Chelsea FC

Chelsea FC
Basic data
Surname	Chelsea Football Club
Seat	London - Fulham , England
founding	March 10, 1905
Colours	blue White
owner	Roman Abramovich
president	Bruce Buck
Website	chelseafc.com
First soccer team
Head coach	Thomas Tuchel
Venue	Stamford Bridge
Places	40,853
league	Premier League
2020/21	4th Place
home Away Alternatively

The Chelsea Football Club - also known as Chelsea FC or Chelsea London in German-speaking countries - is an English football club that was founded in 1905 by the Mears brothers. The team, also known as The Blues , plays its home games at Stamford Bridge Stadium in West London . The color of the home jerseys is blue.

On July 1, 2003, the association was bought up by Roman Abramowitsch , which attracted international attention . Since then, the entrepreneur has invested more than 1.77 billion euros in new players.

Chelsea have been English champions six times . The “Blues” won their last championship title in the 2016/17 season . In European competitions Chelsea won in 1971 and 1998 the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup , in 2012 and 2021 , the UEFA Champions League and in 2013 and 2019 , the UEFA Europa League . This makes Chelsea the first British club and one of five teams to win all three European Cups and the first club to win each of these three competitions at least twice.

history

Before the foundation (1896–1904)

In 1896 Henry Augustus "Gus" Mears and his brother Joseph bought the Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground to host soccer games. They had to wait until the property owner died in 1904 to convert the facility. Fulham FC was supposed to play here from now on , but there were disagreements about the rent. When Gus Mears was about to sell the land to the Great Western Railway , which wanted to store coal here, his colleague Fred Parker persuaded him to start his own football club instead. So instead of building stadiums like many other clubs to play in, Chelsea FC was founded to use the facility.

The 20th century

The first years (1905–1915)

The team from 1905.

Chelsea FC was officially founded on March 10, 1905 in The Rising Sun Pub (now The Butcher's Hook , across from the stadium). Due to the location of the stadium in the London district of Fulham , the name Fulham Football Club was obvious, but this was already occupied by the club of the same name. After that, London FC , Kensington FC and Stamford Bridge FC were candidates for the club name, but they were all rejected, so that an agreement was reached on Chelsea Football Club . The pensioner's emblem was chosen, which earned the team the nickname The Pensioners . They were denied entry into the Southern League after objections from FC Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur and so they asked for admission to the Second Division of the Football League . The motion was passed on May 29, 1905, making Chelsea the first club to be accepted into the Football League without having played a game beforehand.

The team from 1911/12.

The first league game on September 2, 1905 against Stockport County ended in a 0-1 defeat; The first coach was John Tait Robertson . In their first home game (a friendly against Liverpool ), Chelsea prevailed 4-0. In 1907, the Blue rose to the First Division , thanks largely to goals from George Hilsdon , who scored five goals against Glossop on his debut on September 1, 1906 . With the rise in the first division, the interest of the spectators also increased, an average of 17,000 people came to the home games in 1907/08. The crowd consisted of a mix of wealthy Chelsea citizens and workers from Fulham and Battersea . After Robertson had appeared drunk for training, the club leadership replaced him first by William Lewis , who made his post in 1907 for David Calderhead vacant. Calderhead coached the Blues until 1933. After a disappointing 1909/10 season and a loss in the decisive game against Tottenham , Chelsea rose to the second division. In order to avert relegation, players were signed late in the current season, which the Football League assessed as unsporting behavior and then issued fixed transfer times. Two years later, Chelsea returned to the first division and achieved 8th place in 1914, their best result to date.

1914/15 was the last championship round before the league operation was discontinued due to the First World War . For the pensioners it was only enough for 19th and thus penultimate place. Normally this would have meant relegation, but after the war the league was expanded by two teams so that Chelsea were invited to play in the First Division again. In 1915, the club reached the FA Cup Final for the first time , which was played at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester . The final, in which Chelsea lost 3-0 to Sheffield United , became known as the Khaki Final as many soldiers in uniform watched the game.

Between the world wars (1919-1940)

Chelsea FC, 1929

1919/20 was the first season after the war and with 3rd place in the First Division it was also the best since the club was founded. In 1924, the Londoners were relegated and did not return to the first division until 1930, after having missed promotion every time in the second division with places five, three, four, three and nine. Coach Calderhead, meanwhile, relied on top players by storm, through whom the club became known and popular with the audience, but failed to strengthen the defense equally. In 1930 he signed Hughie Gallacher , Alex Jackson and Alec Cheyne , with great hope especially in Gallacher after Newcastle United had won the title in 1927. Although he scored a total of 81 goals in the course of his Chelsea career, neither was Gallacher nor Jackson and Cheyne able to build on his previous achievements and left the club after four years.

In 1932, the Blues came closest to a cup when they made it to the FA Cup semi-finals , but were eliminated there after a 2-1 draw against Newcastle United . Chelsea FC was denied a trophy in the 1930s; the best result of the decade was in 1936 the 8th place in the league. In 1933, after the club had escaped relegation by only two points, Calderhead resigned as coach and Leslie Knighton took over. In 1934, Chelsea were also only separated by two points from a relegation zone, and in 1939 it was only one. The unbroken popularity with the public remained remarkable, with 82,905 fans attending the home game against Arsenal on October 12, 1935 , a record in club history and the second highest number of visitors in English league football. Since Knighton had to show no significant success until 1939, the club replaced him by William "Billy" Birrell . In 1939/40, however, he was only allowed three games as a coach before World War II brought the championship round to an abrupt end.

The post-war period (1945–1952)

Chelsea versus Crystal Palace . Scan of the program from October 27, 1945

After the surrender of the German Reich , Dynamo Moscow signed up for a series of games in England to celebrate the resumption of gaming. On November 13, 1945, the Muscovites played their first game against Chelsea in London. 74,496 people were officially admitted to Stamford Bridge , but many people illegally entered the game by climbing over fences, ultimately leading to 100,000 spectators. After Dynamo were already 2-0 down, they equalized before Chelsea took the 3-2 lead again. In order not to burden the already deteriorating relationship between Great Britain and the Soviet Union , the referee allowed an offside goal , which meant it was 3: 3 in the end.

After resuming league operations, Chelsea was unable to set any accents; Except for the signing of other star players such as Tommy Lawton and Roy Bentley , who joined the team in 1948, the club hardly made a name for itself. A roller coaster ride for players and fans followed in the early 1950s. In 1950 the leap to the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal succeeded , the first game ended 2-2 and so a replay was scheduled for March 22nd, in which Arsenal scored the only goal and thus moved into the final. 1951 saved only the better goal difference from relegation, before 1952 in the FA Cup semifinals against Arsenal again came when the "Gunners" won the replay after a 1-1 draw with 3-0. William Birrell then resigned as a coach. Although he could not win a single title, he was extremely important for the club, as he, together with other former Chelsea players, set up a promotion program for young talents that was unique at the time and was actively looking for young players for the club.

Ted Drake and the Championship (1952–1961)

After Birrell had resigned as coach , a new era began under Ted Drake , formerly a striker for Arsenal and England , although at the beginning it differed little in terms of play from Birrell's. As one of the first acts, he replaced the pensioner emblem with that of the blue lion, which is still preserved today in various modifications. Unlike his predecessors, Drake was an approachable trainer who preferred to wear a tracksuit instead of a tie and value dialogue with each individual player. He also introduced some innovations in training, for example, instead of using the fitness units that had been common up until then, he used the ball more to improve the technical skills of his players. He demanded different qualities from his players than before, he didn't want star players who were often disappointing in their performance and reliability, but young talents who wanted to prove themselves at the club and win trophies. Therefore, Drake turned primarily to players from the second and third division to build them up and promote. At the same time, he demanded more support from the fans, because despite the high number of visitors, the audience had been rather cautious up to now. His words “don't tell me the crowd can't make a difference” (“Don't tell me the audience can't make a difference”) did not fail to have an impact, especially not at the “Shed End”, the standing room in the south part of the stadium which until the demolition in 1994 always housed the loudest and most loyal fans. However, all his efforts seemed in vain when Chelsea finished 19th in 1953 and only managed to work their way up to 8th in 1954.

The turning point came in the 1954/55 season: Drake won the championship with a team that included little-known players apart from captain Roy Bentley , even though the year had started poorly. Four initial defeats in a row, including a 5-6 against Manchester United , hardly indicated a title win. In November 1954, the team was in 12th place when the players suddenly found their rhythm and were four points ahead of defending champion Wolverhampton at the top of the table at Easter .

The Blues secured the title on the penultimate matchday, April 23, 1955, with a 3-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday . At the end of the season, 52 points were enough for the coveted trophy, one of the lowest scores for a champion since the First World War. At the same time, the reserve team and the two youth teams also won their leagues, giving the club a unique “quadruple”. Thanks to the championship title, Chelsea would actually have allowed participation in the European Cup , but the FA decided against the competition and advised the club not to participate. According to the FA, it was more important to focus on national league operations. There was only one game against the then Scottish champions Aberdeen , which he won.

After winning the title, the club could not build on the previous performance and fell back to 16th place. The next few years they always finished in the middle of the table and the team was aging noticeably, so that more and more players from their own youth moved up, including Jimmy Greaves . He scored 122 goals in four years, 41 of them in the 1960/61 season alone (a club record to date). In 1961 Greaves moved to AC Milan . The move heralded the end of Drake's tenure, because without Greave's goals, the team looked significantly weakened. After a 4-0 defeat by Blackpool in September 1961, the Londoners were in last place on the table, whereupon Ted Drake was dismissed. He was succeeded by Tommy Docherty as player- coach .

Chelsea under Tommy Docherty (1961-1967)

The dismissal of Drake could no longer prevent relegation to the second division. Successor Tommy "The Doc" Docherty took the time to make the squad to change structurally. He sold many of the older players to make room for more young players who outgrew the youth program, which was still dominated by William Birrell . In contrast to Drake, Docherty was considered strict by the players and had a reputation for punishing indiscipline accordingly. Hard training, however, seemed to pay off when Chelsea returned to the premier league in 1963 and finished the season in fifth place. The team, which was one of the youngest in club history, included Peter Bonetti , Bobby Tambling , John Hollins , Ken Shellito , Barry Bridges , Bert Murray and Terry Venables , all players from their own youth. Together with the bought-in George Graham , Eddie McCreadie and Marvin Hinton , this team formed Docherty's "little diamonds", as he had once called them in a television documentary . Recognition for this also came from abroad; Chelsea was invited twice to play against the West German national soccer team . The games ended with a 3-1 win for Chelsea and a 3-3 draw.

All in all, the club developed into a serious opponent, but internally the harmony increasingly waned. As captain and playmaker, Venables was the crowd's darling and most dazzling young player rolled into one, but his relationship with coach Docherty deteriorated noticeably as he disliked his leadership style. The mood in the team was already more than clouded at that time, although Chelsea led the table with four games to go in 1965 and another league win was within reach. The low point came in the league game against Burnley , in which Docherty did not let seven key players, including Venables and Graham, play because they had not adhered to the curfew that he had imposed the previous evening. A severely weakened team lost 6-2, which meant that winning the title was now impossible and it was only enough for third place behind Manchester United and Leeds United .

The next year brought the team to the extreme of performance with 60 games, as substitutions were not yet allowed at the time. In addition to the league, Chelsea was also represented in the trade fair cup , which corresponds to today's UEFA Cup , and in the FA Cup . The latter started promisingly, defending champions Liverpool had to admit defeat to the Blues in the third round before they were eliminated in the semifinals with 0-2 against Sheffield Wednesday . In the trade fair cup, Chelsea prevailed against AS Roma , TSV 1860 Munich and AC Milan , before the club faced FC Barcelona in the semi-finals . The semi-finals had to be decided after a 2-0 defeat and a 2-0 victory from the perspective of Chelsea in a third game in which FC Barcelona clearly won 5-0.

