Football Daily - World Cup: César Azpilicueta on Yamal, Dechamps & Tuchel

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

Former Chelsea and Spain captain César Azpilicueta talks to Steve Crossman about playing with a young Lamine Yamal, his time at Chelsea with Reece James and Thomas Tuchel, and his early years at Marseille working under Didier Dechamps. TIMECODES: 05:21 – Working with Didier Dechamps at Marseille 12:45 – Lamine Yamal 21:08 – Reece James 23:57 – Thomas Tuchel

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on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Football Daily at the People World Cup 2026. With Steve Crossman. Listen on BBC Sounds. Hello there. Welcome to the Football Daily on this episode. I'll be speaking to the former Chelsea and Spain Captain Cesar, As Pillaquetta,

about playing with a young Laminia Mal, about his time at Chelsea with Reese James and Thomas Tuchel and his early years at Marseille, working under Didier Deschon. Let's just jump in on your World Cup experience. far then. I mean, you've only just retired. You're transitioning pretty quickly into the media world. Yeah, pretty quick, but I think the chance was worthy to comment in such an amazing World Cup. What is it like analyzing some of the players who, until very recently, you played with?

Yeah, teammates that now I'm watching and I'm analyzing. It's true that it's a different point of view, but as a player I was already curious. I like to do a lot of video analysis and obviously it's different to talk through it on TV, on the radio, but I try my best. Did you ever offer players much feedback yourself then, certainly in the back end of your career, especially to young players?

Yes, I tried. I'm always someone who tries to help and of course when you are younger you try to learn from more experienced players but as soon as you develop and you get more experience you try to pass it on to the young players and I think it's quite natural

on my side and even more when you get towards the end of your career and maybe you need to play with more with the positioning and you have a bit less of the legs you need to also help the young players to use more the brain and less the body because as soon as you understand a bit more football,

that helps you a lot in terms of understanding and making the right decisions. Who did that for you then when you were a kid coming through? Who was it either at club or international level that was having that kind of impact? When I arrived to Osasuna in first team, I had already one coach, Martin Morrell, who was in the reserve team. It was somewhat we experienced and then as a player

we had Cesar Cuchava, Pachi Puynail, Ricardo, the goalkeeper from Man United that was playing at Osana at the time they were like, I don't know, 15, 20 years older than me

and I was a kid I was still in the school Pandiani had so many experienced players in that dressing room that they helped me how was to play at the top level.

Pandiani, El Riefle. The centre forward. Weren't you a striker when you were starting out as well? How did you end up at right back? It's funny because when I was a kid I used to play striker. Well, I was signed for a Sasuna Academy

when I was 12 as a striker. He scored a lot of goals. And then I moved, I started moving to the right wingers towards when I was 15, 16. Even in the national team, I played a European championship under 19, and I was right winger, and I was playing number eight. And I made my debut with the Sasuna right winger.

And then in my first year in first division with 18 years old, the coach at the time, Thiganda, wanted me to play right back. It was not the case that we had injuries or something happened, and I had to play there because of that. his vision was moving forward and I could progress more as a right back. El Reifler came to play in England at one point. I think he played for Birmingham, didn't he? Yeah, yeah, he played for Birmingham.

In the Premier League? So, I mean, this is such an English-centric question, so I apologize. But I think sometimes we tend to think that everybody at some point wants to come to the Premier League. Did you know then that it was a league that would interest you? Because obviously, you didn't just come here. you played here for so long. I didn't expect.

When you're a kid, I didn't even think about playing professional. I was just a kid enjoying football. And then when you get into an academy of a professional club, yes, you know, every step you take forward, you start going with the national team. You play for the first team. And then you get the interest from clubs abroad. So the agent keeps telling you, you know,

scouting is coming. and then I made the move to Marseille when I was nearly 21, which was a big move for me, discovering the Champions League, going there, just French champions in that year. And of course, once you, you know, you touch the Champions League football, even we played against Chelsea, we went to Stamford Bridge. This is where you want to go.

