Mag 150

CHELSEA FC T H E

O F F I C I A L

C H E L S E A

F O O T B A L L

C L U B

M A G A Z I N E

HAZARD EDEN

BLUES MAGICIAN TAKES THE STAGE

PRINCIPAL CLUB PARTNER

PRINCIPAL CLUB PARTNER

PRINCIPAL CLUB PARTNER

CONTENTS

ISSUE 150 // FEBRUARY 2017

32

ROY BENTLEY

gOAL getters Words | Dominic Bliss

Apps 367 Goals 150

PETER OSGOOD Apps 380 Goals 150

In this milestone edition of the magazine, we take a close look at the careers of two Chelsea legends who scored 150 times apiece for the club, with Roy Bentley and Peter Osgood’s remarkable achievements forever ensuring their place in the hearts of Blues supporters

DOMESTIC HONOURS

Peter Osgood and Roy Bentley pictured together at Stamford Bridge in 2002

Football League/ Premier League champions 1955, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2015

23

22

Division Two champions 1984, 1989

10+38+52I

Chelsea and Tottenham became the first teams to meet 50 times in the Premier League.

FA Cup winners 1970, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012

MONTH IN NUMB3RS Looking through the stats at play

Our win at Crystal Palace was Chelsea’s 500th in the Premier League.

Manchester United and Arsenal are the only other clubs to have achieved that landmark.

47

164

Diego Costa scored his 50th Chelsea goal at Crystal Palace on his 97th appearance. He is only the ninth overseas player to reach that milestone.

46 points 42 points 41 points

LOST 5

47

We extended our unbeaten home run against West Brom to 16 games in all competitions since the Baggies last won against us at the Bridge in November 1983 in the League Cup. The last time the Throstles came away from SW6 with a league win was in September 1978 when Ron Atkinson managed them to a 3-1 victory.

WON 28 DRAWN 10 LOST 9

GOALS FOR/AGAINST

100

EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN

DIDIER DROGBA

2004/05 2009/10 2008/09

62

JIMMY FLOYD HASSELBAINK

José Mourinho Carlo Ancelotti Luiz Felipe Scolari

NICOLAS ANELKA

Points 49 points

DIEGO COSTA

Season 2016/17

GAMES

EDEN HAZARD

87

60

50 50 TORE ANDRE FLO

Manager Antonio Conte

92

51

Clean sheets - 16 Most minutes - Cesar Azpilicueta 4,442 Most goals - Diego Costa 24

78 80 59

FIRST 19 LEAGUE GAMES

We extended our unbeaten league record against Stoke at Stamford Bridge to 12 games. Dave Sexton was our manager when the Potters last won a league game here in April 1974.

CHELSEA'S LEADING FOREIGN GOALSCORERS

GIANFRANCO ZOLA

Antonio Conte made the best start of any Chelsea manager at the halfway stage of his first league season, accruing 49 points from 19 matches.

19+21+60I

WON 26 DRAWN 19

GOALS FOR/AGAINST

CHELSEA IN 2016

EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN

FA Charity/ Community Shield winners 1955, 2000, 2005, 2009

Marcos Alonso became the first player in English league history to win his first 14 starts for one club (research by English Football Archive).

EDEN HAZARD

Cesc Fàbregas recorded his 100th Premier League assist when he teed up Willian in our win over Stoke, which was his 293rd English top-flight appearance.

GAMES

Cesar Azpilicueta made his 200th appearance in all competitions for the Blues at Sunderland. He is the 21st overseas player to reach that landmark for the club.

Our 4-2 win over Stoke equalled one of English football’s longeststanding records – for consecutive top-flight victories in a single season. No team has ever surpassed 13, which was first achieved by both Sunderland and Preston North End during the 1891/92 season and by Arsenal in 2001/02.

SALOMON KALOU

Football League Cup winners 1965, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2015

50

200 OR MORE CHELSEA CAREER APPEARANCES BY OVERSEAS PLAYERS Cech 494, Drogba 381, Ivanovic 376, Mikel 372, Zola 312, Gudjohnsen 263, Essien 256, Kalou 254, Ramires 251, Malouda 229, Hazard 228, Gallas 225, Desailly 222, Ferreira 217, Makelele 217, Cudicini 216, Carvalho 210, Petrescu 208, Azpilicueta 205, Lebœuf 204, Oscar 203.

