's why he is exceptionally well played, that's his job. I hope the Brighton boys can perform well at Amex tonight.

 

[King Kante 1,504]

He may be playing himself into a move. Personally, I never got on board with the hate, as I do think he was mishandled/made to play in a way that exposed his weaknesses. 

Does anyone know if there is a big club out there that could finance this and have a need for a LB? 

[OneMoSalah 8,793]

9 hours ago, King Kante said:

He may be playing himself into a move. Personally, I never got on board with the hate, as I do think he was mishandled/made to play in a way that exposed his weaknesses. 

Does anyone know if there is a big club out there that could finance this and have a need for a LB? 

Think Maresca will play him as first choice if I am honest.

Not sure why anyone would want him to leave after how he has done for Spain at the Euros and the bit of progress he made at the end of last season 🤷‍♂️ 

Was always a better option than Maatsen would be and well, if anyone has to look over the shoulder this summer at LB, it should be Chilly given his fitness and poor performances. 

[King Kante 1,504]

14 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

Think Maresca will play him as first choice if I am honest.

Not sure why anyone would want him to leave after how he has done for Spain at the Euros and the bit of progress he made at the end of last season 🤷‍♂️ 

Was always a better option than Maatsen would be and well, if anyone has to look over the shoulder this summer at LB, it should be Chilly given his fitness and poor performances. 

I agree. However, my post was more inspired by certain areas of the press that keep briefing Clearlake believe the first window to be a mistake and would listen to offers for CuCu. My feeling is he fits the managers system, but he doesn't fit the boards new transfer/wage policy - if that makes sense 

Edited July 5, 2024 by King Kante

[OneMoSalah 8,793]

3 hours ago, King Kante said:

I agree. However, my post was more inspired by certain areas of the press that keep briefing Clearlake believe the first window to be a mistake and would listen to offers for CuCu. My feeling is he fits the managers system, but he doesn't fit the boards new transfer/wage policy - if that makes sense 

But also a lot of press saying they would only sell if we received an excellent proposal too but yes I get where your coming from. 

I also think thats been half the battle with Cucurella particularly on here too.

The narrative coming from the spreadsheet warriors who were wanking themselves silly over Clearlakes 7 & 8 year deal policies on reduced and incentive based wages were saying we overpaid for him - which yes we did - but they seem to forget we also severely overpaid for players such as Mudryk, Lavia, Caicedo and Fernandez, who seem to escape this narrative because they “could be great players” for us without having delivered on a regular basis yet. I get theres an age difference with some of them and Marc but I still think people are far too quick to jump the gun. 

I think if Cucurella carries his Euros form into the season for us and Maresca is going to use him as predicted then he could have a huge role to play. I don’t even think he played that badly at times under Poch last season, was definitely worse performers. Particularly in defence with Disasi and Levi struggling for large portions of the first half of the season.

Edited July 5, 2024 by OneMoSalah

[Fernando 6,489]

What a turn around. 

I guess it's was good to sell maatsen because this guy is Taylor fit for maresca. 

[NikkiCFC 8,062]

If that loan in January to United went through he wouldn't have strong end of the season and probably wouldn't go to EURO. 

[Thor 2,447]

Absolute legend. Becoming a fav of mine. It always takes a decently long string of games for people to go "oh, he is playing well". 

He has been decent to good for a lot longer than people let on here. Great to see it being recognised. There is a really player there. He is a pitbull. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,531]