Thiago Silva incredible journey, from Milan to London via Paris

• Chelsea head to Milan to play AC Milan at San Siro in the UEFA Champions League
• Leading Chelsea to the clash is Thiago Silva who once played for Milan over a decade ago
• We take a look at Silva’s remarkable journey from Milan to Stamford Bridge to Paris

Thiago Silva maybe one of the best careers in football but it is a surprise he did not make the breakthrough until he was 25, boasting 28 trophies in European football, including league titles in France and Italy, as well as Champions League success with Chelsea, it’s somewhat surprising his breakthrough was quite late.

After failing to make the cut while at Porto, and contemplating walking away from the game entirely during a spell on loan with Dynamo Moscow, a successful return to Brazil with Fluminense ultimately opened his doors to a move to Milan and the rest, as they say, is history.

San Siro proved more than just a layoff ground into a trophy-laden spell in European football for Silva, and it is the stadia where he is expected to make his 100th Champions League appearance on Tuesday with his current side Chelsea, the eighth – and possibly final – club of his career.

Chelsea defender Thiago Silva once played for AC Milan between 2009 and 2012. | PHOTO: Courtesy |

Should that be the case, he will become only the fifth Brazilian in history to reach that milestone in the competition after Roberto Carlos (120), Dani Alves (111), Fernandinho (103) and Marcelo (102).

Despite now being 38, you would not bet against the veteran centre-back going on to break Roberto Carlos’ record – although for that to happen, he would have to spend at least one more campaign at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea to play in the competition.

On the basis of his first two-and-a-bit campaigns at Chelsea, and the fact the club have already extended his stay twice, there is every chance Silva could yet see out his career in London – the club owner Todd Boehly already interested in extending his stay.

Ahead of what may be a landmark occasion for the Brazilian against his former club, we take a look back at his career to date – particularly in UEFA Champions League – and highlights just why he is still such an important figure both on and off the pitch.

SILVA DRIVEN BY SELECAO SELECTION

Silva made it open when joining Chelsea in August 2020, on the back of his Paris Saint-Germain contract expiring, that still being in contention for Brazil for the 2022 World Cup was his long-term motivation to remain at the very top.

“As I’ve said before, the prospect of playing at the next World Cup is another thing that really drives me,” he said at the time of arriving in London. “I’ll be 38 years old by the time of the next World Cup and I’m hugely motivated to be in good shape for it.

“The work that I’m putting in to make this a reality already started a while back and now Chelsea have given me a great opportunity to continue playing at the highest level of the game.”

Far from being a bit-part player, the 5,219 minutes Silva has played in the Premier League since his arrival is the second most of any outfielder for the club, behind only midfielder Mason Mount who has played 6,345 minutes.

The departure of Thomas Tuchel, whom he worked with at PSG, and arrival of Graham Potter has not lessened his workload, either, as he has started nine of Chelsea’s 11 matches in all competitions this term.

Chelsea defender Thiago Silva claps for the fans after the UEFA Champions League clash against AC Milan at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday October 5 2022. | PHOTO: Chelsea FC |

One of the games he missed was Saturday’s 3-0 win over Wolves because of illness – although he still would have been rested for Tuesday’s clash, but he has since returned to training and is part of Chelsea’s travelling squad for the trip to Milan.

Indeed, Silva played in last week’s reverse fixture with the Rossoneri – also a 3-0 win – despite being under the weather. Not that it showed, with the centre-back not only helping his side to a clean sheet but also leading the way for shots (three) and shots on target (two) as he made himself a nuisance in the Milan box.

Incredibly, only winger Raheem Sterling (seven) had more touches in the opposition box than Silva’s three. Thirty-eight he may be, but Silva is still having an impact for Chelsea at both ends of the field – and almost certainly will with Brazil in Qatar.

THIAGO’S TIME TO ADAPT

As a defender, defending is the priority for Silva, and he has adapted his game in that regard during his time at Chelsea. While the sample size for this season’s Champions League (two matches) is far too small to come to any sort of conclusions, last season’s statistics provide plenty of insight.

Silva cleared the ball 1.7 times per 90 minutes across his nine Champions League outings in the 2021-22 campaign, which was by far the lowest amount of any of his 13 seasons in the competition up to that point. The next lowest came in 2014-15, at PSG, when clearing the ball 3.1 times on average.

By extension, his number of headed clearances was also at a low last season, down from 2.4 per game in his final campaign at Paris to 1.0 last term. His 0.8 tackles per 90 minutes, meanwhile, was also the lowest he has registered in the Champions League.

This does not mean Silva was necessarily defending less, just that he was operating – under the instructions of Tuchel at the time – in a different way. He was also playing a bigger part in the build-up play, with his 67.9 successful passes per 90 minutes a tally he has only personally bettered once in his career (75.8 in the 2018-19 season).

Remarkably, it was in Silva’s first season at the French capital that he registered his lowest passes completed (37.9 per game) figures. Over the past decade, his game has had to change considerably. And yet here he is, still thriving at 38.

A Humble defender at work

Whether at Milan, PSG or Chelsea, clubs that are accustomed to regular squad overhauls, Silva has very much been a mainstay of the backline, as highlighted by those 99 previous appearances in the competition, 60 of which came during his eight seasons at the Parc des Princes.

Silva never lifted the famous title with PSG, however, the closest he came to doing so being his last season with the club in the 2019-20 season when losing to Bayern Munich in the final. Nine months later, he was holding it aloft as part of Chelsea’s victorious side in Porto, another city where he previously played.

Should he do so again this campaign, he will become the second-oldest player to win the competition after Paolo Maldini who won with Milan in 2007, a true sign of his longevity at the top of the game.

On the day he is welcomed into the Champions League’s Centurion Club, Silva has another opportunity to show against one of his former sides that age is very much just a number, as he has done throughout his time with Chelsea.

“He was outstanding,” Potter said on the back on last week’s win against Milan. “He’s 38 years old, 38 years young, and when he’s playing like that, he’s an impressive person. He’s a character, a proper guy who’s got a fantastic experience but has a humility to just do the job.

“He’s competing in the Champions League and the Premier League – you don’t get that by thinking about [the World Cup]. You get it by being in the moment. It’s how he prepares, recovers, rests and focuses.”

Add hunger to that list, too. A hunger to fight back from a life-threatening illness early on in a career that was going nowhere fast; a hunger to remain on top of his game and adjust his style in his 21st season as a footballer; a hunger to captain his national side at the biggest tournament of them all at the age of 38.

While his career may still have a bit of time to witness yet, occasions like Tuesday in Milan offer a reminder that we should continue to enjoy Thiago Silva while we can.