Eden Hazard’s penalty against Stoke saw him become the sixth player to score 50 Premier League goals for Chelsea. He also went fourth in our list of all-time spot-kick scorers, with 17, behind Frank Lampard, Peter Sillett and Dennis Wise.

GIANFRANCO ZOLA

50 54

FRANK LAMPARD

CHELSEA'S LEADING PREMIER LEAGUE GOALSCORERS

59

JIMMY FLOYD HASSELBAINK

DIDIER DROGBA

The Blues’ unbeaten run in the FA Cup third round now stands at 19 seasons. We last lost a tie at that stage of the competition in 1998 when Manchester United beat us 5-3 at Stamford Bridge.

69 104 147

* Stats correct up to 11.01.17

55

54

Full Members’ Cup winners 1986, 1990

EUROPEAN HONOURS UEFA Champions League winners 2012 UEFA Europa League winners 2013

07 Blues News 12 Eden Hazard 20 Month Ahead 22 Goal Getters 30 The Month That Was 32 Drawing On Experience: William Gallas 38 Carlo Cudicini 40 Photo Album 48 Match Action 52 Pic of the Month 54 Month In Numbers 57 Academy 62 Ladies 69 Chelsea Foundation 72 One of Us: Kieran Donaghy 76 We Were There 80 Message Board 81 Trophy Trivia 82 King’s Road Boutique

WE WERE THERE! WE WERE THERE!

European Cup Winners’ Cup winners 1971, 1998

72

HERE TO HELP General enquiries enquiries@chelseafc.com

0371 811 1955 International +44(0) 20 7386 9373 (Mon-Fri, 8.30am-6pm) 03 numbers are charged at the same rate as local and national rate calls

Winning the FA Cup in 1997 goes down as one of the most important achievements in Chelsea’s history. It was a pivotal moment in the club’s rise to joining the trophy hunt again after 26 years without silverware.

Yet that famous cup run came very close to being cut off in its infancy when Ruud Gullit’s side found themselves 2-0 down to Liverpool at half-time in our fourth-round match at Stamford Bridge.

Goals from Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore had left Blues fans feeling pretty down on their luck in a three-stand Bridge, with work being done on the new

Shed End behind the goal which saw all the action that day.

Then Gullit made a substitution that changed the course of history, bringing on a third striker as Mark Hughes joined Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola in attack. All three forwards were on the scoresheet by the end of the game and Chelsea had run out 4-2 winners. Liverpool were blown away in 45 minutes that will never be forgotten by those who were there. We spoke to three people in attendance that cold January afternoon and they were still euphoric 20 years on...

I got into football during the 1990 World Cup, and there was only ever going to be one team for me to support.

My dad had been a Chelsea fan since the Seventies and my brother was a fan too, so we asked if we could get tickets to the games and we started going in about 1992.

We weren’t season-ticket holders at the time (although I am now), but we were members and it was easier to get tickets in those days. For the Liverpool FA Cup game in 1997 we were in the East Stand, down by the Shed End and all the goals were down our end.

It was a really cold January day and there was me, my dad, my thenboyfriend and another friend. I can remember being 2-0 down at half-time and saying, “Oh my God! This is going to be a right nightmare!”

But my dad had seen ups and downs at Chelsea over the years and I can clearly recall him saying, “It could end up 2-2 yet.”

Well, come the second half, Mark Hughes came on and everything changed. He scored a brilliant goal, then Zola got one and Vialli scored twice. I couldn’t believe it. We went from being down in the dumps to not believing what we were seeing. We still talk about it now.

I can’t believe it was 20 years ago, though. I haven’t got a great memory but it’s one that will always stick out for me, because it was such a great game.

We went on to win the FA Cup that year and we hadn’t won anything for so long at that point, so the fact you look back to the fourth round and we were 2-0 down to Liverpool at half-time

makes the whole achievement look that bit more special.

My dad was at the FA Cup final in 1970 and I think even he was thinking along the lines that he wouldn’t see Chelsea win anything else. Now we’ve come from winning that trophy in

1997 to where we are today. I never thought I’d see anything like what we have seen in the past few years during my lifetime. We were a mid-table team, I didn’t think we were going to do anything special, but look where we are now.