Docherty had now reached a point where he no longer had confidence in the young players - the team was on average 21 years old - and a dialogue could no longer take place. He decided to sell some of the youngsters and instead bring more experienced players onto the team, notably Charlie Cooke and Tommy Baldwin . With Peter Osgood there was only one new player from the youth program. Initially, Docherty's strategy seemed to work, after ten games, Chelsea were the only undefeated team in the league in October 1966. Osgood had quickly found his place on the team and in the hearts of the fans, but when he broke his leg in a duel with Emlyn Hughes in the League Cup game against Blackpool , the failure in the storm could hardly be compensated. Though Tony Hateley was signed to bolster the attack for the then record £ 100,000 , his style of play was inconsistent with the rest of the team. Osgood scored most of his goals with his foot, Hateley mostly with his head, but hardly any high balls were passed. The result was a disappointing 9th place in the league and the 1: 2 defeat in the FA Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur was all the more painful, as Jimmy Greaves and Venables, dismissed by Docherty, also ran up for Tottenham. When the new season brought only two wins in the first ten games, Docherty was fired and Dave Sexton was appointed as his successor.

Dave Sexton and the Two Cups (1967–1971)

After the end of Docherty's coaching body, Dave Sexton, a calmer character, took over the leadership of the team. He took over the found squad and added more security on the defensive with John Dempsey and David Webb and tried to give the offensive more clout with striker Ian Hutchinson , midfielder Alan Hudson and winger Peter Houseman . Despite a devastating 7-0 win against Leeds United in their first game with Sexton as coach, his influence on the players grew by the end of the season, finishing them in the top six as well as the next.

Success returned in 1969/70 when Osgood and Hutchinson recorded a total of 53 goals for themselves and were able to lead the team to the FA Cup final again. Opponent here was the then champions Leeds United, against whom Chelsea were twice behind, but fought their way back to a 2-2. According to the regulations at the time, this meant a replay that was played two weeks later in Manchester at Old Trafford Stadium. It was 1-1 in extra time when Chelsea took the lead for the first time and took a 2-1 win thanks to a David Webb header .

Thanks to this victory, nothing stood in the way of taking part in the European Cup Winners' Cup for the first time . With Aris Saloniki and CSKA Sofia the first opponents were solvable tasks, in the quarter-finals the Club Bruges waited , which won the first leg 2-0. In the second leg it seemed to only be enough to make it 1-0 until shortly before the end, when Peter Osgood scored the 2-0 equalizer nine minutes before the end. Two more goals were scored for Chelsea in extra time, paving the way for the semi-finals against Manchester City (then defending champions). This hurdle was also taken 1-0 and 1-0 and so Chelsea and Real Madrid faced each other in the final . After a shaky 1-1 in the first leg, Dempsey and Osgood met to win the second leg 2-1 and thus secured the first cup win at European level in club history. For many fans , the song Blue is the Color sung by the players of the club is inextricably linked to this event. It reached number 5 on the UK singles chart and is still one of the most famous fan chants in English football to this day.

The crisis years (1972-1983)

However, the hoped-for increase in performance after winning the trophies did not materialize. Instead, the team's morale and discipline declined over the next few years as Sexton fell out with several key players. The performance deteriorated accordingly: Lack of discipline and a lack of team spirit resulted in more and more defeats. The 1972/73 season ended in 12th place, the following on 17th. Shortly after a 2: 4 against local rivals West Ham on Boxing Day 1973, Osgood and Hudson were sold. Dave Sexton was sacked during the 1974/1975 season after the team started the new season weak; His successor was his assistant Ron Suart , who could no longer prevent the relegation in 1975. In addition to the sporting problems, there were also financial bottlenecks caused by the construction of the new East Stand of the stadium. The plan was to expand the stadium to 50,000 seats, but delays in construction, strikes, a lack of material and the global economic crisis drove up construction costs.

In 1976 the club had amassed £ 3.4 million in debt, which is why a transfer could not be completed in the following four years. Spectator interest declined due to a lack of performance and rising ticket prices to pay off debts, while more and more hooligans caused problems in the stadium. The Chelsea Headhunters , one of many hooligan associations in England during the 1970s and 80s, were known for their aggressive behavior and association with far-right political groups. This gave the club additional bad press and ultimately led to Chelsea being the first club in England to have to put up fences on the sidelines.

The East Stand, the main catalyst for the club's financial crisis in the 1970s

Eddie McCreadie took over the job of coach shortly before relegation in 1975, rebuilt the team and returned to the first division in 1976/77. Since there was no money for transfers, more and more players from their own youth established themselves. Among them were Ray Wilkins and the promising striker Steve Finniestone, and McCreadie could continue to rely on the services of more experienced players such as Charlie Cooke and Peter Bonetti. He quit his job, however, when club owner Brian Mears did not want to provide him with a company car and so another ex-player was appointed coach, this time Ken Shellito . Although he has not worked miracles this season, he was able to ensure that Chelsea FC remained top-notch next year. In the middle of the new season, Shellito ended his employment with the club after only three wins had been achieved by Christmas; He was succeeded by former track captain Danny Blanchflower. Peter Osgood returned that year, but could not give any significant impetus either and so the team was relegated again after only five wins and 27 defeats. In 1979, Geoff Hurst , star of the 1966 World Cup final, took over as coach, and together with his assistant Bobby Gould he seemed to turn things around. Chelsea was on a promotion place for a long time, until shortly before the end the performance collapsed and it was only enough for fourth place. In the next year, fewer goals were scored than seldom before, and the Londoners couldn't book one for themselves through nine games. The result was 20th place, whereupon Hurst was dismissed as a coach.

In 1981, Brian Mears resigned as chairman after the club had been family-owned for 76 years. A year later, Chelsea were on the verge of bankruptcy, debts could not be paid and players' salaries could not be paid. For the symbolic amount of one pound, Ken Bates took over the club but refused to take over the stadium and the associated debt. Then the company Marler Estates bought parts of the property, which led to a long legal battle. Ultimately, in the early 1990s, Marler Estates went bankrupt and the Chelsea Pitch Owners , an organization of Chelsea supporters, took over the stadium. The purpose of the takeover was to always connect the property to the club, regardless of the club's financial situation.

John Neal took over as coach in 1981 and made it back to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1981/82 for the first time in years. The game against Tottenham Hotspur was a 2: 3 defeat, in the league it was again not enough for promotion and you had to be content with 12th place. 1982/83 was probably the most exhausting season of all for the club and fans when they were even threatened with relegation to the third division. In view of the dire financial situation, this would have meant ultimate ruin. Nine games without a win drove the team to the basement of the table, relegation was prevented by a 1-0 win over Bolton on the penultimate matchday and a draw against Middlesbrough on the last matchday. Two points separated the Blues from a relegation zone in the end.

The new beginning (1983–1989)

After the hardships of the previous season, manager John Neal set the course for promotion in the summer of 1983. He took striker Kerry Dixon from Reading , winger Pat Nevin from FC Clyde and midfielder Nigel Spackman from Bournemouth for the attack under contract. As a goalkeeper he was able to win Eddie Niedzwiecki from Wrexham , at the same time John Hollins returned as a player- coach. All of the transfers had only cost around £ 500,000 to save the club's cash, as capital was still tight. The little money, however, was well invested: Dixon, Nevin and David Speedie , who had already signed up in 1982, scored almost 200 goals in just three years.

The changes have visibly done Chelsea well, in the first three games of the new season the Blues met 14 times. In particular, due to the three-man team Dixon-Nevin-Speedie, the team quickly reached the top of the table, held it until the end of the season and made promotion in 1984. The fans have now returned to the club too, with nearly 10,000 watching the final game of the season, which the Blues won away at Grimsby Town . Dixon had excelled in that season, he scored a total of 36 goals in all competitions. The success continued in 1984/85 and rewarded the players with 6th place, a result nobody had dared to dream of in 1983.

John Neal resigned at the end of the 1984/85 season due to heart problems and handed over his office to Hollins. In his first year as manager in 1985/86, he wanted to take the momentum from the previous season with him and further modernize the club. As a sign of change, the club's emblem was changed so that the lion now stood over the letter CFC. Chelsea joined the title fight again in 1986 and finished first in February, but then fell back when Dixon and Niedzwiecki had to sit out due to injury. Around Easter , the fans had already written off the championship when the Blues suffered a 6-0 defeat against Queens Park Rangers . Two important 2-1 wins against Manchester United and West Ham United brought Chelsea within reach of the top of the table, five game days away from the end of the season, three points separated leaders Liverpool and the team from John Hollins. But only one of 15 possible points was secured, which decided the fight for the title. The only trophy that year was that of the Full Members Cup , which was introduced after the Heysel disaster , as English clubs were not allowed to participate in European football during this period. A 5-4 win over Manchester City brought the trophy to Stamford Bridge , and Speedie scored a hat trick in that game .

As is so often the case in the club's history, performance fell again after a promising start and Chelsea finished the next championship round only 14th. Speedie and Spackman left the club in a dispute with Hollins, who was sacked in March 1988 when relegation threatened again. Bobby Campbell took over the coaching duties and entered the recently introduced play-off game against Middlesbrough , which should determine the relegated team. After Chelsea lost 2-1, riots began in the stadium which eventually resulted in several fans trying to get onto the pitch. As a result, Chelsea had to play the next six games in the second division without an audience, but the immediate rise was successful. With 99 points, 17 points more than Manchester City in 2nd place, Chelsea returned to the premier league despite failing to triumph in the first six games of the year.

On the way up (1990–1995)

After Chelsea had surpassed all other teams in the second division, the team also made a name for itself in the First Division when they finished 5th without any notable star players in 1989/90. The Full Members Cup belonged to the Londoners again after they beat Middlesbrough 1-0 at Wembley . In the same year, the penalty for English clubs was lifted after the Heysel disaster , but the only English UEFA Cup starting place was awarded to runner-up Aston Villa , preventing Chelsea from entering the competition.

A year later, Bobby Campell resigned as coach and Ian Porterfield took over his post. The club played strong enough to qualify for the newly formed Premier League , which began playing in 1992/93. Porterfield resigned in the middle of the season and was replaced at short notice by David Webb , under whose direction it was enough for 11th place. In the summer of 1993, Glenn Hoddle came from Swindon Town to Chelsea to fill the office of coach. Hoddle had just been promoted to the first division with Swindon Town as a player-coach.

At the same time, the ten-year lawsuit over Stamford Bridge ended in 1992 when Marler Estates went bankrupt and Ken Bates made a corresponding deal with the responsible banks.

In 1997 the Chelsea Pitch Owners bought the property to prevent future separation of the club and stadium. Shortly afterwards, numerous construction works began; Among other things, any standing room was converted into seating, the grandstands were built closer to the square and all tiers were roofed over.

Under Hoddle's direction, Chelsea temporarily dismantled and was in the meantime even in danger of relegation, but was able to work their way out of the low performance. In 1994 the Blues faced Manchester United in the FA Cup final, with Chelsea winning 1-0 in both league games. At halftime, the opponents were 0-0, but two penalties within five minutes gave Manchester a 2-0 lead. To equalize, Hoddle's team opened their defensive ranks too much and ultimately lost 4-0. Since Manchester United had already qualified for the Champions League that season , Chelsea took their place in the European Cup Winners' Cup , but were eliminated in the semifinals against the eventual winners Real Saragossa 3: 4.

All in all, the team's performance and morale had improved significantly, not least due to their inspiring captain Dennis Wise . Additional reinforcements came to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 1995 with Ruud Gullit , Mark Hughes and Dan Petrescu . Hoddle himself led Chelsea to 11th place in the league in 1996 and to the FA Cup semi-finals, where, however, the eventual winners Manchester United again won 2-1. 1996 ended Hoddle his engagement and was coach of the English national team .

Back to Success (1996-2000)

Gullit was named player-coach in 1996 and immediately began to strengthen the team with high-profile players. He brought the former Juventus striker Gianluca Vialli , the French defender Frank Leboeuf , Gianfranco Zola , who quickly became a crowd favorite, and Roberto Di Matteo into the team. Later came even Gus Poyet and Tore André Flo added. Thanks to these players, Chelsea moved more and more away from the image of the mediocre city club, instead the fast, entertaining passing game and the technical finesse of the players became known.

