Loftus-Cheek praises ‘leader’ David Luiz

Leadership is hard to define, but everyone seems to agree that Chelsea lack it. Where are the mighty warriors of yesteryear who would not stick up for all this nonsense, or at least would rain fiery death and destruction from upon high on Player Power Mountain?! And now Gary Cahill’s leaving, too, taking a certain non-zero amount with him. What are we ever going to dooooo?

Considering that Cahill barely played and, by his own admission, was barely involved with the team this season, we’re probably not going to be much worse off in this regard, if at all. Captain Azpilicueta is doing just fine, younger players are growing and acquiring the necessary skills through experience, and there’s still plenty of veteran guidance at the club as well.

Chief among those is a certain David Luiz, who somehow finagled himself a new two-year deal at age 32. But perhaps part of the reason for that is that not only has he been an important player on the pitch, but he’s been an important figure behind the scenes as well — that’s always been the case for David, though he’s grown from just the typical class clown to a great leader. Here’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek telling the Evening Standard’s Vai Bhardway all about that.

“Not only is [David Luiz] talented, how good of a defender he is, he’s a leader and he’s a senior player in the squad. For the young talent, it’s important we have a senior figure to have at least a few who have a lot of experience and knows how to deal with things. He’s a great character in the dressing room as well. So for him to stay and be at Chelsea for two years is great for us and the club.

“David is a person who is really good with people. He’s got a lot of respect for young players, he sympathises with you a lot, and he knows because he’s been through it. He’s always one to help you. Even the young players coming up from the academy to train just for a day, he’ll be the one helping them and helping them settle in. He’s a massive figure in the squad.”

-Ruben Loftus-Cheek; source: Evening Standard

Carrying on the fine traditions of the Old Guard, the last remaining hero of Munich 2012, David Luiz! Praise be.