By Ross Mooring
“Germany’s Number 9”
There aren’t many players who split opinions at Chelsea last season, but among those that did, Andre Schurrle was surely at the top of the list. The German, whose best position undoubtedly lies as an inside forward on the left flank, but who is capable of playing on the right, as a second forward (a position Chelsea teams haven’t used since the days of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink) or due to his diligence in defence, even as a left wing-back.
Schurrle’s best displays in his first season at the club came from both flanks, but the German was also (mis)used as a striker – not a false nine as many have claimed – and when Jose Mourinho fielded three at the back when chasing games he played, for all intents and purposes, as a left wing-back.
The German international started the season slowly and initially struggled to adapt to a team that hadn’t quite found its identity in the early days of Mourinho’s second spell in charge. Two unspectacular substitute appearances were followed by consecutive poor games against Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Everton. Schurrle looked lost up top against the former and in spite of assisting Fernando Torres for a cracking opener against Bayern he was subbed shortly before extra time, while against Everton Schurrle struggled, especially when asked to man the left side of the field all on his own in the second half.
After two so-so appearances in London derbies against Fulham and Tottenham, Schurrle’s coming out party (not that sort of party) came away to an admittedly poor Steaua Bucharest side in the Champions League when Schurrle roasted right back Georgievski and had a hand in two of Chelsea’s four goals.
This was followed by a series of decent performances against Norwich, Man City (his first goal for the club in a 2-1 win) and Schalke at home, before the long striding German was dropped for a run of five games. Schurrle returned to the side with a bang away to Stoke, rotating with Eden Hazard on the flanks as he notched two picture perfect left-footed strikes from outside the area, before hitting the bar and then going off with an injury as Chelsea crumpled to a 3-2 defeat in the last minute.
The blond haired German was then in and out of the side in the ensuing run of games, either coming off the bench or being a subbed himself, before both he and Juan Mata were infamously substituted in the second half at Southampton on New Year’s Day as Chelsea won 3-0 without the pair. This sparked another stretch of nine games in which Schurrle played just the one time as Jose’s preferred trio of Hazard, Oscar and Willian monopolised the minutes.
Schurrle was not to be denied however, as in his first start back in the team at the beginning of March, he and Hazard combined in a fearless display of running in the second half, skinning the Fulham defence en route to a hat trick for the German. Two of those three goals also came from his left boot, proving that Schurrle is a threat from all areas of the field.
The German was not done however, notching his third man of match display of the season in the Blues’ 6-0 crushing of Arsenal, firing an unerring finish inside the far post for Chelsea’s second, before netting the home side’s first in the 2-0 comeback win over PSG in the Champions League. On the final day of the season in the 2-1 away win at Cardiff, Schurrle equalised before creating Torres’ winner.
In all, the German had the definition of an up and down season, being dropped for spells while playing at a match-winning level in several performances and equally disappointing in others. His tally of six ratings 8 out of 10 or higher and five of 5 out of 10 in 41 games (of which 20 were starts) suggests Schurrle has the ability to make an impact at the highest level, whether as a starter or coming off the bench as a first choice change.
That three of his worst performances came in his first five Chelsea appearances also says something to the time it can take overseas players to adapt to the English game. Physically, Schurrle probably has some bulking up to do, but at 6’1″ the fleet-footed German is an excellent complement to the smaller trio of Hazard, Oscar and Willian. When on his game there is no doubt to his abilities, but as with many young players it is the mental adaption to top flight football that makes or breaks a player.
And they do know something about mental strength in Germany.