The beginning of the 1996/97 season was overshadowed by the death of Matthew Hardings , the club's vice president, who was killed in a helicopter crash after the league game against Bolton Wanderers . In terms of play, the season was the best since 1990, with Gullit leading the Londoners to 6th place in the table. They made history in the FA Cup final when Di Matteo scored the fastest final goal in the history of the competition after just 43 seconds. The game ended 2-0 after another Eddie Newton goal. In February 1998, when the team was ranked 2nd in the Premier League, Gullit was unexpectedly fired, apparently due to a disagreement over his salary.

Gianluca Vialli became his successor, and Chelsea won two more competitions in his first two months as player-coach. The League Cup went into the possession of the Blues after a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, as did the European Cup Winners' Cup after a 1-0 win against Stuttgart in the final in Solna . The goal was scored by Zola 20 seconds after being substituted on. The next final in which the Londoners were successful was that of the Supercup , in which Chelsea and Real Madrid faced each other in Monaco . The only goal of the game was scored by Poyet in the 81st minute.

In August 1999 the first participation in the Champions League was due, in the first group stage the opponents were Hertha BSC , AC Milan and Galatasaray Istanbul . The team of coach Vialli surprisingly secured 1st place in the group and moved into the second group stage together with Berlin, in which Chelsea finished 2nd behind Lazio Rome . The quarter-final first leg against Barcelona in London ended with a 3-1 win for the Blues, the second leg was 2-1 for Barcelona until seven minutes before the end, which would have meant a place in the semi-finals for Chelsea. But the 3-1 by Dani led to the extension, in which two more goals were scored for the Catalans , whereby the Vialli team were eliminated 4-6.
In those years the image of the club had changed significantly, there were so many top international players in the ranks of the team that on December 26, 1999, no player from the United Kingdom was in the starting line-up in the championship game against Southampton . However, this did not affect the success in the slightest, in 2000 Chelsea was back in the FA Cup final, the last to be held at the old Wembley Stadium. The 2-0 win over Aston Villa brought the trophy to London for the second time in four years, followed by the Charity Shield in August after a 2-0 win against Manchester United . Vialli was at the height of his career with Chelsea and the team's most successful coach to date.

The 21st century

The Claudio Ranieri era (2000-2004)

Claudio Ranieri

In the summer of 2000 Vialli spent almost £ 27m on other players such as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eiður Guðjohnsen , who together scored 50 goals in the 2001/02 season. But after the Blues had only won one win in five games by September, Vialli was sacked and replaced by Claudio Ranieri , who led the club to 6th place despite initial difficulties with the English language . Ranieri rejuvenated the team by selling older players like Dennis Wise and replacing them with John Terry , William Gallas , Frank Lampard and Jesper Grønkjær . In the second season under Ranieri there was no progress in the league, but in other competitions. The Blues reached the semi-finals in the League Cup and even the final in the FA Cup, where they were beaten 2-0 to the later double winners Arsenal FC . During the season there were rumors about the club's troubled financial condition; in fact, Ranieri had no signings in the summer of 2002. Expectations for the coming season had fallen noticeably, but Chelsea got involved in the fight for the title and secured fourth place on the final day of the match with a 2-1 win over Liverpool FC and thus participation in the Champions League . After Roman Abramowitsch took over the club on July 1, 2003, Ranieri had unlimited funds, which he invested in Claude Makélélé , Geremi Njitap , Glen Johnson , Joe Cole and Damien Duff .

The over 100 million pound transfer costs were well invested and were rewarded with a 2nd place in the Premier League and the semi-finals of the Champions League. That semi-final was Ranieri's undoing when Chelsea lost 3-1 away to AS Monaco and then wasted a 2-0 lead in the second leg at Stamford Bridge and finally drew 2-2. The second leg defeat was mainly due to the substitution of Ranieri, so he replaced the experienced defender Mario Melchiot and instead sent Glen Johnson on the field, right-back Geremi Njitap replaced midfielder Scott Parker to give the defensive more offensive impetus. Finally, he released Hasselbaink from the lucrative storm partnership with Guðjohnsen and replaced him with Hernán Crespo . Before the second leg, the club's officials met with agent José Mourinhos , which put even more pressure on Ranieri. With the substitutions, Ranieri wanted to extend the lead to a high victory to dispel doubts about his decisions. In his biography Proud Man Walking , Ranieri openly admits that he wanted victory more than anything to strengthen his position, but that his changes were, in retrospect, the wrong ones. It was not for nothing that Ranieri called himself "The Tinkerman" (from English to tinker: messing around ), he constantly changed the starting grid, even if there was no apparent reason for this. In November 2003 Chelsea won 4-0 against Lazio in the Champions League and only a week later 5-0 against Newcastle , but Ranieri's maxim was to always keep the team rested and fresh, and so he changed the line-up despite the Success.

Many of these changes, however, met with incomprehension from the board and fans, for example the left winger Damien Duff often played on the right side ( Cole's position) or directly behind the tips ( Lampard's position). Although the performance increased towards the end of the season, the chance to overtake the eventual champions Arsenal was already lost. The lack of success and Ranieri's increasingly sarcastic-pessimistic remarks (for example before the second leg against Monaco, when he spoke to the journalists present at the press conference with "Hello my sharks, welcome to the funeral" (for example: Hello my sharks, welcome to the funeral) welcomed or commented on the increasing pressure from club owner Roman Abramowitsch with “Look, I already have this sword embedded in me”) led to his dismissal in summer 2004. The former Porto trainer José Mourinho , who had won the Champions League that year, took over his post.

Roman Abramowitsch as the new owner (since 2003)

Roman Abramovich, owner of the Blues

In 2003, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich decided to buy a football club after developing an interest in football at the 2002 World Cup . In addition to Lazio , Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal , Manchester United was also a possible option, but Abramovich discarded it due to the purchase price of around £ 700 million. The price of Chelsea was way below that, with the club's shares valued at around 20p at the time . The then chairman of the board, Trevor Birch, entered into negotiations on June 23, 2003 with Pini Zahavi, a football agent on behalf of Abramowitsch, and set the price per share at 40 pence; however, if Abramovich shows real interest, the price is negotiable. Birch and Abramowitsch met in person three days later, and the deal itself was closed in twenty minutes. Abramovich transferred the club's owner, Ken Bates, £ 60million, which was an estimated £ 17million profit for Bates after buying the club in 1982 for the symbolic amount of just £ 1m. In addition, Abramovich paid for the club's debt of around £ 90 million, with the club still having a further £ 10 million in reserve, bringing the total price to £ 140 million. The takeover came just in time, as Chelsea had to pay off around £ 23 million in debt in July 2003, an amount the Londoners would not have had without Abramovich's money. After the takeover, the club was dubbed Chelski by the tabloids as an allusion to Abramowitsch's origins and confronted with allegations regarding the damage to national and international football through spectacular player transfers.

As of January 2006, Abramovich's total investment was around £ 440 million , although he had announced that he would cut transfer costs in the future, as talented players from his own youth should move up soon enough. Shortly thereafter, however, he distanced himself from this statement after rumors of a possible end to his involvement with Chelsea became loud.

The club under coach José Mourinho (2004-2007)

José Mourinho

After Ranieri's dismissal, José Mourinho was hired as the new coach, who had previously coached Porto and led them to victory in the championship and Champions League. At his introduction Mourinho was emphatically self-confident, his saying “Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one.” (“Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm a winner the Champions League and I think I'm a special one. ”) earned him the nickname“ The Special One ”; his assessment of the team "We have top players and, sorry if I'm arrogant, we have a top manager." met with a mixed response. Some saw Mourinho as arrogant, while others saw him as the coach who could lead and represent Chelsea, given the recurring criticism of the club's funding.

There were fewer differences over the team's performance, as Chelsea started the most successful season to date with the 2004/05 season. After a rather sluggish start with only eight goals in nine games and five points behind leaders Arsenal , the team picked up speed. Frank Lampard proved to be the most important pass partner in midfield, who was not only able to distribute the balls further into the top, but also contributed to the success with his own goals. Didier Drogba , Joe Cole and Arjen Robben formed the storm, with Cole and Robben pulling the defense apart, making room for Drogba's header game. On November 6, 2004, after beating Everton , Chelsea reached the top of the table, which the club held until the end of the season. The backbone of the team was the defensive, with Claude Makélélé in midfield, William Gallas as wing defender , captain John Terry in central defense and Petr Čech, who was signed in the summer, as goalkeeper for 25 goals without conceding (of which 1025 minutes without conceding) and only conceded 15 goals during the championship round. With a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers , the Blues secured their first title in 50 years, and by the end of the season they had set a new Premier League record with 95 points.

The double made Mourinho's side perfect with a 3-2 win against Liverpool in the League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff . In the Champions League , the first opponent after the group stage was FC Barcelona , against whom the Londoners initially took the lead 1-0 away, but later lost 2-1. José Mourinho accused Barça coach Frank Rijkaard of having spoken to referee Anders Frisk at half time , an allegation that turned out to be justified, but resulted in a two-game ban for Mourinho after "fans" of the Blue death threats against Frisk. He then ended his referee career out of concern for his own safety. Chelsea won their second game against Barcelona 4-2 at home, the first three goals came within 20 minutes for the Blues.

In the quarter-finals, the players of Bayern Munich waited , against which Chelsea won 4-2 at home and then lost 3-2 away, but the 6-5 after both games was enough for the semi-final, which was very tactical against Liverpool on both sides was shaped, so that the game in the first leg in London did not go beyond a 0-0. The second leg at Anfield Road won the "Reds" when Luis García scored the 1-0 with a controversial goal, paving the way for the eventual final victory against AC Milan .

Mourinho secured the services of winger Asier Del Horno , winger Shaun Wright-Phillips during the transfer phase in summer 2005 and ordered Hernán Crespo back from his loan to AC Milan. After that, the Blues started the season with nine wins in a row, including a 4-1 win over Liverpool, and were at times 18 points away from closest rivals Manchester United . In the middle of the season, the Mourinho-Elf showed weaknesses and so the advantage melted down to seven points, but a 3-0 in the home game against United finally secured the title defense. In the Champions League there was another clash with Barcelona, ​​to which the Blues were initially defeated by 2-1 and were only able to wrest a 1-1 draw in the second leg, so the competition was over for Chelsea after the round of 16. In the FA Cup you got to the semi-finals, where Liverpool won 2-1.

The players celebrate winning the FA Cup on May 19, 2007 at Wembley

Even before the start of the 2006/07 season, the Londoners made a name for themselves when they bought the Ukrainian striker Andrij Shevchenko from AC Milan for a record sum of around 50 million euros , while Salomon Kalou , Michael Ballack and Khalid Boulahrouz also joined the team, while strikers Eiður Guðjohnsen and Hernán Crespo , winger Damien Duff and defender William Gallas left the club, the latter in exchange for Arsenal's Ashley Cole . After injuries to goalkeeper Petr Čech and John Terry in the winter of 2006, the defense lost security and league rivals Manchester United overtook Chelsea. After Čech's and Terry's return, the defense stabilized again, but United's lead, with seven points in the meantime, was too big to catch Alex Ferguson's club again, so the Blues ended the season in second place. They were still able to secure two trophies, the League Cup with a 2-1 win against Arsenal and the FA Cup with 1-0 after extra time against Manchester United at the new Wembley Stadium , when Chelsea were the last team to win the trophy at the old Wembley Stadium won (between 2001 and 2006 the finals were held at the Millennium Stadium ).

In the Champions League, the team around captain John Terry met FC Barcelona for the third time in a row, this time in the group stage, but mastered it and made it into the group's first round of 16 against FC Porto . After 1-1 and 2-1, Chelsea faced Valencia in the quarter-finals and prevailed again 1-1 and 2-1. In the semifinals, the dream of the final finally ended when it was 1-1 on the return leg and Chelsea were knocked out 4-1 on penalties against Liverpool .

On September 20, 2007, the association announced the separation from Mourinho on its website. It was done by mutual consent. A specific reason for the separation was not disclosed. However, it is believed that Abramovich asked Mourinho to have more attractive and more goal-scoring football. The day before the split, Chelsea only played 1-1 against Rosenborg Trondheim despite 23: 7 shots on goal .

