Branislav Ivanovic- The Best Right Back in Premier League History?
Is Branislav Ivanovic up there with the very best Premier League right backs ever?
Ewan Lury rolls back the years to make the case for ‘Brana’, and highlights a few personal memories from his days at Stamford Bridge along the way.
I was 7 years old and a member of the Bridge Kids, a membership programme run by Chelsea, aimed at children who were fans of the club when I received my quarterly magazine. Already at that age, I knew more about football than I did about anything else in the world, but when the front page had a photo of Branislav Ivanovic on it, I was confused as to who on earth this player that Avram Grant had decided to sign.
I, probably like the majority of the country, had no idea that he would become one of the first of his kind in attacking full-backs, and one of the best full-backs in world football.
But in truth, we were all in our right to doubt Ivanovic as he joined from Lokomotiv Moscow in January 2008. For what at the time was a large sum for a full back at £9million, Ivanovic didn’t play at all in the rest of the season and is reported to have largely disappointed in training. It looked as though he was going to be another signing that wouldn’t make it at the Bridge, but the ever-present revolving door at Chelsea came to his rescue as Felipe Scolari introduced him into the team in the 2008/09 season and praised his aerial ability.
And it was later on this season that Ivanovic started to become so loved by every Chelsea fan, in a Champions League quarter-final vs Liverpool at Anfield.
It was a tight game, with Chelsea now under Guus Hiddink, but two headed goals by Ivanovic gave Chelsea a 3-1 away win, one that would be pivotal in pushing the side on to the semi-finals where the infamous Barcelona tie took place…
But from that day on, Ivanovic was known as ‘Two-goal Branislav Ivanovic’ (we Chelsea fans are imaginative aren’t we). And it was the injury of first-choice full-back Jose Bosingwa in the following season that allowed Ivanovic to solidify his place in a brilliant Chelsea backline under Carlo Ancelotti, culminating in a Premier League trophy and a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
Branislav Ivanovic - Born in Serbia, Made in Chelsea
It was in this time that Ivanovic really started to show how great full-backs could be at attacking. For someone of his size, Ivanovic would bomb up and down the wing and relentlessly put crosses into the box, one of the most iconic was his brilliant assist for Salomon Kalou in the Champions League 2nd round against Inter Milan.
But the 2012 season, as is the same for countless Chelsea players, is the one that will live long in the memory for Ivanovic. Chelsea’s successful Champions League campaign is often attributed to the brilliance of Didier Drogba, but not to the often forgotten about Ivanovic, who scored the brilliant winner against Napoli in the Round of 32 in a 4-1 win, before playing a pivotal role in the backline in the 2-2 draw in the infamous away leg against Barcelona.
The post-match interview is perhaps more famous than this though, with Geoff Shreeves telling Ivanovic that he was suspended for the final due to a second booking, and Ivanovic was nearly brought to tears. But he didn’t care in the end, as he went on to lift the trophy anyway!
It was as though this was a catalyst for more from Brana, as in the following year he bagged the winner against Benfica in the Europa League Final and the Man of the Match award, as he performed admirably at the back.
Current manager Frank Lampard made the point perfectly after the game:
‘You only have to look at him to see what a beast he is, he goes under the radar a bit because he just does his job, but what a player’.
That season he managed 8 goals in all competitions for the Blues, his most prolific as a player. And he just kept getting better and better, being a part of the untouchable Mourinho side of the 2014/15 season, in which he was yet again named in the PFA Team of the Year, having had another phenomenal season.
But what is most important and most evident here is that he wasn’t brilliant for just one or two seasons. The reason Ivanovic is considered alongside Gary Neville as the best RB in Premier League history is his unbelievable consistency and ability to be not just a brilliant defender, but a Fantasy Football Manager’s dream pick due to his attacking prowess. He was one of the most professional players to ever play for the club, even captaining it for large periods of the 2015/16 season in Terry’s absence.
A smile was placed firmly on every Chelsea fans face when it was announced he was returning to the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion. And who would have guessed it, he got a clean sheet in his first appearance!
(I can’t talk about Ivanovic without bringing up this gem when he was helping out at a Charity event for human appeal!).
John Terry, Eden Hazard, Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea FC
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