'We don't get anything from being champions, we start from zero,' Cesar Azpilicueta insisted, all of his years of experience on display. It has not been the smoothest of roads for him, though, and he is wise enough not to take success for granted.
Chelsea are the Champions League holders and open their title defence this evening against Zenit St Petersburg. They are the overwhelming favourites to pick up a victory, but complacency has been a killer for them in the past.
Indeed, Azpilicueta has tasted the agony and humiliation of an early knockout, having been in the team when the club followed up their superb 2012 success against Bayern Munich with a group stage exit.