The time after Mourinho (2007-2011)

On the day of Mourinho's dismissal, Avram Grant was introduced as the new coach, who had been signed as Chelsea's sporting director in the summer of 2007. Until then, Grant had worked exclusively in Israel (from 2002 to 2006 as a national coach). Steve Clarke and Henk Ten Cate, who joined the coaching staff shortly after , acted as assistant coaches . Grant differed from Mourinho in both football and demeanor. José Mourinho put his main focus on the result, while Grant tried to get the attractive football desired by club owner Abramovich to play. At his press conferences, Grant was deliberately cautious, saying about himself, alluding to Mourinho, “I'm not special, just normal” (“I'm not special, but quite normal”). Since he had not looked after any other top European club until then, Grant was regarded by many as a coaching lightweight.

On his debut as a coach, Chelsea lost 2-0 to Manchester United. But performance improved and so Chelsea was able to hold 3rd place until Christmas and come within seven points of Manchester United. In the Carling Cup, the Blues reached the final, but lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur after extra time . In the FA Cup, the quarterfinals ended with a 0-1 draw against Barnsley . In March, league rivals Arsenal temporarily pulled away by 9 points, but the lead quickly melted after a few mistakes with the Gunners. On March 23, Manchester United took the lead. Chelsea soon improved to 2nd place and followed the Red Devils by five and later three points. In the direct duel between the two, Chelsea won 2-1 and drew even on points. Manchester remained leaders due to the better goal difference. The championship was only decided on the final day of the match, May 11, 2008, when Manchester United beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 , while Chelsea drew 1-1 with Bolton Wanderers .

In the Champions League, Chelsea finished first in Group B and met Olympiacos in the round of 16 . After a 0-0 first leg in Greece, Chelsea won the second leg 3-0. Fenerbahçe Istanbul followed in the quarter-finals, defeating Chelsea 2-1 away in the first leg. In the second leg, the Blues secured the semi-finals with a 2-0 win. In the semifinals, the opponent was Liverpool for the third time in four years . In the first leg at Anfield Road, Liverpool defender John Arne Riise made a serious mistake in stoppage time when he headed the ball into his own goal and thus equalized Dirk Kuyt's opening goal . In the second leg, Chelsea took the lead after a goal from Didier Drogba , but lost it to a goal from Fernando Torres , so there was extra time. Here Frank Lampard converted a penalty before Drogba increased it to 3-1. Ryan Babel's goal to make it 3-2 could no longer prevent the Blue from entering the first Champions League final in club history. In the final, however, they failed to Manchester United 6-7 on penalties. John Terry forgave the almost certain victory when he slipped on the wet grass with his penalty shot and only hit the post. Grant was finally released on May 24, three days after the final.

After Avram Grant's dismissal, Luiz Felipe Scolari was announced on June 11, 2008 as the new coach, who coached the Portuguese national team until he took office on July 1 . During the transfer period, Claude Makélélé , Andrij Shevchenko , Claudio Pizarro and Shaun Wright-Phillips left the team, while Deco , José Bosingwa and Mineiro were introduced as new signings . Scolari's tenure started strong with 28-3 goals and 12 games without loss in all competitions. The first in the Premier League on August 17, 2008, the team won 4-0 against Portsmouth FC . On October 26, they lost 1-0 at home to Liverpool , which tore the series of 86 league home games or two and a half years without a defeat. After that, the team's performance fell, especially at home games. From 16 league games they got only 29 out of 48 possible points. Scolari was then dismissed on February 9th.

On February 11th, Guus Hiddink was introduced as the new trainer. However, Hiddink also kept his post as Russian national coach and was therefore only committed until the end of the season, even if Roman Abramowitsch would have liked to keep him longer. In the Champions League they made it to the semi-finals, where they went out of the tournament after a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou and a 1-1 draw against FC Barcelona . In the end they finished 3rd in the Premier League , behind Manchester United and Liverpool FC, and thus managed to qualify for the Champions League . Hiddink won the FA Cup 2-1 against Everton FC in his last game for Chelsea .

On June 1, 2009, Carlo Ancelotti was introduced as the new Chelsea manager. This came from AC Milan , with whom he won the Champions League in 2007 , and signed a three-year contract. In his first competitive match with Chelsea, he won the FA Community Shield against Manchester United on penalties 4-1 (2-2; 0-1). The match winner was Petr Čech, who saved Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra's penalties .

On September 3, 2009, FIFA imposed a transfer ban on Chelsea FC for the winter 2009/10 and summer 2010 transfer times. The reason for the punishment is the contract dispute over the player Gael Kakuta, who moved from RC Lens to Chelsea in 2007 . The French club had filed a complaint with FIFA about breach of contract. The football association saw this complaint as justified, Chelsea had urged the player to breach the contract. In addition to the transfer ban, Chelsea must pay RC Lens a training allowance of 130,000 euros.

On February 4, 2010, the CAS finally lifted the transfer ban against Chelsea. Lens and Chelsea had previously agreed that Kakuta no longer had a valid contract with Lens. As a result, Chelsea could not be found guilty of breach of contract. The FIFA penalties against Chelsea and Kakuta have been lifted.

After a good season in which Chelsea won 86 points and scored a total of 103 goals, a league record, the club became Premier League champions for the third time. With a 1-0 win in the FA Cup final against Portsmouth FC, Chelsea won the " double " for the first time in the club's history .

The club finished the 2010/11 season as runner-up. After the defeat at Everton (0-1) in the last game of the season, the club announced the separation from coach Ancelotti on May 22, 2011.

National and international title wins (2011-2019)

Handover of the Champions League trophy to Chelsea

On June 22, 2011, André Villas-Boas was announced as the new coach of Chelsea FC. Chelsea paid a transfer fee of around 15 million euros to FC Porto for Villas-Boas . Villas-Boas had already worked in the coaching staff of José Mourinho for Chelsea FC from 2004 to 2007. On March 4, 2012, he was dismissed for failure after only five wins in the last 16 games. At that time, Chelsea were 20 points behind leaders Manchester City .

His assistant coach Roberto Di Matteo took over the position until the end of the season. With him, Chelsea won the FA Cup final against Liverpool 2-1. After a 1-0 and 2-2 semi-final success against FC Barcelona , the final of the Champions League was reached, which on May 19, 2012 in Munich against Bayern after a 1-1 after extra time 4-3 was won on penalties. This was the first time in the club's history that Chelsea won the highest European cup.

Di Matteo was then awarded a two-year contract as head coach of Chelsea in June 2012.

After an average start to the following season, Roberto Di Matteo was released from his duties on November 21, 2012, as the club threatened to fail as defending champions in the group stage of the 2012/13 Champions League . On the evening of the same day, Rafael Benítez was presented as his successor. He signed a contract until the end of the 2012/13 season .

But even Benítez could not prevent the end despite a 6-1 win in the last group game, as Juventus won at the same time at Shakhtar Donetsk. Chelsea FC will go down in the history of the Champions League as the first defending champion ever to fail in the group stage. In addition, the final of the Club World Cup was lost 1-0 to Corinthians São Paulo . As group third in the Champions League, the team was able to continue playing in the Europa League , where they won the final against Benfica Lisbon 2-1 on May 15, 2013 . With this title, Chelsea became one of five teams to win all major European competitions ( UEFA Cup , UEFA Champions League and European Cup Winners' Cup ).

For the 2013/14 season, José Mourinho returned to Chelsea as a coach.

In the 2014/15 season, Chelsea lost 4-2 at home in the 4th round of the FA Cup against third division club Bradford City after Chelsea had already led 2-0 after 40 minutes. In January 2015, Juan Cuadrado was signed by Fiorentina . In return, Mohamed Salah was loaned to Florence. André Schürrle also moved to VfL Wolfsburg . In addition, they separated from Ryan Bertrand who moved to the first division club FC Southampton , as well as from Mark Schwarzer and Fernando Torres who moved to Leicester City and AC Milan respectively . On March 1, 2015, they won the League Cup 2014/15 after beating league rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 . On May 3, 2015, the team played at home, at Stamford Bridge, against Crystal Palace and, after a 1-0 win, secured the English championship 2014/15.

After Chelsea were in 16th place in the table after the 16th matchday of the 2015/16 season with nine defeats and 15 points, the separation from José Mourinho was announced on December 17, 2015. Assistant coach Steve Holland looked after the team on matchday 17, after which the Dutchman Guus Hiddink , who had coached Chelsea FC from February to June 2009, was signed until the end of the season.

Antonio Conte

Chelsea signed former Italian national team coach Antonio Conte as coach at the beginning of the season . In the summer, Ngolo Kante was also signed , who was champion with Leicester City last year . In addition to Kante, the club also signed Michy Batshuayi , Marcos Alonso and Eduardo . On July 13, 2018, Conte was sacked as head coach. English media reported a severance payment of 10 million euros. After winning the first three games, they lost two times, including a 3-0 defeat at local rivals Arsenal . Conte was forced to change tactics. He switched to a somewhat untypical 3-4-3, with wingers Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses acting offensively in possession and going on the defensive if the ball was lost. With this system, Chelsea set the club record of 13 straight wins (including ten clean sheets). It wasn't enough for the league record, which Arsenal holds with 14 wins in a row.

A decisive factor in the title race with Tottenham Hotspur was Spurs' loss to West Ham United on May 5 . Chelsea only had to win two out of four games as a result. The first match they decided on May 8th against Middlesbrough 3-0 for themselves. As they won the away game against West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on May 12, 2017, Chelsea FC secured the 2016/17 English championship on matchday 37 (36th game for Chelsea, as they still had a catch-up game) . Substitute Michy Batshuayi scored the winning goal for the club's sixth championship in the 82nd minute. In the following season (2017/18) Conte could not continue the championship, only the FA Cup was won by Chelsea this year.

For the season 2018/19 took Maurizio Sarri the head coach position and was awarded a contract for two years now. Before that, he coached the Italian first division club SSC Napoli for three years . The change of coach cost Chelsea 8 million euros, according to the media. The first change under Sarri includes Jorginho , who is also coming from SSC Napoli for a transfer fee of 57 million euros. In addition to reinforcement in midfield, the goalkeeping position inevitably had to be strengthened, as Thibaut Courtois moved to Real Madrid . In the course of this, Kepa was signed by Athletic Bilbao for 80 million euros. At the same time, Kepa became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. The first 12 games Sarri played without a loss in the league, which set a new record in the Premier League. On November 24th on the 13th matchday, city rivals Tottenham Hotspur ended the series with a 3-1 win over Chelsea. Sarri's first season ended in 3rd place with 26 points behind Manchester City and 25 points behind Liverpool FC . In addition, Chelsea won the Europa League for the second time after 2013 , in which they defeated Arsenal 4-1 in the final.

Present (since 2019)

For the 2019/20 season , Frank Lampard took over the team who had coached the second division Derby County in the preseason . Due to a transfer ban, the club had to rely on its own offspring, which significantly rejuvenated the squad. For example, Tammy Abraham (21, Aston Villa), Mason Mount (20, Derby County), Fikayo Tomori (21, Derby County) and Reece James (19, Wigan Athletic) returned from their loans. The only real newcomer was Christian Pulisic , who was officially signed and loaned back by Borussia Dortmund in January 2019 . On the other hand, Eden Hazard, a key player for the title wins in recent years, left the club for Real Madrid . The younger team reached the 4th place in the league 33 points behind the champions Liverpool FC and thus qualified for the Champions League . They also reached the final of the FA Cup , which was lost to Arsenal . In the Champions League, Chelsea were eliminated in the round of 16 against eventual winners FC Bayern Munich .

For the 2020/21 season , Chelsea started a transfer offensive and spent over 220 million euros on new players in the first transfer period. Hakim Ziyech (40 million euros, Ajax Amsterdam ), Ben Chilwell (50.2 million euros, Leicester City ), Timo Werner (53 million euros, RB Leipzig ) and Kai Havertz (80 million euros, Bayer Leverkusen ) came among others at the same time became the most expensive German player through the transfer. Furthermore, Thiago Silva ( Paris Saint-Germain ) was signed on a free transfer. At the end of January 2021, the club separated from Lampard when the team was 9th after 19 games with 29 points. His successor was the German Thomas Tuchel , who had been dismissed from Paris Saint-Germain about a month earlier. With Tuchel, the team reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2021 and won the cup with a 1-0 win against Manchester City with a goal from Kai Havertz in the 42nd minute. In the Premier League you reached the 4th place.

