César Azpilicueta

Biography

César Azpilicueta Tanco (born 28 August 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a full-back or centre-back for La Liga club Sevilla. A youth product of Osasuna, Azpilicueta spent three seasons in La Liga before switching to Marseille, winning four major honours with the French club. In the summer of 2012 he moved to Chelsea, winning the Europa League in his first season and a domestic double two years later. He made over 500 appearances for the club and was sixth on their list of all-time appearances when he departed in 2023, with no other non-English person having played more times for them. Described as a Stamford Bridge 'legend', he captained Chelsea to win the Europa League in 2019, the Champions League in 2021, and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021. Azpilicueta earned 55 caps for Spain at youth level in all age groups, and represented the under-21s in two European Championships, winning the 2011 edition. He made his first appearance with the full side in 2013 and was selected for three World Cups as well as Euro 2016 and UEFA Euro 2020. On 1 February 2013, Azpilicueta was named in the squad for the upcoming international friendly against Uruguay. The manager said of the selection: 'Azpilicueta is playing many games for Chelsea. He has a lot of energy, defends well and is always willing to attack. We have a lot of hope for him. He made his debut five days later, playing the full 90 minutes in the 3–1 win in Doha, Qatar; after the match, he said that it was his "dream to play for Spain" at the senior level. Azpilicueta was selected to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup tournament held in Brazil: he started in the second group game against Tahiti which Spain won 10–0 in a record for the largest margin of victory in the competition, and replaced Álvaro Arbeloa at half-time in the final against the hosts, in an eventual 3–0 loss. In June 2014, Azpilicueta was selected to represent Spain in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was the starting right-back during the first two fixtures, against the Netherlands and Chile, as the nation was eliminated at the group stage. Azpilicueta was also included in the 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as well as the 24-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. At the latter, he scored his first senior international goal, his team's second of a 5–3 win against Croatia in the round of 16. Azpilicueta captained Spain for the first time in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Georgia on 5 September 2021. He was included in Spain's 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, appearing twice at the tournament. Azpilicueta was born in Zizur Mayor, Navarre, to Patxi Azpilicueta, a painter, and Charo Tanco, a primary school teacher. Azpilicueta's older brother, Juan Pablo (born 1980), was also a footballer. A midfielder, he competed exclusively in lower-league football. Since retiring, Juan Pablo has transitioned into management. Most recently, he served as manager of CD Subiza in Spain's Tercera División. In June 2015, he married his long-term girlfriend Adriana Guerendiain. Together, the couple have three children; two daughters and a son. Adriana gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Martina, in March 2014. Since 2018, Azpilicueta has been a board member and co-owner of English non-league side Hashtag United, which plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division. In 2020, Azpilicueta announced the formation of his own esports team, Falcons. He is part-owner along with Jose Antonio Cacho and Jesus Rincon, both of whom are top players in Spain with millions of YouTube subscribers. Azpilicueta is trilingual. He is fluent in Spanish, French, and English. As of 2021, he was working to complete an online degree, an MBA in Business Management from the Berlin School of Business and Innovation. In June 2023, Azpilicueta announced on his Instagram page that he had successfully completed and earned a business degree in entertainment, media and sports from Harvard Business School.