And yeah, I ended up there nearly two years later. I think people may have forgotten that your manager then at Marseilles was Didier Deshaun, which is crazy to think that, so Deshaun left Marseille at the same time as you, that same summer. He is still in the same job that he left for back then. That is crazy. He's still there. He's still there because he left at the same time. I was there for pre-season at first games, but he left at the end of that season.

he took over the national team and still there and going strong I mean he did pretty well and still he has a very very strong team in this World Cup so who knows and it's quite well-time conversation

because obviously he's about to bring his time at France to an end what was he like back then at Marseille he was a coach that wanted everything to have a reason behind it. I mean, in terms of football, he didn't want to try crazy stuff.

He was very, very simple, very effective. He was a winner. You could see we wanted to win. We were in Marseille, of course. We were fighting. PSG was coming a bit better with better players in the two years I was there. One, Montpellier won the league, which Olivier was there. Olivier Gio. And the other one was Lil with the Nasar. So I have the relationship with some of them

that then they became teammates at Chelsea. But he was someone who wanted to win the championship. We progressed. We went once to the last 16.

Another year we went to the quarter final against Bayern Munich. So it was someone who was very demanding in a club with a huge pressure like his

Marseille. And I got the call from him. to sign there and he spoke a bit of Spanish. I could speak French. So, you know, you wanted me to go there and help the team grow and progress because they were already French champions. But in the Champions League, they were always just a bit short

and he wanted my signing to help the team moving forward. So I'm always really interested in how those sort of legendary players almost wear their experience like a coat, if you know what I mean, and what they do with it. Because, I mean, you played under Frank Lampard and Diego Simeone and Didier Deshaun and many others. So with Deshaun, how good was he at using the parts of him

that made him a legend without presumably sort of overdoing it, which could be quite easy to do when you've been as good a player as he was? he was a very good player he was World War Cup champion he won the championship with Marseille as well and many many trophies in Italy as well he had an unbelievable

career but I think that shaped him in the way of his mentality on the will to win on the demanding side of the players and we have to understand now that I'm starting a new life outside football

then you have to understand try to also learn and improve every day on how we can pass the experience back to football and I think DDia was someone who did really well

and is there how many years already is like 14 years with the national team is crazy and all every turn tournament, I think he has been keeping improving and even they won the World Cup in Russia.

So it's amazing to see him performing and seeing the result that he's getting with the national team. What was his biggest impact on you, do you think? Biggest impact, I would say I discovered with him the top level. It was coming from Osasuna, which, you know, we had our own resources. so we were fighting, relegation, and yeah, I played over 100 games in 1st Division, but even a draw away from home was a great result. And then moving to Marseille was completely different. You know, a draw was not allowed, home away.

You could feel the pressure. And the first two, three months, I struggled a lot because the football was different. I was a young lad. They paid $6 million for me, which nobody needs. knew me there in France. He was this guy. I was a bit skinny. My football was a bit different.

So he helped me even sometimes, you know, he put me on the bench and, you know, he was talking to me. And at the moment, I felt like, you know, I was not happy. But then I learned with him that he was trying to protect me and just to develop and not rushing me in the hard way. I really appreciate his work and the way he helped me to discover a club that under pressure, like Marseille, coming from winning the title and then playing Champions League. We won two Cubs.

We won two Super Cubs. So we did pretty well in terms of trophies. And he was a big part on my development. I think that's really interesting what you said about the role of the protector. because when you're a national team manager, by association you will deal with big, big stars at the top of their game, but you will always have not just young players, but young stars. Because if they weren't young stars, they wouldn't be in the national team.

So is that a big part of him, that ability to protect? Because we don't talk about that, do we? We talk about tactics. We talk about winning. We don't talk about the role of a manager as a protector. It's a different role in a national team because you pick your squad and then you can maybe play more around players and situations. In a team, you have the players we start in the transfer market.