Stamford Bridge

→ Main article : Stamford Bridge

The West Stand of Stamford Bridge

Since it was founded, Chelsea FC has played its home games at Stamford Bridge , which, contrary to popular belief, is not in the Chelsea district , but in Fulham . There is also no bridge called "Stamford Bridge" on which the stadium would be located; the name is probably a mixture of the Sanford Bridge, the Stanbridge and the Battle of Stamford Bridge , the exact origin can no longer be clarified in the meantime. Among fans of the club, The Bridge is the common name, as in the famous song Blue is the Color : ... Here at the Bridge ...

Image from the East Stand on the South Stand (The "Shed End")

The stadium opened on April 28, 1877, but was not designed to host football matches until Chelsea was founded. Only when the property was expanded to 51,000 m² was there enough space to create a soccer field. At the beginning, the stadium held around 100,000 visitors, due to various modifications and the ban on standing room after the Heysel disaster , today's maximum number of visitors is 42,055.

The South Stand, built in the 1930s, was the place where the most loyal and loudest fans gathered, especially during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, and became known as the "Shed End". The name probably derives from the roof with corrugated iron ago, making the grandstand from the outside like a large shed looked (Engl. Shed : the shed). After the demolition of the old Shed End in 1994 and the renovation work in the 1990s, the bulk of the long-standing supporters has shifted to the north stand, following the death of Vice President Matthew Harding in Matthew Harding Stand was renamed. In the meantime, however, various campaigns such as Return to the Shed are running, which should revive the Shed End as a stronghold for Chelsea fans.

Construction began on the East Stand during the 1970s, which put a strain on the club's finances and nearly resulted in bankruptcy. As a result, parts of the property were sold and a long legal battle ensued with the new owners, until they became insolvent and the stadium was completely owned by the club again.

West entrance

In 1997, the Chelsea Pitch Owners , a fan organization, took over the stadium, the club's naming rights and the property to ensure that it could not be sold to outside companies again. Due to the naming rights associated with the stadium, the club may only call itself Chelsea Football Club as long as the home games are played on the property at Stamford Bridge.

The last renovation work on the north, south and west stands was completed in 2001, but there are plans to increase the capacity to over 60,000 seats. However, the proximity to two railway lines and a main road make an expansion as good as impossible, since the entire property is already built on. Therefore, there were always suspicions about a possible move of the club, but these were denied.

The Chelsea Village of football is built around the stadium , a kind of encasing the entire square with office buildings, residential buildings and hotels.

Club crest

The founding emblem of (1905–1952)

Ted Drake's version (1953-1986)

Club coat of arms for the 100th anniversary in 2005

In the more than 100 years of club history, Chelsea FC had four emblems and various variations of these. The founding emblem from 1905 shows a Chelsea pensioner and is surrounded by the words "The Chelsea Football Club". As Chelsea Pensioners to former soldiers who are divorced from the service due to injuries or old age and their retirement in designated Royal Hospital Chelsea spend. The emblem lasted until the 1950s, but was never featured on the jerseys.

When Ted Drake was hired as a coach in 1952, he insisted that the pensioner be replaced with a new coat of arms. Until the new emblem was designed, however, a simple interim solution was sought, which was discontinued at the beginning of the 1953/54 season. The new emblem now showed a blue lion , looking back, with a staff in its paws. The edge of the club's coat of arms is decorated with soccer balls and roses. The lion was taken from the coat of arms of Count Cadogan, who was then president of the club, the staff refers to the Abbot of Westminster , who also included Chelsea . The roses are the national symbol of England .

Emblem from 1986 to 2005

This emblem was the first to be embroidered on the jerseys. It existed until 1986, when the new manager John Hollins also changed the club's coat of arms as a sign of modernization. The background was dipped in a slightly lighter blue and the lion was depicted more naturally. In the center were the letters CFC, on which the lion leaned. This design lasted for 19 years, but was far less popular with fans.

At the beginning of the 2005/06 anniversary season, the club management changed the emblem for the last time, the current layout is based on the Ted Drakes . The blue lion returned to the center of the emblem and held the staff between his paws again, as in the fifties. For the hundredth anniversary of the club, the roses and soccer balls were gold, after the end of the 2005/06 season they were colored red.

Fans and followers

Chelsea fans at a home game

Chelsea ranks fifth in England in terms of average attendance, with more than 40,000 fans regularly attending the home games. Viewers are mostly from the working-class Hammersmith and Battersea areas, as well as the more affluent areas of Chelsea and Kensington . The club itself puts the number of followers in the UK at around four million.

In addition to the usual English fan chants like Who ate all the pies, there are a number of Chelsea fan chants. These include Carefree , Blue is the Color , Keep the Blue Flag Flying High , We all Follow the Chelsea (to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory ), Ten Men Went to Mow and Celery . Celery is often sung at victories, and until recently celery stalks were also thrown onto the square. However, the club management prohibited this in March 2007.

Chelsea do not have any classic rivalries like Liverpool and Everton , although friction with currently 5 Premier League clubs from London cannot be completely avoided. A poll found that fans consider Arsenal , Tottenham and Manchester United (in that order) their biggest rivals. A far worse relationship is between Chelsea and Leeds United , which can be traced back to several games in the 1960s and 70s, particularly the 1970 FA Cup Final. Recently, there has been competition between Chelsea and Liverpool as these two teams met in just three years (since 2004) faced 15 times. Here, Chelsea dominated most of the league games, while Liverpool almost always prevailed in the cup competitions.

Internationally, FC Barcelona is Chelsea's biggest rival, since the 1999/2000 season both played against each other in the Champions League in seven seasons ; once (2006/07) in the group stage (both reached the round of 16) and six times in the knockout phase. In these duels Chelsea won twice (2004/05); (2011/12) and four times Barcelona (1999/2000); (2005/06); (2008/09); (2017/18) prevail as the winner.

During the 1970s and 80s, the club and supporters fell into disrepute due to problems with hooligans , the Chelsea Headhunters . Together with the hooligan associations of other clubs, especially the Inter City Firm ( West Ham United ), the Millwall Bushwackers ( Millwall FC ) and the Salford Reds ( Manchester United ), they were considered the most aggressive and dangerous association. The headhunters were also in contact with neo-Nazi groups such as Combat 18 and the British National Party . Due to the acts of violence, there were considerations to erect electric fences along the field, but this was rejected, so that normal fences were only erected behind the gates. Since the 1990s, incidents during the Games have decreased significantly. Factors for this development are the conversion of the stadiums from standing to seats, the associated increase in the price of tickets, a spatial separation of fans from hosts and guests, as well as video surveillance.

Jerseys and suppliers

The first home shirt, worn from 1905 to 1912

Since its inception, the players of Chelsea FC have always worn blue shirts to home games, with white shorts and dark blue socks at the beginning. The jersey itself was light blue at the beginning and was based on the clothing of Count Cadogan for horse races. This combination lasted only a short time, as early as 1912 the jersey was replaced by one in royal blue . Coach Tommy Docherty replaced the white shorts with blue ones in 1964/65 and added white socks. In his opinion, this combination was more suitable as it was not used by any other major club at the time and was therefore unique.

Away, Chelsea traditionally wears yellow or white, but there have been exceptions over the years. For example, the first away jersey was striped in black and white; for the FA Cup semi-finals in 1966, the players wore a combination of blue and black striped, reminiscent of Inter Milan jerseys . Other variations were mint green during the 80s, red and white checkered in the early 1990s and gray and orange red in the mid 1990s. For the 2007/08 season, the away jersey is neon yellow, a color that club owner Roman Abramowitsch chose because he liked the bright FC Barcelona away jerseys . The players also wear black shorts and black socks; if this combination should overlap with the opposing team, the shorts and socks will also be exchanged for neon yellow. The emblem on the away jerseys is also black and neon yellow.

In the past, players' clothing was made by Adidas , although there was actually a contract with Umbro that would have lasted until 2011. However, the club bought itself for around 36 million euros from the deal, reasons for this were not given by either Umbro or Chelsea. Towards the end of the 2015/16 season it became known that the club had terminated its supplier contract with Adidas by mutual agreement six years before the end of the term. A short time later, the English media reported a new contract with competitor Nike, which brings in up to 60 million pounds per year.

In 1983, Chelsea signed their first advertising deal with Gulf Air , who put their lettering on their jerseys. This was followed by Commodore International (1989-1995), Coors Beer (1995-1997), Autoglass (1997-2001) and the Emirates Airline (2001-2005). From 2005 to 2015 Samsung advertised on the shirts, from 2015 to 2020 the tire manufacturer Yokohama . Telecommunications brand 3 has been using the jerseys as advertising space since the 2020/21 season .

Chelsea in pop culture

As early as 1930, the club was part of the football film The Great Game , in which Jack Cock , himself a player of the Blues, played the leading role. Several scenes were filmed at Stamford Bridge and players from the club also made appearances, including Andrew Wilson , George Mills and Sam Millington . In The Football Factory , a film about different Hooligan associations in England , who play Chelsea Headhunters an important role. In 2007 the club was again part of a film, this time in Jhoom Barbar Jhoom , a Bollywood film .

Until the 1950s, the lack of success often provided templates for comedians such as George Robey and Norman Long , who appeared with their parodies in variety shows . Long wrote in 1933 even a song called On The Day That Chelsea Went and Won The Cup (dt. From the day won at the Chelsea the trophy ), which describes a series of bizarre, fictional events of the day Chelsea would ever win a competition.

The song Blue is the Color was released as a single in 1972 before the League Cup final. The song, sung by the players themselves, reached number 5 on the British singles chart . In 1997, the players recorded another song with Suggs , this time Blue Day , which was released before the FA Cup final and finished 22nd. Bryan Adams , himself a fan of Chelsea FC, dedicated the song We're Gonna Win from his album 18 Til I Die to the blues.

Criticism of the takeover

Since Roman Abramowitsch took over the club in 2003, media interest in Chelsea has risen sharply. Although sporting achievements often make the headlines, the focus is more on player transfers and their financing. Opinions differ: on the one hand, it makes football at Stamford Bridge more attractive when top players are signed, on the other hand, the club is dependent on Abramowitsch's support. For example, the club lost around £ 80 million in 2006. Abramowitsch's engagement itself is also often a cause for discussion, and the origin of his wealth also plays a role. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 , he is said to have been involved in the illegal diversion of 55 railway wagons with diesel oil to Latvia , which allegedly brought him start-up capital of 5,000 tons of diesel oil. Despite investigation and pre-trial detention, however, charges were never brought because there was no evidence of Abramovich's involvement.

Most often the club is confronted with the accusation that it “bought the success” and did not work for itself. However, Chelsea had already won titles before the takeover and was permanently represented in the Premier League . The record sums invested by Abramowitsch confirm many of the club's critics, who complain that Chelsea have made football a business and are damaging other clubs in two ways. On the one hand, the London rivals can outdo the race for a certain player by placing a higher bid, and on the other hand, important players can be routed away from other clubs.

However, there are also proponents of Chelsea's transfer policy. Chelsea's investments in English football are beneficial to everyone; of the first £ 37 million spent since Abramovich's takeover, £ 30 million went to British clubs. This view is shared by former West Ham United coach Alan Pardew , who sold Joe Cole and Glen Johnson to Chelsea in the summer of 2003 : “One of the really big problems in the last six years has been that money has been going to foreign clubs for player transfers, and was never seen again. But Abramovich's money has come to us. We invested it in the UK market and that's how the money is distributed. "

Finances

Thanks to the financial support, Chelsea are not currently forced to operate like an ordinary company, in 2006 the club made around £ 80m in loss but were planning a balanced budget for the 2009/10 season. In late 2009, it was announced that Chelsea had cut their remaining € 375m debt to almost zero as a loan from Abramovich was converted into club shares.