Mark Hughes gees up the crowd after getting a goal back

77

76

Chelsea Magazine produced by Editorial 020 7958 2168 Subscriptions 0845 241 6210 Email cfc.magazine@trinitymirror.com MAGAZINE EDITOR David Antill FEATURES EDITOR Dominic Bliss DEPUTY EDITOR Richard Godden STAFF WRITER James Sugrue SUB-EDITOR Harri Aston DESIGNERS Glen Hind and Ben Renshaw STATISTICIAN Paul Dutton PHOTOGRAPHY Darren Walsh, Getty Images, Hugh Hastings, Chelsea FC Archive, Mirrorpix, PA Images and Mark Sandom PRINTED BY William Gibbons DISTRIBUTED BY Comag THANKS TO Emma Wilkinson, John Barrett, Andy Jones,Ryan Brown and Daniel Wittenberg © Trinity Mirror Sport Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the Copyright owners. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. In the interest of independence and impartiality, many features in this publication have been written by third-party experts. It should be noted that any opinions expressed therein are the views of the writers themselves and not necessarily those of Chelsea FC. Terms and conditions for all competitions appearing in this magazine are available on request.

Customer feedback including complaints customer.services@chelseafc.com Supporter Liaison Officer slo@chelseafc.com

STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON

THE COMEBACK KINGS

UEFA Super Cup winners 1998

The following telephone numbers and email addresses are here to assist supporters.

SARAH HAYES

Each month we look at Chelsea’s history from a fan perspective. In this issue, we relive the thrilling day we came from 2-0 down to knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup

Chelsea FC’s Global Charity Partner

FOUNDATION

Chelsea FC’s anti-discrimination campaign

Chelsea FC is a supporter of...

FOUNDATION 03

04

"Football is simple, you just have to win games, so I go on the pitch, I try to do my best and try to make the fans happy" Read our Eden Hazard interview on page 12

05

Principal Partner

carabaoenergy.co.uk

BLUES NEWS

chelseafc.com

@chelseafc

News on stadium planning application More than a year ago, a planning application for a new stadium at Stamford Bridge with an expanded seating capacity was submitted to our local council, Hammersmith & Fulham.

Over the past 12 months we have consulted widely with neighbouring residents, local businesses, statutory authorities and continued to work closely with the council.

The council’s planning committee considered the application and we are

grateful that planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of our historic home.

The committee decision does not mean that work can begin on site. This is just the latest step, although a significant one, that we have to take before we can commence work, including obtaining various other permissions.

We will continue to inform you of progress throughout this process.

Thank you for your continued support.

MANAGER OF THE MONTH HAT-TRICK FOR CONTE Antonio Conte has become the first person ever to be named as the Premier League’s Manager of the Month three times in succession.

The Italian received the December Barclays Manager of the Month award after guiding us to victory in all six of our matches.

Conte had received the same award in both October and November, when the Blues also had a 100 per cent record in the league.

Our home game against Stoke City, saw us set a new club record for consecutive wins in all competitions as we claimed our 10th victory in a row. That also made it 13 backto-back top-flight league victories, equalling the English record for a single season, which has stood since 1892.

You can read more about our recordbreaking final month of 2016 from pages 52-55.

NEW CONTRACTS FOR BLUES TRIO AND LATEST LOAN MOVES Cesar Azpilicueta has signed a new three-anda-half-year contract, keeping him at Chelsea until 2020.

The 27-year-old Spain international joined the club from Marseille in 2012 and made his 200th appearance for the Blues in the win over Sunderland in December.

Marco van Ginkel has extended his contract with Chelsea until 2019 and will spend the rest of 2016/17 on loan with PSV Eindhoven, and Jordan Houghton has signed a new contract until 2018 and extended his own loan with Doncaster Rovers until the end of the season.

NEWS IN

BRIEF

Jamal Blackman (Wycombe Wanderers) and Alex Kiwomya (Crewe Alexandra) have also extended their loans until the end of the current campaign, while Jay Dasilva and Isaiah Brown have gone on loan to Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town respectively. Fankaty Dabo, Charlie Colkett and Islam Feruz have all joined Swindon Town for the remainder of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Nathan Ake has been recalled from his loan at Bournemouth.

Chelsea have been drawn to play Brentford at home in the FA Cup fourth round, with all ties to be played between 27 and 30 January. The date and kick-off time, as well as ticket details, are available at www.chelseafc.com.

