A farewell to 'Dave,' whose stellar Chelsea career is over

When Spanish soccer player César Azpilicueta arrived at Chelsea in 2012, his teammates gave him a rather surprising nickname: Dave.

"César's not even that hard [to say]," he lamented to The Guardian in 2013. "But I suppose Azpilicueta is. Some said my name was too difficult to pronounce and asked if they could call me Dave. It's stuck."

These days every soccer fan in the United Kingdom probably knows how to say César Azpilicueta, but most probably still call him Dave out of affection, humor and gratitude. The 33-year-old Spaniard recently ended his stellar Chelsea career by agreeing to a transfer back to Spain, and as he goes, so goes the "old" Chelsea.

Azpilicueta was the team's longest-tenured player, having served with honor under 11 different managers in his 11-season run. Everyone from Roberto Di Matteo to Maurizio Sarri to Bruno Saltor raved about Azpilicueta's hunger, intelligence and leadership skills during that time.

"A team with 11 Azpilicuetas probably could win the Champions League," former coach José Mourinho said, via Eurosport. "Because football is not just about the pure talent. Football is also about character and personality and Azpilicueta has all those traces of a winning personality."