You can make changes, but we know it's not easy. You change the whole squad. But when you see in 14 years the amount of players they were already playing the national team. Some of them they played over 100 games. And then he has been in the transition of, bringing new players, young players, and this is not an easy job to do. And I felt it myself with him the way he was protecting.

And, you know, of course, I was not playing at the best level. Maybe I thought I was playing even better. And that he was always from a different point of view. And when you see it back all this kind of calls he was making, Then you know, you understand why he was doing it. And at the end, I was getting better. And I think that's why he was doing it. Speaking of young stars, you'll be absolutely astonished to hear that I'd like to ask you next about Laminia Mal.

Yeah. He entertained us. Oh, my goodness. Smiling our face. And that's such a big deal, isn't it? Again, that's something we don't talk about enough. Players that just make you smile and that's what he does, isn't it? Since he got the first ball, you could see he was ready for it.

Yeah, I loved him not only the way he was taking defenders yesterday, but the ambition to score goals in the far post with sometimes the wingerers, we don't see often. And this is a skill that if he is still a team, so he will keep improving and he will keep adding skills to his games. but also the way he was pressing forward. One action just before half-time, he was making a sprint,

recovering from a corner kick to recover the ball and pull it away. So I think those kind of things that tells me a lot, not only what we can see on the ball, the way he dribble, the way he takes his defender, but also his all game around is developing and still he has a way to go. So September the 8th, 2023, Georgia won Spain 7.

And Laminia Mal on the same day becomes Spain's youngest player and youngest goal scorer. And you're in that squad. What was he like in his first training session? Well, I don't remember much. You know, the thing I remember, I was sitting there. I was looking at him. I said, he was not even born when I was. making my debut

you know and I'd be like I'd be told you know like maybe you're like maybe it's time to retire

yeah but yeah you know what impressed me was like the way he was like the confidence he had

he was there he was with respect but he wanted the ball he was and it's hard you know

when we were younger you know you were a bit shy different you know And he was with the confidence to be the national team, not only to be there just like a gift of what he was doing in the club,

but already taking the place of a star and started for the national team. And we could see that in the Euros two years ago. We can see it now in the national team in his club. So that's really impressive. Were you surprised by how good he was immediately? I mean, obviously you knew the name because he was in the full national team squad by this point. But was there anything that surprised you about him

that first time when you're seeing him up close? The way he troubles and I think that's a skill that he has that he can go right, left and very quick. When you see his game, it's not always, he doesn't do always the same. So as a defender, it's very hard to predict. When I watch, sometimes the defenders,

they give a bit of space towards the side and he takes the touch straight to his right and then it's very quick and his technique is very good. So I could see already when he was with the national team, his quality on the ball was really good. your national team career was what 12 years long something like that a bit less a bit less from 13 yeah I made my debut in 2013 and I played my last game in Qatar in the World Cup at the World Cup yeah so in that long international career that you had you'll have seen lots and lots of talented young

players and the same applies in your whole club career you will also have seen young and talented players not be able to reach the levels that maybe people thought they would. So just mentally, psychologically, what have you seen over the years that it takes for these kids to turn this mega talent into a mega career? I think it's development and an improvement because what it takes you to the top level, from there you have to keep growing and improving and be humble

and work hard because I've seen many talents and then when football is about the present about what you do today and then you have to keep developing improving making mistakes

which is part of the development and from there you keep growing I think it's a part where sometimes as a footballer when you reach the top level you are a bit well I made it but that's not enough because a lot of people make it but then there's just few who makes it even farther and that's how I see the development of a player even even now more because they make their debuts at 16 15 16 we've seen every time it's earlier and earlier and that brings you to a

football life longer because now we have people over 40 who is still playing. So it's no player who starts in one way and then they end the career with the same way. And even the biggest players, you know, Messi, Cristiano,

we have seen, they have been changing a bit of the roles, always getting something new. And that's why they keep going on going and they keep performing at the highest level. How would you defend him? If you were playing against him, and what would you do to try and win that battle?