For the 2011/12 financial year, the club was able to make a profit for the first time since it was taken over by Roman Abramowitsch, also due to the high income from winning premiums (59.9 million euros) from winning the UEFA Champions League. This amounted to 1.75 million euros. In comparison, a loss of 84.7 million euros was achieved in the previous year 2010/11.

Since the takeover by Abramowitsch in 2003, Chelsea spent around 987 million euros on the purchase of new players, while only around 257 million euros were taken in through the sale (as of 02/2012). With an annual turnover of 322.6 million euros, Chelsea ranks fifth among the top-selling football clubs in the world and second in England. In 2012 the debt was £ 878 million, the highest debt level among English football clubs. The expenses for player salaries amounted to 173 million pounds and could thus be reduced compared to the previous year by 17 million pounds. This puts Chelsea in second place in England behind Manchester City . An after-tax operating loss of £ 4m was posted in 2012/2013.

Composition of 2012 sales (£ 261 million):

• Ticket sales and match day revenues: £ 78 million
• TV broadcast rights: £ 113 million
• Marketing & Sponsorship: £ 70 million

After a nerve agent attack on ex-spy Sergej Skripal and his daughter Julia on March 4, 2018, a change took place in the British government in dealing with foreign and especially Russian oligarchs, who from now on have to prove that when investing they acquired the money legally. Roman Abramowitsch ran into problems with the extension of his investor visa, eventually withdrew it and has not been seen in London since. As a first consequence of this, Chelsea announced on May 31, 2018 that a planned construction of the stadium had been stopped for the time being. The reason for this is the "currently unfavorable investment climate". It remains to be seen what further consequences this Abramovich withdrawal will have for Chelsea. According to consistent media reports, Sir Jim Ratcliffe , who is considered the richest Briton, wants to buy the Chelsea Football Club from Abramovich.

successes

International

With Juventus Turin , Ajax Amsterdam , FC Bayern Munich and Manchester United, Chelsea FC is one of five clubs to have won all three European Cups, with Chelsea FC being the only club to have won all three trophies at least twice.

• UEFA Champions League (2): 2012 , 2021
• European Cup Winners' Cup (2): 1971 , 1998
• UEFA Europa League (2): 2013 , 2019
• UEFA Super Cup (1): 1998

National

• English champion (6): 1955 , 2005 , 2006 , 2010 , 2015 , 2017
• FA Cup (8): 1970 , 1997 , 2000 , 2007 , 2009 , 2010 , 2012 , 2018
• English League Cup (5): 1965, 1998, 2005 , 2007 , 2015
• Community Shield (4): 1955, 2000, 2005, 2009

Trainer

Period	Trainer	trophies	annotation
1905-1906	John Tait Robertson
1906-1907	William Lewis
1907-1933	David Calderhead
1933-1939	Leslie Knighton
1939-1952	William Birrell
1952-1961	Ted Drake	Champion First Division , Charity Shield
1962-1967	Tommy Docherty	League Cup	Player-coach
1967-1974	Dave Sexton	European Cup Winners' Cup , FA Cup
1974-1975	Ron Suart
1975-1977	Eddie McCreadie
1977-1988	Ken Shellito
1978-1979	Danny Blanchflower
1979-1981	Geoff Hurst
1981-1985	John Neal	Master Second Division
1985-1988	John Hollins	Full Members Cup	Player-coach
1988-1991	Bobby Campbell	Champion Second Division , Full Members Cup
1991-1993	Ian Porterfield
1993	David Webb
1993-1996	Glenn Hoddle
1996-1998	Ruud Gullit	FA Cup	Player-coach
1998-2000	Gianluca Vialli	League Cup , European Cup Winners' Cup , UEFA Super Cup , FA Cup , Charity Shield	Player-coach
2000-2004	Claudio Ranieri
2004-2007	José Mourinho	2 × Champion Premier League , FA Cup , 2 × League Cup , Community Shield
2007-2008	Avram Grant
2008-2009	Luiz Felipe Scolari
2009	Guus Hiddink	FA Cup
2009-2011	Carlo Ancelotti	Community Shield , Champions Premier League , FA Cup
2011–2012	André Villas-Boas
2012	Roberto Di Matteo	FA Cup , UEFA Champions League 2011/12
2012-2013	Rafael Benítez	UEFA Europa League
2013-2015	José Mourinho	League Cup , Champions Premier League	Second term after 2004–2007
2015-2016	Guus Hiddink		Second term after February - June 2009
2016-2018	Antonio Conte	Champion Premier League , FA Cup
2018-2019	Maurizio Sarri	UEFA Europa League
2019-2021	Frank Lampard
2021–	Thomas Tuchel	UEFA Champions League 2020/21

Chelsea Player of the Year

The Chelsea Player of the Year Award is an award given to the club's players once a year. The supporters of the association vote on the winner, who receives the award at a gala dinner. The previous winners are:

• 1967: Peter Bonetti 
• 1968: Charlie Cooke 
• 1969: David Webb 
• 1970: John Hollins 
• 1971: John Hollins
• 1972: David Webb
• 1973: Peter Osgood 
• 1974: Gary Locke 
• 1975: Charlie Cooke
• 1976: Ray Wilkins 
• 1977: Ray Wilkins
• 1978: Micky Droy 
• 1979: Tommy Langley 
• 1980: Clive Walker 
• 1981: Petar Borota 
• 1982: Mike Fillery 
• 1983: Joey Jones 
• 1984: Pat Nevin 
• 1985: David Speedie 
• 1986: Eddie Niedzwiecki 
• 1987: Pat Nevin 
• 1988: Tony Dorigo 
• 1989: Graham Roberts 
• 1990: Ken Monkou 
• 1991: Andy Townsend 
• 1992: Paul Elliott 
• 1993: Frank Sinclair 
• 1994: Steve Clarke 
• 1995: Erland Johnsen 
• 1996: Ruud Gullit 
• 1997: Mark Hughes 
• 1998: Dennis Wise 
• 1999: Gianfranco Zola 
• 2000: Dennis Wise
• 2001: John Terry 
• 2002: Carlo Cudicini 
• 2003: Gianfranco Zola
• 2004: Frank Lampard 
• 2005: Frank Lampard
• 2006: John Terry
• 2007: Michael Essien 
• 2008: Joe Cole 
• 2009: Frank Lampard
• 2010: Didier Drogba 
• 2011: Petr Čech 
• 2012: Juan Mata 
• 2013: Juan Mata
• 2014: Eden Hazard 
• 2015: Eden Hazard 
• 2016: Willian 
• 2017: Eden Hazard 
• 2018: N'Golo Kanté 
• 2019: Eden Hazard 
• 2020: Mateo Kovačić 
• 2021: Mason Mount 

staff

Current squad 2020/21

• Status: February 15, 2021

No.	Nat.	player	birthday	in the team since	Contract until
goal
01		Kepa	Oct 3, 1994	2018	2025
13		Willy Caballero	28 Sep 1981	2017	2021
16		Edouard Mendy	March 1, 1992	2020	2025
40		Karlo Žiger U23	May 11, 2001	2017	2023
Defense
02		Antonio Rudiger	March 3, 1993	2017	2022
03		Marcos Alonso	Dec 28, 1990	2016	2023
04th		Andreas Christensen	Apr 10, 1996	2015	2022
06th		Thiago Silva	22 Sep 1984	2020	2021
15th		Kurt Zouma	Oct. 27, 1994	2014	2023
21		Ben Chilwell	Dec 21, 1996	2020	2025
24		Reece James	Dec 8, 1999	2006	2025
28		César Azpilicueta	Aug 28, 1989	2012	2022
33		Emerson	March 13, 1994	2018	2022
midfield
05		Jorginho	Dec 20, 1991	2018	2023
07th		N'Golo Kanté	March 29, 1991	2016	2023
17th		Mateo Kovačić	May 6, 1994	2019	2024
19th		Mason Mount	Jan. 10, 1999	2005	2024
22nd		Hakim Ziyech	March 19, 1993	2020	2025
23		Billy Gilmour	June 11, 2001	2017	2023
29		Kai Havertz	June 11, 1999	2020	2025
55		Faustino Anjorin U23	Nov 23, 2001	2008	2025
64		Lewis Bate U23	Oct 28, 2002	2011	2022
Storm
09		Tammy Abraham	Oct 2, 1997	2004	2023
10		Christian Pulisic	Sep 18 1998	2019	2024
11		Timo Werner	March 6, 1996	2020	2025
18th		Olivier Giroud	Sep 30 1986	2018	2021
20th		Callum Hudson-Odoi	Nov 7, 2000	2007	2024
		Charly Musonda	Oct 15, 1996	2012	2022

^U23 also in the U23 squad

Squad changes 2020/21

Accesses
time	player	Transferring association
Summer 2020	Abdul Rahman Baba	RCD Mallorca (loanee)
	Tiemoué Bakayoko	AC Milan (loanee)
	Nathan Baxter	Ross County (Loan)
	Ben Chilwell	Leicester City
	Jake Clarke-Salter	Birmingham City (Loan)
	Danny Drinkwater	Aston Villa (Loan)
	Kai Havertz	Bayer 04 Leverkusen
	Victor Moses	Inter Milan (Loan)
	Charly Musonda	Vitesse Arnhem (loanee)
	Malang Sarr	OGC Nice
	Thiago Silva	Paris Saint-Germain
	Timo Werner	RB Leipzig
	Davide Zappacosta	AS Roma (loanee)
	Hakim Ziyech	Ajax Amsterdam
after the start of the season	Edouard Mendy	Rennes stadium

Departures
time	player	Receiving club
Summer 2020	Michy Batshuayi	Crystal Palace (loan)
	Jamie Cumming	Stevenage FC (Loan)
	Pedro	AS Roma
	Willian	Arsenal FC
after the start of the season	Tiemoué Bakayoko	SSC Napoli (loan)
	Lewis Baker	Trabzonspor (loan)
	Ross Barkley	Aston Villa (loan)
	Nathan Baxter	Accrington Stanley (loan)
	Jake Clarke-Salter	Birmingham City (Loan)
	Marco van Ginkel	PSV Eindhoven (loan)
	Ruben Loftus-Cheek	Fulham FC (loan)
	Victor Moses	Spartak Moscow (loanee)
	Malang Sarr	FC Porto (Loan)
	Davide Zappacosta	CFC Genoa (loan)
January 2021	Abdul Rahman Baba	PAOK Thessaloniki (loan)
	Danny Drinkwater	Kasımpaşa Istanbul (Loan)
	Fikayo Tomori	AC Milan (Loan)

Youth work

→ Main articles : Chelsea FC U23 and Academy

Chelsea FC has invested heavily in youth work, the Academy , in recent years . Almost all players in the professional squad were poached by other clubs, so that the club lacked its own offspring in the team. To counter this problem, several scouts were looking for young talent for the Academy. Well-known players from the youth program are, for example, John Terry , Robert Huth and Mikael Forssell . Through the early attachment to the club, the club hopes to find loyal players who identify even more strongly with their team. In addition, more and more players in the A-team should assert themselves and thus reduce transfer costs to a normal level. Apart from John Terry, no youth player at Chelsea FC has been able to do this since 1998.

In addition to the youth team, there are the reserves , which correspond to the second team in German football. This team accommodates those players who have outgrown the youth program but have not yet made it into the senior team, as well as players from the professional squad who need practice again after an injury. The reserve team plays in the Premier Reserve League , Southern Division. So far, the young players have won a title in the Reserve League. You will be trained by Steve Holland. From 2007 to 2010 they wore their home games at the stadium Griffin Park of FC Brentford made. Since 2010 they have played their home games either on the club's own training grounds in Cobham or at Stamford Bridge . Since 2013, The Electrical Services Stadium in Aldershot has been another option for reserve team games.

On April 13, 2015, the U-19s won the second edition of the UEFA Youth League in Nyon (Switzerland) against the U-19s from Shakhtar Donetsk . A year later , this title was defended by a 2-1 win in the final against Paris Saint-Germain .

