Cesar Azpilicueta is known as Dave from Only Fools and Horses but the Chelsea ever-present is the last player you can call a plonker
Spaniard admits he won't even rest on holiday and must win at everything in training as his hunger to be the best never dims
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NOT so long ago the call went out the night before a Chelsea away match for Dave to report to the manager.
But instead of the team bus driver turning up, it was Cesar Azpilicueta who came running.
The Spanish defender is now so used to his nickname he can forget who he really is!
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Azpilicueta, 27, chuckled as he admitted: “Yes, that’s true. People call me Dave in the street now and I answer to it.”
Fans christened Azpilicueta Dave — which comes from telly’s Only Fools and Horses — because they could not fit his real name into a song.
But there is no mistaking who is the backbone of Chelsea’s title charge.
Azpilicueta has featured in all 31 of Chelsea’s games under Antonio Conte this season . . . and the joke among the squad is that ‘Dave’ flogs himself harder than anyone in training then runs home for good measure.
He said: “A few years ago, before I had kids, I would go on holiday and even then I had to go to the gym.
“I would sit for a couple of days and then get up and go for a run. I had to do something. My girlfriend would get annoyed and say, ‘come on, this is supposed to be a holiday’. But she knows what I am like.
“I learned that to play well you have to train hard. So every time I go on the training pitch, I want to win every single exercise.
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“Beating the other players is something natural and the day I do not have this it will be difficult to carry on.
“It is something I appreciate and am proud of, to play in every game so far. I have stayed away from injuries and I am happy to be available for the manager in every game.
“I had a knee injury and that opened my eyes to getting to the best level you can.”
Conte, whose league leaders take on Swansea today, claims Azpilicueta could become a ‘legend’ at Stamford Bridge.
The defender said: “I’m pleased for those words but to become a Chelsea legend you have to win trophies.
“I have won the Premier League, Europa League and League Cup. I don’t know how many it would take but some players won the Champions League and others.
“Conte is hard. We have to be hard when we are training and we are, also in the meetings and the games. You have to be focused and do the right thing.
“But after that, he is the manager and if he feels you have been working well, he gives you an extra day off to enjoy ourselves and recharge the batteries. But that is so we come back ready to train. The players know they have to train hard.
“I had a chance to play against him twice in March and at the Euros for Spain when he was the Italian manager. I could feel then what I had to look forward to when he arrived!”
CESAR AZPILICUETA was supporting the biggest grassroots football tournament in the country – the PlayStation Schools’ Cup. Since its launch, over 150,000 players have been involved. Visit