With Mauricio Pochettino relieved of his duties at the end of the season, it’s possible that Chelsea’s new manager will deploy different tactics to the Argentine in 2024/25.
That would be a shame, as Pochettino’s fluid system was able to get the best out of players like Marc Cucurella, who was given the freedom to roam from left back.
That helped the player to shine towards the end of the campaign; so much so, in fact, that he’s been called up to the provisional Spain squad for EURO 2024.
Hard Times
It’s not many moons ago that Spain were the undisputed kings of Europe: winning the EUROs in 2008 and 2012, as well as a World Cup in-between.
But they’ve fallen on hard times since, which is confirmed by the latest EUROs odds from Paddy Power. At 7/1, they are behind England (3/1), France (7/2), and Germany (4/1) in the pecking order.
There will be football predictions columns that warn punters not to write off the Spanish due to their past endeavours, while the pedigree of players like Manchester City’s Rodri and former teammate Aymeric Laporte requires no introduction.
Marc Cucurella has been included in Spain’s provisional squad for #EURO2024! 👏 pic.twitter.com/7Q5YnuEMy5
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 27, 2024
Cucurella will have opposition for the left-back berth in Luis de la Fuente’s starting eleven. Jose Gaya may have been left out of the squad due to injury, but there’s still Alex Grimaldo – he served up 23 goal involvements in a remarkable season for Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
So the Chelsea man may have a watching brief at the tournament, but he will certainly head to Germany – if selected in the final Spain squad – with confidence after his fine form at the end of the campaign.
Man in the Middle
Key to Cucurella’s improved form was the tactical switch that saw him deployed as an inverted full-back for the last few games of the season.
It led to the Spaniard becoming more involved in the play from central…
Source link : https://www.talkchelsea.net/news/cucurella-named-in-provisional-spain-squad-for-euro-2024-after-fine-end-to-the-season/
Author : Barry Bridges
Publish date : 2024-05-29 13:42:20
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