Chelsea Women

→ Main article : Chelsea FC Women

Chelsea Football Club Women (until 2018: Chelsea Ladies Football Club ) is the women's football division of Chelsea FC. The team has played in the FA Women's Premier League , the top division of women's football in England , since 2005 . Since March 2011, the club has been one of eight founding members in the game operations of the new FA Women's Super League . The team is coached by Matt Beard, who took over the coaching duties in the 2009/10 season from player-coach Casey Stoney . The ladies have played their home games at Kingsmeadow Stadium since 2017 . Previously, Imber Court Stadium was the home of the Chelsea Ladies.

When COVID-19 -bedingten termination of the FA Women's Super League 2019/20 Chelsea was in second place, but had the best odds and was therefore declared the champion.

Prizes and awards

3 × Surrey County Football County Cup: 2003, 2004, 2007

Chelsea TV

Chelsea TV is a television channel operated by the football club that broadcasts all Chelsea Premier League games (time-shifted) as well as major past games, interviews, the latest Chelsea news and reports. The channel is distributed through pay TV providers in several countries around the world. The prerequisite for reception is therefore an existing subscription with a corresponding provider and booking the station at an additional cost. There is no offer for this in German-speaking countries (as of August 2007). In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, only Chelsea TV Online , the club's Internet TV service, is available. However, only the highlights of the games are offered here as individual videos instead of the entire game. Otherwise the offer differs little from Chelsea TV.

Statistics and records

Table positions between 1906 and 1939 (First and Second Division)

Table positions between 1947 and 1992 (First and Second Division)

Table positions between 1993 and 2011 (Premier League)

Club statistics

Victories

• Most championship wins in one season - 30 in 38 games, Premier League , 2016/17 season
• Fewest championship wins in one season - 5 in 42 games, First Division , 1978/79 season

Defeats

• Most championship defeats - 27 in 42 games, First Division , 1978/79 season
• Fewest championship defeats - 1 in 38 games, 2004/05 Premier League season

Gates

• Most goals scored in a championship season - 103 in 38 games, Premier League , 2009-10 season
• Fewest goals scored in a championship season - 31 in 42 games, First Division , 1923/1924 season
• Most goals conceded in one season - 100 in 42 games, First Division , 1960/61 season
• Fewest goals conceded in one season - 15 in 38 games, Premier League , 2004/05 season

Points

• Most points in a season (2 per win) - 57 in 38 games, Second Division , 1906/07 season
• Least points in a season (2 per win) - 20 in 42 games, First Division , 1978/79 season
• Most points in one season (3 per win) - 99 in 42 games, Second Division , 1988/89 season
• Least points in a season (3 per win) - 42 in 42 games, First Division , 1987/88 season

Games

Debuts

• First Game - Championship game against Stockport County , Second Division , September 1, 1905 (0-1)
• First FA Cup game - first qualifying round against First Grenadier Guards , October 7, 1905 (6-1)
• First FA Cup main round match - first round match against Lincoln City , January 12, 1907 (2-2)
• First League Cup game - against Millwall FC , October 10, 1960 (7-1)
• First European Cup game - against BK Frem , Fairs Cup , September 30, 1958 (3: 1)
• First Champions League game - against Skonto Riga , third qualifying round, 11 August 1999 (3-0)

Record victories

• Biggest win - 13: 0 against Jeunesse Hautcharage , September 29, 1971 in the European Cup Winners' Cup
• Biggest championship win - 8-0 against Wigan Athletic , Premier League , May 9, 2010
• Biggest FA Cup win - 9-1 against Worksop Town , January 11, 1908
• Biggest league cup win - 7-0 against Doncaster Rovers , November 16, 1960
• Biggest win in the European Cup - 13: 0 against Jeunesse Hautcharage , September 29, 1971 in the European Cup Winners' Cup

Record defeats

• Biggest loss - 8-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers , First Division , September 26, 1953
• Biggest championship loss - 8-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers , First Division , September 26, 1953
• Biggest FA Cup defeat - 6-0 to Sheffield Wednesday February 5, 1913
• Biggest league cup loss - 6-2 to Stoke City on October 22, 1974
• Biggest defeat in the European Cup - 0: 5 against FC Barcelona , Fairs Cup , May 25, 1966

Draw records

• The highest-scoring draw - 5-5 against West Ham United , First Division , December 17, 1966
• Most draws in one season (championship) - 18 in 42 games, First Division , 1922-23
• Fewest draws in one season (championship) - 3 in 38 games, Premier League , 1997/98

Series

Victories

• Series of games won (championship) - 13, (October 1, 2016 to January 4, 2017)
• Series of away games won (championship) - 11 (March 1, 2008 to December 6, 2008; record in English professional football)
• Series without a championship win - November 21, 1987 to April 2, 1988

draw

• Series of draws in championship matches - 6, August 20, 1969 to September 13, 1969

Defeats

• Series of lost league games - 7, November 1, 1952 to December 20, 1952

Games without defeat

• Series of unbeaten championship games - 40, October 23, 2004 to October 29, 2005
• Series of unbeaten championship home games - 86 (March 20, 2004 to October 26, 2008; record in English professional football)

Gates

• Series of championship games without conceding a goal - 10, December 18, 2004 to February 12, 2005

Attendance records

• Highest attendance at a home game - 100,000 (estimated) against Dynamo Moscow , November 13, 1945
• Biggest crowd at a championship home game - 82,905 (v Arsenal ), October 12, 1935 ( Stamford Bridge record )

Player statistics

Player with the most stakes

Status: February 1, 2015 (only official competitions):

Chelsea FC record player 1 Ron Harris 1961-1980 795 2 Peter Bonetti 1959-1979 729 3 John Terry 1998-2017 650 4th Frank Lampard 2001-2014 aaaa 648 5 John Hollins 1963-1975 1983-1984 592 6th Dennis Wise 1990-2001 445 7th Steve Clarke 1987-1998 421 8th Kerry Dixon 1983-1992 420 9 Petr Čech 2004-2015 418 1 10 Eddie McCreadie 1962-1974 410 11 John Bumstead 1976-1991 409 12th Ken Armstrong 1946-1957 402 13 Peter Osgood 1964-1974 1978-1979 380 14th Charlie Cooke 1966-1972 1974-1988 373 15th George W. Smith 1921-1932 370 15th Bobby Tambling 1958-1970 370 17th Roy Bentley 1948-1956 367 18th Harold Miller 1923-1939 365 19th John Harris 1945-1956 364 20th Frank Blunstone 1953-1964 347 21 Colin Pates 1979-1988 346 22nd Marvin Hinton 1963-1976 344 23 Peter Houseman 1962-1975 343 24 Didier Drogba 2004–2012, 2014–2015 341 25th Jack Harrow 1911-1926 333 26 Tommy Law 1925-1939 319 27 Gary Locke 1972-1982 317 28 Mickey Droy 1970-1985 313 29 Graeme Le Saux 1987-1993 1997-2003 312 29 Gianfranco Zola 1996-2003 312 31 Jackie Crawford 1923-1934 308 32 Bob McNeil 1914-1927 307

Player with the most goals

Status: February 1, 2015 (only official competitions):

	Surname	Active time	Gates	Games	Goals per game
1	Frank Lampard	2001-2014	211	648	0.33
2	Bobby Tambling	1959-1970	202	370	0.55
3	Kerry Dixon	1983-1992	193	420	0.46
4th	Didier Drogba	2004–2012, 2014–2015	157	341	0.46
5	Roy Bentley	1948-1956	150	367	0.41
6th	Peter Osgood	1964-1974 1978-1979	150	380	0.39
7th	Jimmy Greaves	1957-1961	132	169	0.78
8th	George Mills	1929-1943	123	239	0.51
9	George Hilsdon	1906-1912	107	164	0.65
10	Barry Bridges	1958-1966	93	205	0.45
11	Tommy Baldwin	1966-1974	92	239	0.38
12th	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	2000-2004	87	177	0.49
13	Hughie Gallacher	1930-1934	81	144	0.56
14th	Bob Whittingham	1909-1919	80	129	0.62
15th	Gianfranco Zola	1996-2003	80	312	0.26
16	Eiður Guðjohnsen	2000-2006	78	263	0.30
17th	Dennis Wise	1990-2001	76	445	0.17
18th	Ron Tindall	1953-1961	69	174	0.40
19th	Johnny McNichol	1952-1958	66	202	0.46
20th	Clive Walker	1975-1984	65	224	0.29
21	Dick Spence	1934-1950	65	246	0.26
22nd	David Speedie	1982-1987	64	205	0.31
23	John Hollins	1963-1975 1983-1984	64	592	0.11
24	Gordon Durie	1986-1991	63	153	0.41
25th	Andy Wilson	1923-1931	62	253	0.25

Other record highs by players

• Youngest player used - Ian Hamilton , 16 years, 138 days (v Tottenham Hotspur , First Division , March 18, 1967)
• Oldest player used - Dick Spence , 39, 57 days (v Bolton , First Division , September 13, 1947)
• Record missions without a break - John Hollins , 167 (August 14, 1971 to September 25, 1974)
• Most goals in a season - 43, Jimmy Greaves ( First Division , 1960/61)
• Most championship goals in one season - 41, Jimmy Greaves ( First Division , 1960-1961)
• Most goals in a league game -
  • 5, George Hilsdon v Glossop North End , Second Division , September 1, 1906
  • 5, Jimmy Greaves v Wolverhampton Wanderers , First Division , August 30, 1958
  • 5, Jimmy Greaves v West Bromwich Albion , First Division , December 3, 1960
  • 5, Jimmy Greaves v Aston Villa , First Division , September 17, 1966
  • 5, Gordon Durie v Walsall , Second Division , February 4, 1989
• Most Hat Tricks - 13, Jimmy Greaves (1957-1961)
• Most Converted Penalties - 47, Frank Lampard , (2001-2014)

International matches

• Record international - Frank Lampard , 93 appearances for England during his time at Chelsea (95 in total, as of April 3, 2013)
• England's first international - George Hilsdon , February 16, 1907
• First participant for England in a football World Cup - Roy Bentley , June 25, 1950 ( World Cup 1950 )

More records

In addition to the ones already mentioned, the club also set other records in national and international football. The 29 wins in the 2004/05 season and the 25 clean sheets from the same season are the best in the Premier League. The 21-0 win against UN Käerjéng ​​97 after the return leg remains a record in the European Cup Winners' Cup . Furthermore, Chelsea holds records for various first-time achievements. The Blues, along with Arsenal, were the first to use shirt numbers in English league football when they played against Swansea Town on August 25, 1928 . Chelsea were also the first English club whose players traveled by plane to the away game (against Newcastle United on April 19, 1957) and, along with opponents Stoke City, the first top division team to play a championship game on a Sunday (January 27, 1974 ) carried out. On December 26, 1999, the Londoners became the first British club to have a team without a single player from the United Kingdom . On May 19, 2007, José Mourinho's players won the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium, after Chelsea had already won the last final at the old Wembley Stadium.

literature

• Rick Glanvill: Chelsea FC: The Official Biography - The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing, 2006, ISBN 0-7553-1466-2 .
• Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century . John Blake Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84454-110-2 .
• Brian Mears: Chelsea: Football Under the Blue Flag . Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh 2002, ISBN 1-84018-658-5 .

