COMMENT: So who's booing now? Who's wanting rid? Those Chelsea fans who would jeer Jorginho. Those pundits who said he was a one manager player. What are they saying today...?

No-one doubts the influence of Jorginho these days. They're falling over eachother to praise him. And why not? The heartbeat of Chelsea. The metronome of Italy. He's already a European champion at club level - and could be the same internationally.

And the Blues midfielder will be no passenger if Italy go all the way. In the lead-up to Friday night's quarterfinal with Belgium, Fabio Capello declared Jorginho the Azzurri's "main man". The Champions League winner being honest enough to admit that Jorginho had forced him to reassess his view - once he'd seen him "live".

"Jorginho, he's (Roberto) Mancini's main man," Capello said. "He was a player who didn't convince me completely. But in matches I saw him live, I watched carefully.

"He is a midfielder who knows how to stay on the field and direct the team.

"The fact that Italy don't concede many goals is due to his ability to intervene at the right time in the actions of the opponents."

And that's just it, as Capello confessed, for the player Jorginho is, you really need to see him "live" to appreciate his influence. On the ball and when the opposition have it, Jorginho is the lynchpin of this Italy team. Capello has highlighted his intercepts, but it's also his defensive positioning and the way he directs those around him to do the same. He is a coach's player. The "main man".

But it could've been so different a year ago. Still not entirely embraced by the Chelsea support. Still doubted by English football's pundits. Jorginho appeared to have his bags packed and was ready to return to Italy.

And there were no shortage of suitors. With his loyal agent Joao Santos regularly in the Italian press touting the prospect, it did seem only a matter of time before the former Napoli midfielder would again be a Serie A player.

Mancini and Jorginho together with Italy

Brought to England and Chelsea by Maurizio Sarri, his old Napoli coach, Jorginho was written off as a Premier League player. Two seasons enough to assess the Italy international. The well worn criticism virtually accepted by all. He was too slow. He couldn't tackle. He couldn't create. And of course the favourite - he was Sarri's pet. On and on it went. Even for those who could see the player in Jorginho - and the flaws in his critics' claims - it was all becoming a bit too much. It really did appear he was on his way out.

But no-one counted on the mentality of Jorginho. His determination. His strength of mind. An attitude forged when living on €20 a week as a youth teamer at Hellas Verona. Away from family and friends back home in Brazil. By his own admission, he wobbled; he wavered - but still found it inside him to fight on. A few boos from his own at Stamford Bridge. The lazy dig from an ex-player. After everything he'd gone through to get to Chelsea, he wasn't going to simply scurry away.

And it must be said, strengthening that resolve were the people inside Chelsea. The players. The staff. To a man, they've long appreciated Jorginho. Lampard never viewed him as Sarri's player. Nor has Thomas Tuchel. And Mancini has long talked up his midfield general as among "the best in the world". The people whom matter value Jorginho - as Gianfranco Zola declared.

"He is always questioned. When something goes wrong and Jorgo makes a mistake, it is always picked up straight away," says the Chelsea great, who worked with Jorginho as Sarri's No2.

“But it is no coincidence that the owner of Manchester City wanted to buy him. I don't know how close they got but he decided to come to us.

“He is always in the right place supporting defenders and the other midfielders when they have the ball. He is always available when the ball is becoming hot. The fans have to understand that he is perfect for a manager."

And significantly, Zola adds: "This is a player who never hides.

“You can rely on him all the time. A lot of players under pressure don't want the ball — but Jorgo is not one of them."

It's that mentality. On the field, it drives Jorginho to lead. Off it, it pushes him to stare down his detractors. And as we said, it's an attitude that is recognised and encouraged by those whom lean on him.

As Italy teammate and Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne says: “I'm not the one deciding if he deserves the Ballon d'Or, but I hope he'll be shortlisted, he deserves so, he is a great player."

And why not? Champions League winner. Potential Euros winner. As Insigne says, achievements that earn most players a nomination for the game's biggest individual awards. And for the ones voted on by peers, you'd hope Jorginho would be in the mix.

This column loves the traditional, all-action British box-to-box midfielder. The one who'll win a 30-70 tackle. Spray a 35-yard pass to his winger. And get himself up the pitch to head home the cross. A lot of us just love that type of player.

But it doesn't have to be an either/or equation. We can also appreciate a player like Jorginho. His clever movement. His bright passing. His intelligent reading of the game. It's all there. Qualities that went a long way in helping Chelsea win this season's Champions League - and now have Italy in the final eight of the Euros.

And he is being recognised. The praise of his managers - both past and present - is now being heeded. It was barely a year ago he appeared to have one foot out of the door. But no-one is booing Jorginho, of Chelsea and Italy, now...