1 week Ago By Chris Davie
Former Chelsea assistant Jody Morris believes new England manager Thomas Tuchel turned Antonio Rudiger into the best centre-back in Europe during their time together at Stamford Bridge. Rudiger joined Chelsea for an initial £29 million fee from Roma in 2017 and played a season under both Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri before Frank Lampard’s arrival two years later. During his time under Lampard, Rudiger dropped to Chelsea’s third-choice central defender behind Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen.
However, Rudiger became a key figure at Stamford Bridge following Tuchel’s arrival in January 2021 and Chelsea went on to win the Champions League together four months later. Morris, who was Lampard’s assistant at Chelsea, feels Rudiger reached his peak under Tuchel, claiming that the new England boss turned the Germany international into an ‘outstanding’ defender. ‘When we first went in there, Rudiger had a serious injury and he wasn’t fit for a large spell,’ Morris told talkSPORT .
‘Has Rudiger played to the level that he played under Tuchel anywhere else? I’m not sure. Previously to us going in there, never. ‘But I get that because even from watching the games after we left, Rudiger, I don’t think there was a better centre half in Europe after that.
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I think in a back three with wing backs, I think Tony Rudiger was absolutely outstanding. ‘Not just from a defensive aspect, actually, going forward, I thought he has a few roaming runs, but I’m not sure we see that level of performance previously or maybe since.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page .
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