Web links

Commons : Chelsea FC  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of the Chelsea Football Club
• Link catalog about Chelsea FC at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Transfer income and expenses . ( transfermarkt.de [accessed on November 1, 2017]).
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Stadium History ( Memento from February 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 120
4. ↑ Chelsea 1906/07 ( Memento June 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 121
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Historical Stats
7. ↑ THE FIRST DECADE AND A CUP FINAL ( Memento from February 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Team History
8. ↑ FA Cup 1931/32 in the database of soccerbase.com (English)
9. ↑ Football League 1932/33
10. ↑ Football League 1933/34
11. ↑ Football League 1938/39
12. ^ ^{A b} Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 309
13. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} The 1940s, the 1950s and a Famous First Place ( Memento from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
14. ↑ Konstantin Beskov
15. ↑ FA Cup 1949/50 in the database of soccerbase.com (English)
16. ↑ Football League 1950/51 . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
17. ↑ FA Cup 1951/52 in the database of soccerbase.com (English)
18. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 84.
19. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 83.
20. ↑ Football League 1952/53
21. ↑ Football League 1953-1954
22. ↑ ^{a b} Former Chelsea hard man
23. ^ Football League History . Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
24. ↑ Football League 1955/56
25. ↑ CFC 4thegame.com History ( Memento from July 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
26. ↑ Football League 1963/64 . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
27. ↑ Chelsea in the League, FA Cup and History ( Memento of October 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
28. ↑ Rick Glanvill: Chelsea FC: The Official Biography , Hodder Headline, pp. 234-44
29. ↑ Football League 1964/65 . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
30. ↑ FA Cup 1965/66 in the database of soccerbase.com (English)
31. ↑ European Competitions 1965/66
32. ↑ Football League 1966/67
33. ^ ^{A b} Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 232
34. ↑ The Cup Kings of the King's Road ( Memento from February 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
35. ↑ ^{a b c} Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 235.
36. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 236.
37. ^ Football League 1982/83
38. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 184
39. ↑ Chelsea FC: 20 Goals A Season ( Memento from October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
40. ^ Football League 1984/85 . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
41. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 54
42. ↑ Chelsea FC 1985/86 ( Memento from October 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
43. ^ Football League 1986/87
44. ^ Football League 1988/89
45. ^ Football League 1989/90
46. ^ The matches of the 1990/1991 UEFA Cup ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
47. ↑ ^{a b} Chelsea Pitch Owners
48. ^ ^{A b} Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 237.
49. ↑ FA Cup Final 1994 ( Memento from November 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
50. ↑ UEFA Cup Winners' Cup ( Memento from July 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
51. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 205
52. ^ Ruud shock for Gullit, city and fans
53. ↑ UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1998 ( Memento from January 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
54. ↑ Champions League 1999/2000
55. ↑ ^{a b} Southampton 1 Chelsea 2
56. ↑ FA Cup 1999/2000 ( Memento from March 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
57. ↑ FA Cup Final 2002 ( Memento from May 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
58. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 212
59. ↑ Chelsea 4 Lazio 0
60. ↑ Chelsea FC 2003/2004: The Games ( Memento from October 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
61. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 208
62. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 207
63. ^ ^{A b} Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 7
64. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 6
65. ↑ Bates sells off Chelsea
66. ↑ Chelsea Blog
67. ↑ Chelsea Savior arrived
68. ↑ 204 million euros: Chelsea with record loss
69. ↑ We will cut spending
70. ↑ Nonsense budget cuts
71. ↑ "What Mourinho said"
72. ↑ Petr Čech: Profile and Career History ( Memento from September 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
73. ↑ Premier League History ( Memento of May 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved October 2, 2015.
74. ↑ Liverpool 2 Chelsea 3
75. ↑ Rijkaard did approach Frisk ( Memento from June 29, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
76. ↑ Chelsea ref row escalates ( Memento of October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
77. ↑ Chelsea 4 Barcelona 2
78. ↑ Luis Garcías Tor on Youtube.com ( Memento from May 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
79. ↑ Chelsea 18 points ahead of Manchester
80. ↑ Round of 16 of the CL 2005/06
81. ↑ Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2
82. ↑ Chelsea get Shevchenko
83. ↑ Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1
84. ↑ Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0
85. ↑ UEFA Champions League 2006/07
86. ↑ Jose Mourinho - First Team Manager
87. ↑ Mourinho departure: Liked by the rich Russian - September 20, 2007
88. ↑ Interview with Neil Warnock
89. ↑ Official UEFA statistics
90. ^ Pre-match briefing: Chelsea v Schalke - WE HAVE HISTORY
91. ↑ Avram Grant 2007-2008
92. ^ Grant not good enough
93. ^ ^{A b} Grant sacked as Chelsea manager
94. ↑ Scolari goes to Chelsea ( Memento from June 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
95. ↑ Hiddink becomes Chelsea coach
96. ↑ sport.orf.at
97. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
98. ↑ goal.com
99. ↑ "Chelsea dismisses coach Ancelotti" , sport1.de of May 22, 2011 (accessed on May 22, 2011).
100. ↑ Villas-Boas appointed as the new coach of Chelsea FC ( Memento of August 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) June 22, 2011
101. ↑ Chelsea and Villas-Boas parts company ( Memento from March 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) March 4, 2012
102. ↑ Chelsea part company with manager André Villas-Boas , Guardian article , March 4, 2012
103. ↑ chelseafc.com: STATEMENT ON ROBERTO DI MATTEO ( Memento of November 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), November 21, 2012, accessed on November 21, 2012
104. ↑ chelseafc.com: BENITEZ APPOINTED , November 21, 2012, accessed November 21, 2012
105. ↑ UEFA.com : Benfica and Chelsea battle over May 15, 2013 historic
106. ↑ Mourinho gets his second chance at Chelsea Süddeutsche.de, June 3, 2013, accessed on June 8, 2013.
107. ↑ See the official confirmation from Chelsea FC on December 17, 2015, accessed on December 17, 2015.
108. ↑ See the official confirmation from Chelsea FC on December 18, 2015, accessed on December 18, 2015.
109. ↑ Statement on Antonio Conte | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club . In: ChelseaFC . ( chelseafc.com [accessed July 20, 2018]).
110. ↑ Officially: Chelsea FC announces separation from coach Conte - 10 million severance pay . ( transfermarkt.de [accessed on July 20, 2018]).
111. ^ Conte believes new system changed Chelsea's season. In: theworldgame.sbs.com.au. Special Broadcasting Service , May 13, 2017, accessed May 19, 2017 . 
112. ↑ Tom White, Mark Jones: The Premier League's longest winning runs: How does Chelsea's current streak compare? In: Daily Mirror . Trinity Mirror , January 4, 2017, accessed May 19, 2017 . 
113. ↑ Chelsea is English champion. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH, May 12, 2017, accessed on May 19, 2017 . 
114. ↑ FA Cup: Chelsea beat Leicester after extra time . ( transfermarkt.de [accessed on July 20, 2018]).
115. ↑ Sarri joins Chelsea | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club . In: ChelseaFC . ( chelseafc.com [accessed July 20, 2018]).
116. ↑ Sarri signs with Chelsea - follow Higuaín & Rugani? ( transfermarkt.de [accessed on July 20, 2018]).
117. ↑ Media: Sarri to replace Conte at Chelsea - Blues activate 8 million clause . ( transfermarkt.de [accessed on July 20, 2018]).
118. ↑ Maurizio Sarri reveals € 8 million Napoli release clause amid Chelsea interest | Goal.com . ( goal.com [accessed July 20, 2018]).
119. ↑ Chelsea instead of ManCity: Jorginho follows coach Sarri to London . ( transfermarkt.de [accessed on July 20, 2018]).
120. ↑ Chelsea seal £ 71.6m Kepa Arrizabalaga signing from Athletic Bilbao . In: SkySports . ( skysports.com [accessed August 9, 2018]).
121. ↑ Record transfer perfect: Chelsea give goalkeeper Kepa a seven-year contract . ( transfermarkt.de [accessed on August 9, 2018]).
122. ↑ Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri makes Premier League history | Goal.com . ( goal.com [accessed November 28, 2018]).
123. ↑ Dream start! Maurizio Sarri breaks record with Chelsea . In: Football Europe . ( fussballeuropa.com [accessed November 28, 2018]).
124. ↑ Tottenham Hotspur - Chelsea FC, 11/24/2018 - Premier League - Match report . ( transfermarkt.de [accessed on November 28, 2018]).
125. ↑ Transfer market> All transfers. In: transfermarkt.de. Retrieved September 7, 2020 . 
126. ↑ Chelsea FC announce agreement with Ziyech: "Was the club's main goal". In: transfermarkt.de. Retrieved September 7, 2020 . 
127. ↑ Chilwell purchase official: Chelsea overtakes Barça after transfer expenses. In: transfermarkt.de. Retrieved September 7, 2020 . 
128. ↑ Perfect: Werner changes to Chelsea - top earner and most expensive German professional. In: transfermarkt.de. Retrieved September 7, 2020 . 
129. ↑ ^{a b} Chelsea makes Havertz the most expensive German - highest transfer fee of the summer fixed. In: transfermarkt.de. Retrieved September 7, 2020 . 
130. ↑ Chelsea "couldn't miss the opportunity": Sarr signs and is awarded. In: transfermarkt.de. Retrieved September 7, 2020 . 
131. ^ Stadium History
132. ↑ Stamford Bridge ( January 23, 2007 memento in the Internet Archive )
133. ↑ Return to the Shed Website ( Memento of February 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
134. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing Ltd., p. 238.
135. ↑ Blues will stay at Stamford Bridge
136. ↑ ^{a b} Club Badges
137. ↑ National Flowers ( Memento of January 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
138. ↑ All Time League Attendance Records ( Memento from September 7, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
139. ↑ Top 30 clubs: Attendance
140. ↑ These figures were published on the official website chelseafc.com . The article is no longer available on the website, but can be read here.
141. ↑ Celery banned at the Bridge theguardian.com March 16, 2007
142. ↑ Football Rivalries
143. ↑ Chelsea vs Liverpool
144. ↑ BBC: Making a new start
145. ↑ Headhunters unmasked ( Memento from February 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
146. ^ Bates: Chelsea's driving force
147. ↑ Soccer hooliganism: Made in England
148. ↑ Rick Glanvill: Chelsea Football Club: The Official History in Pictures , Hodder Headline, p. 212
149. ^ Brian Mears: Chelsea: Football Under the Blue Flag , Mainstream Publishing, p. 42
150. ^ Brian Mears: Chelsea: Football Under the Blue Flag , Mainstream Publishing, p. 58
151. ↑ All jerseys, with the exception of one-off combinations, can be viewed on the club's official website: Classic Kits
152. ↑ Chelsea unveiled new away kit
153. ^ Umbro loses Chelsea football deal
154. ↑ Mark Critchley: Chelsea 'agree £ 60million-a-year kit deal with Nike' after early termination of Adidas deal. May 18, 2016, accessed May 21, 2016 . 
155. ↑ The Great Game in the IMDb
156. ↑ Rick Glanvill: Chelsea FC: The Official Biography , Hodder Headline, pp. 120-121
157. ^ BBC: Football firms hit the film circuit
158. ↑ Chelseafootballers in Jhoom Barbarian Jhoom
159. ↑ Chelsea Football Team: Blue is the Color in the Official UK Charts (English)
160. ↑ Blue Day - Suggs & Co. ft Chelsea team in the Official UK Charts (English)
161. ↑ Chelsea FC writes a loss again
162. ↑ Oligarchs: Roman Abramowitsch
163. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century. John Blake Publishing, p. 10.
164. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century , John Blake Publishing, p. 21
165. ↑ Harry Harris: Chelsea's Century , John Blake Publishing, p. 23
166. ↑ Chelsea FC writes loss again ( Memento from February 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
167. ↑ rp-online.de:Abramowitsch frees Chelsea from debt
168. ↑ Chelsea in the plus for the first time . In: Sponsors Verlags GmbH (ed.): Sponsors . Edition December 2012. Hamburg, p. 11 .
169. ↑ web.de ( Memento from May 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ):
170. ↑ theguardian.co.uk
171. ↑ theguardian.com
172. ↑ spiegel.de October 16, 2018: The last days of Londongrad
173. ↑ The new stadium at Stamford Bridge on ice. Kicker-Sportmagazin , May 31, 2018, accessed on May 31, 2018 . 
174. ↑ The richest Brit also wants to buy Chelsea
175. ↑ First Team , chelseafc.com
176. ↑ Squad , premierleague.com.
177. ↑ Donetsk-Chelsea UEFA Youth League result , on uefa.com, accessed on April 13, 2015
178. ↑ bbc.com: Chelsea named Women's Super League champions, Liverpool relegated
179. ↑ Away win series record for Chelsea
180. ↑ Chelsea creates a record
181. ↑ ^{a b c d} still active player; So values ​​can change even further
182. ↑ Chelsea records ( Memento of October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
183. ↑ Cup Winners' Cup Trivia
184. ↑ England's Uniforms
185. ↑ Rick Glanvill: Chelsea FC: The Official Biography , Hodder Headline, p. 96
186. ↑ Something old, new and blue ( Memento from August 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )