"My priority is very simple its always the game we play. I expect when we where the Chelsea shirt we play to win and give 100%. Someday its better and someday not so good. It's amazing and exciting to play Champions League games. We feel confident and focused."

- Thomas Tuchel

Amoto94:

The defensive solidity achieved by the sides he played in speaks volume of his brilliance, when he left those teams experienced steep decline because the defensive cover he provides was no longer there.

Which teams?

So Kai and Pulisic are back (yay), but....

But El Monstro is out

BlueRayDick:


The main question is "If top 5 defenders that played across top leagues in Europe during this era are being discussed in the future, will Thiago be in the conversation?"

I'm not a fan of Boateng and his comical defending na.

Sure his name will be in the conversation.

hensben:
Sure his name will be in the conversation.

Maybe in the mouth of few French farmers and a handful of Chelsea fans that had no choice but to praise him for being better than Rudiger and Christensen . ( After all half bread is better than puff puff)

Salomon Kalou - 1 UCL.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 0 UCL.


Kalou >>>>>>>> Zlatan.


Djibril Cisse - 1 UCL

Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Harry Kane - 0 UCL Combined.

Cisse >>>>>>>>> Owen + Shearer + Kane

BlueRayDick:


Maybe in the mouth of few French farmers and a handful of Chelsea fans that had no choice but to praise him for being better than Rudiger and Christensen . ( After all half bread is better than puff puff)

So you mean Thiago sylva will not be in best CB in last decades?

Capaldi:

Which teams?

Madrid was a solid team with him shielding the defense when he left they suffered a decline till they were able to get Muhammadu Diarra that helped them do the dirty work, also with him Chelsea have the lowest goal conceded and highest point tally in EPL as at then plus strong performances in Europe, when he left Chelsea we had to rely on Obi Mikel which was a downgrade.

Felipe Lius: “I suffered Salah in training, pfff. When he went Fiorentina, I said: ‘Why are you going? He said ‘I need to play.’ I thought: ‘This kid’s good.’ He never went for money or to win more; he went to show he could play. In training he was like Messi. Really, like Messi"
Source: @Blue_Footy

If tuchel no use experience against atletico tomorrow ehn na big dunce. I no wan see leginho Abraham against a ruthless atletico o. Also jorginho and kovacic pairing for midfield without a breaker like Kante will be disastrous. Kante should start along side jorg and giroud should start upfront. Ziyech would be great to whip in those crosses for Giroud.

NewDelhi:
If tuchel no use experience against atletico tomorrow ehn na big dunce. I no wan see leginho Abraham against a ruthless atletico o. Also jorginho and kovacic pairing for midfield without a breaker like Kante will be disastrous. Kante should start along side jorg and giroud should start upfront. Ziyech would be great to whip in those crosses for Giroud.

giroud Na minus, we need a good dribbler tomorrow not giroud

NewDelhi:
If tuchel no use experience against atletico tomorrow ehn na big dunce. I no wan see leginho Abraham against a ruthless atletico o. Also jorginho and kovacic pairing for midfield without a breaker like Kante will be disastrous. Kante should start along side jorg and giroud should start upfront. Ziyech would be great to whip in those crosses for Giroud.

You've said it all. Without Kante and Giroud the only reliable experienced top 9 for now, Chelsea will be in trouble.

Hakim starting might not be necessary because of his poor performance in the last game.

ok

Unlimited22:
Salomon Kalou - 1 UCL.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 0 UCL.


Kalou >>>>>>>> Zlatan.


Djibril Cisse - 1 UCL

Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Harry Kane - 0 UCL Combined.

Cisse >>>>>>>>> Owen + Shearer + Kane

Look at Nedved with golden foot, but some people will say he wasn't a great player because he didn't win a major title for club and country.

So Silva is out tomorrow. Oluwa sanu wa

NewDelhi:
If tuchel no use experience against atletico tomorrow ehn na big dunce. I no wan see leginho Abraham against a ruthless atletico o. Also jorginho and kovacic pairing for midfield without a breaker like Kante will be disastrous. Kante should start along side jorg and giroud should start upfront. Ziyech would be great to whip in those crosses for Giroud.

The earlier you realise Kovacic is in the center of Tuchel's plans, the better for you.

BlueRayDick:


Well, for me I believe that aside from a CB being very good at reading the ball, very good in the air, being a good leader at the backline , making timely interceptions etc....such player must enjoy successful years with his team(either at the national level or club level by winning a major title ) and such success must be directly attributable to his footballing prowess. It is only then I consider such player as ''great"

I will gladly agree he is a good player for PSG particularly in the era in which they've dominated their domestic league with the arrival of their Qatari owners in 2011, but he isn't great defender you call him to be. That guy was always in the defense line when they get dumped out of Champions league year-in year-out.