The easiest answer, I would say, make your ground quick. But that's easy. With him, I think it's hard to, you know, when I've seen him, defenders that they go strong against him, he has the physical ability to cope with it. So more about the team,

trying to get help from the midfield, from the winger and of course you prefer him to go on his right and get the cross rather than coming inside and Carlet or the way he's facing the box and shooting

so I would say you know the closest you can be from him the better it is for you as a defender if you give him a space and then he gets the speed

then it becomes more difficult Did you have to play against him in training then? Or was he on the other side? No, it was on the other side. And even when I was with Athletico, I played on the right and he was on his right as well. So we didn't. Thank goodness, right?

Still, they have decent players on the other side. Hello, I'm Alastair Bruce Ball and I'll be commentating on the World Cup for the BBC this summer. It's a commentator, favourite World Cup moment. France 4, Argentina 3 in Russia, 2018. Amazing goal from Benjamin Pavard in that game on the half-bolly. What makes the World Cup such a special tournament?

It's its exotic nature. I think particularly as a kid, it just seemed to happen in far-off lands that you'd only ever dreamt about or heard about. The People World Cup 2026. Listen on BBC Sounds. How did the United States build the largest soft power empire in the world with the help of some tiny metal objects? I'm Tristan Redmond, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC

to mark 250 years of the United States. We speak to Roman Mars of 99% invisible. This soft power, this influence was an incredible invention. For more, listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. The People World Cup 26 From Steve Crosman Listen on BBC Sounds

I worked to ask you about someone who actually played your position because obviously England's starting right back is Reese James who was coming through when you were playing right back for Chelsea I mean like really easy question

probably to start with just how highly do you rate him what makes him special do you think yeah I rate him really high I think he's a top player I knew him when he was coming through the junk

He was starting with the first team. We played in the same position, but when he was starting with the first team, I was playing a bit more on the left when we were playing four at the back. Then we played a lot. He was playing right wing back. I was playing right center back.

So we had a lot of communication. I always tried to help him in his development. We are kind of different players, but he took over the captaincy when I left. So, you know, I really rate him. It's a top player, top guy. And I keep looking at him and seeing his development, because now he's even playing in midfield.

He's doing amazing. He has top qualities. It doesn't surprise me to see him at this level playing with England. He deserves and makes me really happy. What do you remember about him in his early days? Because again, we're talking about someone who was so young when he came into that first team environment. It was young, but he was already very strong,

very good quality on the ball. You could see he was a top player that he was someone who was not there just to be in the squad. The same when Mason Mount arrived. You could see from them that they were not just, a squad players. Frank Lampard was the manager at the time. He gave them a lot of confidence and Rhys really the first game he played. He scored goal. He gave usis. So you could see he was ready for the first team and since then he kept building his momentum and the important player

that he is for club and country. Do you think it helps him? It must help him, I guess, to have Thomas Tuchler's his England manager, having been his Chelsea manager and your Chelsea manager. he managed it. Yeah. Yeah. But Thomas is a top coach and of course to, you know, the ones we were with him here at Chelsea and I was only Reese and Treff who also gave him the chance to play for the first team at Chelsea there with him in the international team.

And I'm sure they are really happy to have to have him as the manager. I think Thomas Tuchel is probably an interesting person to chat about in the in the last few minutes given we sort of started with Didier Deshaun, who was the legendary player becoming a coach. Thomas Tuchel is obviously completely different and almost a newer breed, less new now, but certainly when he was coming through, you know, we haven't had many like Thomas Tuchel, Yergan Clark, Julian Nagelsman has come through these kind of people, obviously, but what was that like as, because he'd already been Paris Saint-German manager, so do you think the fact that he had already worked with the biggest names?

on the planet made it quite easy or easier for him to come into that Chelsea dressing room? It's a question for him, how he felt from a different dressing room. But I can say that when he came, he was really happy to be there with us. We were like, I don't know, eight, nine in the Premier League. We were playing last 16 against Athletico Madrid in the championship. So maybe at the time was the target to get into championship. for next season but it was very clear

he wanted to create a team a strong team that you know you want to win the Champions League and he wanted to of course qualify for for the Champions League through the Premier League

and since he came the day before a game and he changed the shape because he was not the system he was playing in PSG and he changed with us and it worked really well what stood out to you about his coaching abilities when he walked through the door or let's say in the first few weeks or first couple of months

he had very clear ideas which is not easy when you arrive new to a place so he already did the job of trying to work out how he can improve the team so this is the system from him he changed from PSG and then he was someone very engaging. He was someone who communicate a lot very close to the players, to the staff. The results also help a lot because we started really well. So we kept building that trust, that confidence with his meetings,

with the team selection. You know, the atmosphere around was a really positive one and everybody was doing the best we could. By creating that, special momentum. Four months later, we were a Champions League winners. So that's not easy to do. Champions League winners and you're wearing the captain's armband.

So what does he want from a captain? You know, he wanted me, you know, to just to be myself, to try to help the team. On and off the pitch, I felt straight away his confidence, his belief in me. Because, you know, when a new manager arrives, I didn't know. I didn't know him. So, you know, it's always what can you expect from a new manager? And he showed me straight away his confidence and belief on me as a captain, as a player. And I just, you know, I just try to, you know, when you are in that situation,

you try to push the more you can to help the team and to achieve the goals as a club. So we've talked a lot about coaches. You're only just retired. I was fascinated reading what you've been up to, business qualifications at top American schools, e-sports, teams. Do you know what you're going to do next or not? Next, I will commend the game.

No, no, joke. I don't know, I don't know. To be fair, I try to prepare myself. through my career because I felt we had some spare time in hotels traveling. So I did, as you mentioned, some courses. I'm just finished a PFA, sport leadership course as well, which they offer through the PFA two years. So that's also lessons for life, for yourself.

You know, it doesn't mean that I will be either a businessman because I went to the course or a sport director straight away, but just everything that you can learn that helps you a lot and I don't know, I will try to enjoy the summer and then I will see, but

you know, I will miss the daily life of a football club, the dressing room, training, competing but I try to prepare myself last couple of years because I knew at some point it had to happen. And the

obvious question to finish with to a recently retired athlete in 2026. How much paddle are you playing? I will start now. You will, won't you? You all love it. It's the new golf, isn't it? Yeah, I'm more into golf, but it's true that last season I didn't play much and now I will have more time to train. I love competing so I'm sure I will get it. into some sport because that's the way I am and I need that dosis of competition as well. Ideal paddle partner? I need to find one. I don't know if I played right or left.

I don't know. You played right most of your career. Maybe stick to that. I don't know. It depends on the manager. I can't play left. It says I. It's been lovely talking to you.

Thank you so much for chatting to us. Have a great World Cup with the BBC. It's brilliant to have you. Thank you. Thank you. Have a good 10. Pace-setter. Run with Josh Whittaker. Hello, Football Daily listeners.

Josh Whittickham here bringing you something a little different. Do you keep meaning to go for a run? Perhaps a couple of laps around the football pitch in the park? Well, I'm the host of a new series of Pace-Setter, the music that keeps you putting one foot in front of the other. Join me every week as I curate the perfect running playlist to get you moving. to listen, just search Paceetter on BBC Sounds. How did the United States build the largest soft power empire in the world

with the help of some tiny metal objects? I'm Tristan Redmond, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC to mark 250 years of the United States. We speak to Roman Mars of 99% invisible. This soft power, this influence was an incredible invention. For more, listen to the Global Story on BBC. or wherever you get your podcasts.