David Luiz arrival overshadowed but should not be overlooked

Published February 15, 2011 | By Rob Alderman

David Luiz arrived during the media scuffle of Torres’ transfer from Liverpool to Chelsea. All the back pages concentrated on Torres, but Luiz’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in January looks to be an excellent piece of business by Chelsea.

Admittedly, before Luiz arrived in England, I knew of him and knew he was a very promising young defender but I had only seen him play a handful of times.

He started his career at Sao Paulo in Brazil and joined Vitoria after he was released by Sao Paulo in 2006. He made 26 senior appearances for Sao Paulo and instantly started to attract the interest of European clubs with Benfica successfully loaning him in 2007. He signed a permanent deal with Benfica later that year. Luiz remained at the Portuguese outfit for 4 and a half seasons, despite attracting interest from many of the large European clubs after excelling in the Primeira Liga. Chelsea then beat the other interested parties to his signature in the January transfer window.

Chelsea where in need of some defensive back up with Carvalho leaving in the summer, Ferreira ageing and Alex having been injured for a large part of the season. Luiz seems to fit the bill perfectly. He is young (23), both footed, fast, very calm and can play anywhere across the backline. Unfortunately for Chelsea, he cannot compete in the Champions League as he has already played for Benfica in the competition this season.

He debuted with a substitute appearance against Liverpool. A disappointing game from Chelsea’s point of view but Luiz instantly impressed in the short time he was on the pitch. He then made his full debut against Fulham last night and picked up the man of the match award, despite giving away a last minute penalty that was saved by Petr Cech.

Having been away from the limelight after Torres arrived at Chelsea, I think it probably did Luiz some good, as he doesn’t have the huge pressure that Torres has had to deal with since his move to Chelsea. Luiz has shown instantly that he can fit into the team and I think the press will, and should, take more note of his arrival in West London. This could be Chelsea’s best piece of business in 2011.

Posted in Discussion | Tagged Benfica, Brazil, Centre Back, Chelsea, David Luiz, EPL, Fernando Torres, Fulham, Premier League, £25 million

Ash

I alluded to it in my comment in the RVP article, foreigners tend to take 2 years or so to settle in the EPL. After watching the game yesterday, David Luiz looks like he’s instantly settled and looks of a similar ilk to Ricardo Carvalho, just 10 years younger, which will compliment Terry wonderfully.
For his sake, lets hope its not beginners luck…
http://www.inthestands.co.uk Rob Alderman

Totally agree Ash. Look at Drogba and Berbatov, it took them time to adjust to the pace of the league so it’s nice to see. Like you say though, let’s hope he performs consistently going into the future!
Thanks for reading…