What’s the story
Chelsea FC have announced the signing of German central defender Antonio Rudiger today. The 24-year old has signed a five-year contract and will be handed the no.2 shirt. Rudiger spoke to the press at the time of the announcement-
Chelsea’s technical director Michael Emenalo also added:
In case you didn’t know
Rudiger was a key member of the German team that lifted the FIFA Confederations Cup recently, where he helped Die Mannschaft keep a clean sheet against a rampant Chile. The tall, strong, defender started off his youth career with VfB Sperber Neukölln in 2000, aged just 7 years before moving through SV Tasmania Berlin, Neuköllner Sportfreunde 1907, Hertha Zehlendorf, before making the leap to bigger youth setups in Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart. It was at the latter club that he got his break playing for VfB Stuttgart II (the B team that plays in the third division) 22 times and then getting promoted to the senior team in 2012 aged just 19.
He played 66 times for the Bundesliga club before making the move to his current club Roma for a modest €4 million which rose the following year (as per the agreement between the two clubs) to €9.5 million the following year.
He has, of course, now become a Chelsea player
The heart of the matter
Antonio Conte now has sealed up any defensive worries as he has five high-quality centre-backs to call to ensure he can keep his favoured 3-man defensive system going throughout the season.
Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger make a rather brilliant centre-back team.
Video
For those who haven’t seen the big German in action:
Not too bad, eh?
Author’s Take
Antonio Rudiger’s signing makes the utmost sense as Antonio Conte sews up any potential headaches in the defensive end of the field. This now leaves him and his hierarchy to concentrate on the pressing problems further up the field
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