Like I said earlier, when great defenders of this era will be mentioned, Thiago's named will likely be missing.

BlueRayDick:


The main question is "If top 5 defenders that played across top leagues in Europe during this era are being discussed in the future, will Thiago be in the conversation?"

I'm not a fan of Boateng and his comical defending na.

Please which of the two bolded defines a great CB? The qualities you mentioned or "top 5 defenders discussed in the future"?

timbros:


The earlier you realise Kovacic is in the center of Tuchel's plans, the better for you.

Any one between kova and jorg should pair with Kante else...... Trouble.

Kamelot77:
giroud Na minus, we need a good dribbler tomorrow not giroud

Yeah a "defence troubler" would be necessary tomorrow but the only person that would have done that job is pulisic . He's injured. And no, I'd rather have giroud for such game than Abraham. Abraham against a team like atletico?lol . Pulisic, giroud, ziyech/mount front three for tomorrow's game would have been perfect.

Cc NextD18

timbros:





Please which of the two bolded defines a great CB? The qualities you mentioned or "top 5 defenders discussed in the future"?

You both learnt it from Raumdeuter.

timbros:





Please which of the two bolded defines a great CB? The qualities you mentioned or "top 5 defenders discussed in the future"?

1. Well, airmark asked what I think makes a defender great and here's my response : " Well, for me I believe that aside from a CB being very good at reading the ball, very good in the air, being a good leader at the backline , making timely interceptions etc....such player must enjoy successful years with his team(either at the national level or club level by winning a major title ) and such success must be directly attributable to his footballing prowess. It is only then I consider such player as ''great"

2. Airmark carefully highlighted the part I talked about winning titles but didn’t see where I talked about such player being a major contributor to his team’ success within those periods .

3. Then he comes to drag George weah who is a former world footballer of the year , a pavel
Never who has a Balon D’or to his name among other honors and Zlatan who excelled almost everywhere he played into the conversation .

4. Do u honestly think I will continue with the conversation and be wasting my time trying to make him see what he doesn’t want to see ?

5. It is only right for me to ask him that since Pavel Nedved , George Weah are being talked about for how great they were in the eras they played , does he think Thiago Silva will be remembered and referenced as one of the top 5 defenders in the first 20 years of the 2000’s ?

6. I already got the answer I wanted from his inability to answer the polar question with yes or no .

BlueRayDick:


1. Well, airmark asked what I think makes a defender great and here's my response : " Well, for me I believe that aside from a CB being very good at reading the ball, very good in the air, being a good leader at the backline , making timely interceptions etc....such player must enjoy successful years with his team(either at the national level or club level by winning a major title ) and such success must be directly attributable to his footballing prowess. It is only then I consider such player as ''great"

2. Airmark carefully highlighted the part I talked about winning titles but didn’t see where I talked about such player being a major contributor to his team’ success within those periods .

Trust me, i knew what i was doing when i added the highlighted part below in my reply. So, find another thing to type about Airmark's reply.

airmark:


My brother, Thiago Silva won Copa America and Confederation's cup with Brazil and also was in the team of the tournament in both competitions. So i don't know what you are talking about.

Your own yardstick is what i used as stick to strike out your invalid opinion about the GREAT Brazilian defender.

airmark:


Trust me, i knew what i was doing when i added the highlighted part below in my reply. So, find another thing to type about Airmark's reply.



Your own yardstick is what i used as stick to strike out your invalid opinion about the GREAT Brazilian defender.

The same confederations cup David Luiz was also in the team of the tournament . Okay I agree Thiago Silva is a great Brazilian CB.

BlueRayDick:

It is only right for me to ask him that since Pavel Nedved , George Weah are being talked about for how great they were in the eras they played , does he think Thiago Silva will be remembered and referenced as one of the top 5 defenders in the first 20 years of the 2000’s ?

No need setting the bar too high. We know the nigga who came to clown Thiago Silva used Boateng as reference point. So the real question is whether Boateng is in the top 5 defenders of the last 20 years.

Ibime:


No need setting the bar too high. We know the nigga who came to clown Thiago Silva used Boateng as reference point. So the real question is whether Boateng is in the top 5 defenders of the last 20 years.

No serious person thinks Boateng is, neither is Thiago Silva great.

BlueRayDick:


The same confederations cup David Luiz was also in the team of the tournament . Okay I agree Thiago Silva is a great Brazilian CB.

So you didn't see Copa America, but saw Confederations cup. Just say Copa America is not a major title and let's rest.

You need to complete your internship under Dayo before you can master his Amala turning techniques.

airmark:


So you didn't see Copa America, but saw Confederations cup. Just say Copa America is not a major title and let's rest.

You need to complete your internship under Dayo before you can master his Amala turning techniques.

Ibunkun1:

Yes now.

He claimed that Silva never won a major trophy for club and country, i mentioned Copa America he started doing several 'leg overs' like Quaresma.


Meanwhile,

Ferdinand : Back in 2014, when asked on Twitter who the best centre-back in the world was, the Manchester United legend said: “Thiago Silva by a long way.”

Gattuso : “I see Thiago’s strength every day in training. It is not a blasphemy to compare Thiago Silva to Franco Baresi.”

Inzaghi: “I think that Thiago Silva is the best defender in the world. It is incredible how good he really is. Thiago Silva is part of a new generation of phenomenal players who are perhaps born every 100 years.”

Ronaldo: “Thiago Silva is without a doubt the best central defender in the world. He has incredible qualities. He is a symbol of elegance like Franz Beckenbauer. He is following in his footsteps.”

Ancelotti: “When Thiago gets onto the pitch, he controls the defence with his great personality and character. He is the boss of the defence,” Ancelotti wrote in his 2015 book My Coaching Secrets.

“Thiago is a leader, technically capable of doing extraordinary things in the two phases of the game. With him, things at the back are simple and efficient.

“His speed, his great ability to recover the ball, the way he reads the game, all combined with an extraordinary leap in aerial duels makes him one of the best defenders in the world.”

Laurent Blanc: “I confirm everything that is said or written about Thiago Silva, everything people think of him: he is at the top level in the world!”

Capello: “If I needed a defender I’d sign Thiago Silva. In the next two years, he could easily play in Italy with a cigarette in his mouth.”


But here on nairaland, he is not great because he hasn't won a UCL or World cup.

hensben:
Individually, he has been in fifa and Uefa pro 11 trice. Is it because he do not have ucl and wc (which are team effort) that make u feel he is not a great defender. Or you want to tell me if sylva was to play for either Barca or Madrid or Bayern he will not bench one of the CB there. Since talent wise he is on par or even above the likes of Ramos, Varane, Pique, masquerano, terry, Vidic, etc, it is safe to call him great. These are the things fifa check too.

You mean the Thiago Silva that acheved nothing major for club and country

hensben:
So you mean Thiago sylva will not be in best CB in last decades?

How will he be?

If Boateng is not a top 5 of the past 20yrs then Thiago Silva wont even be top 30 of the past 20yrs

airmark:


Yes now.

He claimed that Silva never won a major trophy for club and country, i mentioned Copa America he started doing several 'leg overs' like Quaresma.


Meanwhile,

Ferdinand : Back in 2014, when asked on Twitter who the best centre-back in the world was, the Manchester United legend said: “Thiago Silva by a long way.”

Gattuso : “I see Thiago’s strength every day in training. It is not a blasphemy to compare Thiago Silva to Franco Baresi.”

Inzaghi: “I think that Thiago Silva is the best defender in the world. It is incredible how good he really is. Thiago Silva is part of a new generation of phenomenal players who are perhaps born every 100 years.”

Ronaldo: “Thiago Silva is without a doubt the best central defender in the world. He has incredible qualities. He is a symbol of elegance like Franz Beckenbauer. He is following in his footsteps.”

Ancelotti: “When Thiago gets onto the pitch, he controls the defence with his great personality and character. He is the boss of the defence,” Ancelotti wrote in his 2015 book My Coaching Secrets.

“Thiago is a leader, technically capable of doing extraordinary things in the two phases of the game. With him, things at the back are simple and efficient.

“His speed, his great ability to recover the ball, the way he reads the game, all combined with an extraordinary leap in aerial duels makes him one of the best defenders in the world.”

Laurent Blanc: “I confirm everything that is said or written about Thiago Silva, everything people think of him: he is at the top level in the world!”

Capello: “If I needed a defender I’d sign Thiago Silva. In the next two years, he could easily play in Italy with a cigarette in his mouth.”


But here on nairaland, he is not great because he hasn't won a UCL or World cup.

A picture >>> A thousand words

World cup winner, CL winner, starter in all finals