Cesar Azpilicueta has extended his contract until 2020

Chelsea Football Club’s official store in Kingston is holding a closing down sale with big savings, before it shuts on 5 February. You will still be able to purchase a wide range of Chelsea merchandise from our flagship Megastore at Stamford Bridge and online at www.chelseafc.com/shopping.

07

ENTERTAINMENT

YOUR WAY. Your team news at 35,000FT with Delta.

Wi-Fi available on all flights.* DELTA.COM

*For further information and terms and conditions, visit delta.com/wifi. © 2016 Delta Air Lines, Inc.

BLUES NEWS

chelseafc.com

@chelseafc

Oscar and John Mikel Obi helped us win a number of trophies

Club bids fond farewell to Mikel and Oscar John Mikel Obi and Oscar have moved to Chinese Super League sides in the January transfer window.

Mikel joined Tianjin TEDA following 10-and-a-half years with Chelsea, in which time he won every major club honour.

The 29-year-old is one of a select band of five foreign players in our history to have reached the 300-game landmark – alongside Chelsea greats Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Branislav Ivanovic and Gianfranco Zola.

His finest moment came in 2012 in Munich, when his incredible discipline in midfield helped us claim our first Champions League triumph.

Silverware was a regular theme of the Nigerian’s stay in west London. Mikel was our Young Player of the Year in his debut 2006/07 season, having arrived from

Norwegian team Lyn Oslo. He ended that campaign with two winners’ medals: the League Cup and FA Cup. He lifted the latter trophy four times in our colours and played his part in two Premier League successes, in 2010 and 2015, adding another League Cup triumph in the second of those seasons.

In total, Mikel played 372 times for Chelsea, scoring six goals.

Oscar has moved to Shanghai SIPG, having spent four-and-a-half years with the Blues.

The 25-year-old helped us lift the Premier League, League Cup and Europa League, as well as scooping two Chelsea Goal of the Season awards after stunning strikes against Juventus in 2012 – on his full debut – and QPR in 2014.

A summer 2012 arrival from Internacional in his native Brazil, it was in the Europa League that Oscar picked up his first medal with Chelsea, playing the full 90 minutes of our 2-1 win over Benfica in the final in Amsterdam.

The midfielder came off the bench to help us secure our League Cup final victory over Spurs at Wembley in March 2015, with the Premier League title secured at the Bridge in early May. After scoring 38 times in 203 Chelsea appearances, he will now link up with former Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas at Shanghai.

The club thanks John and Oscar for their wonderful service and wish them both the very best of luck for the future.

Oscar celebrates his goal against Juventus and proudly holds the Europa League trophy we won in 2013, while Mikel is pictured in action in the 2007 FA Cup final and with the Champions League trophy 09

BLUES NEWS

Surprise visit delights patients and families Antonio Conte and the first-team squad surprised children and their families at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital by delivering presents for the kids, posing for pictures and signing autographs around the wards shortly before Christmas.

Sadly, some of the children spent the holiday season in hospital and so the Blues popped in to spread some festive cheer.

The annual visit to the Chelsea and Westminster, just along the Fulham Road, is a significant one for the players.

“Days like this are very important for us and the children,” said Kurt Zouma. “They are suffering at the moment but you can see on their faces they are so happy to see us.”

After visiting the hospital, Conte and his players returned to Stamford Bridge to make an appearance at the Bridge Kids Christmas party.

As the young fans enjoyed party food, balloon modelling and music in the West Stand, the squad arrived to sign autographs and pose for photos.

Two supporters then went head-tohead in a Chelsea quiz, assisted by their

team-mates David Luiz and Victor Moses, which culminated in a tie-break challenge requiring the children to show off their best impressions of Conte on the touchline.

Judged by our Italian manager himself, the contest was declared an honourable draw.

John Terry with one of the patients at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

HOLLAND TO BECOME FULL-TIME THREE LIONS ASSISTANT Steve Holland will become England assistant manager on a full-time basis from the end of the season.

He will remain with Chelsea as one of Antonio Conte’s assistant coaches throughout the current campaign, although he will join up with Gareth Southgate and the Three Lions squad for two England fixtures in March.

Holland (pictured) will not be replaced at Chelsea. He was originally appointed as Chelsea’s reserve-team manager in August 2009, winning the national title at that level in 2011. Holland was promoted to assistant first-team coach, initially under Andre Villas-Boas, and he has continued in that position since, helping the club achieve domestic and European glory.

CHELSEA SUPPORT FOR BAME MENTEE SCHEME Chelsea FC is working in conjunction with the FA on a revamped BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) mentee scheme which was launched at Stamford Bridge.

Four young coaches – Alesha Moulton, Annie Zaidi, Taff Rahman and Zuber Patel (pictured) – have been employed by English football’s governing body to shadow different aspects of its work, from team operations to coach development. The quartet, plus FA inclusion and diversity manager Wayne Allison, visited Chelsea to meet Chairman Bruce Buck and other senior members of staff as the scheme was launched.

NEWS IN

BRIEF 10

Gianfranco Zola on stage

The Marco Grill restaurant at Stamford Bridge is hosting a Burns Night event on Wednesday 25 January, with traditional Scottish cuisine and entertainment. Tickets are available for £60 from www.chelseafc.com/marco or by calling 0207 958 2821.

Supporters wishing to purchase a club membership for the 2016/17 season have until Friday 3 February to do so at www.chelseafc.com/ membership. After that date, memberships will no longer be available for the current campaign.

chelseafc.com

@chelseafc

Blues snap up exciting American star Dunn She’s not the only new arrival in Hayes’ squad, with Scotland international Erin Cuthbert agreeing a deal until 2019.

The 18-year-old midfielder enjoyed a remarkable breakthrough year with Glasgow City in 2016, which saw her finish the season as the club’s top scorer and Player of the Year, as well as winning the Scottish Women’s Premier League. Meanwhile, winger Ana Borges has extended her contract with the Blues, but will spend the first half of 2017 in her homeland Portugal, on loan with Sporting Lisbon.

Finally, the FA WSL Spring Series fixtures have been announced and you can see them at chelseafc.com.

Chelsea Ladies made their first signing of 2017 with the recruitment of world-class American international Crystal Dunn.

The highly versatile 24-year-old joins Emma Hayes’ side from Washington Spirit in her homeland and has signed a contract until 2018.

Dunn said: “It’s a big personal challenge for me but I am ready to take this next step in my career. Playing for Chelsea is a unique opportunity for me to take my game to another level.”

Dunn shot to prominence in 2012, when she received the Hermann Trophy for the country’s best female college player and helped America win the Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Dunn’s performances as a professional with Washington Spirit saw her voted as the National Women’s Soccer League’s Most Valuable Player after a prolific 2015 season, and she has scored 18 times in 45 senior international appearances.

• You can read interviews with Erin Cuthbert and two other players embarking on their debut campaign with Chelsea Ladies, Ramona Bachmann and Maren Mjelde, from page 62

MEMBER OF OUR FIRST TITLE-WINNING SQUAD PASSES AWAY Chelsea Football Club was greatly saddened by the passing of our former player Peter Brabrook on 10 December, aged 79.

Brabrook holds a special place in Chelsea history as the youngest man to play a part in our first-ever championship triumph in 1954/55, making three appearances that season, and he went on to become a regular in the Blues side for the next seven seasons.

In total he scored 57 goals in 271 appearances for the Blues. As a mark of respect, all our players wore black armbands in the win over Sunderland and there was a minute’s silence at Chelsea’s FA Youth Cup match against Cardiff.

The club sends our deepest condolences to Peter’s family and friends at this difficult time.

Former Chelsea defenders Colin Pates, pictured right, and Gary Chivers will be guiding supporters around Stamford Bridge on a Legends Tour of our stadium on Sunday 12 February. Tickets cost £70 and can be purchased from www.chelseafc.com/tours or by calling 0371 811 1955.

MBE HONOUR FOR LADIES ACE CARNEY Chelsea Ladies midfielder Karen Carney was awarded an MBE for services to football in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

Carney has amassed more than 100 England caps since her debut in 2005 and joined the Blues ahead of the 2016 campaign, being named our Player of the Year in her first season.

It completed an illustrious 2016 for Chelsea Ladies, with manager Emma Hayes also awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Our Premier League home fixture against Arsenal on Saturday 4 February will now kick off at 12.30pm and the away match at Burnley will now take place at 1.30pm on Sunday 12 February after both games were selected for live broadcast on Sky Sports.

11

Words | Dominic Bliss Pictures | Darren Walsh

WIZARD NATURAL BORN

Dribbling past opponents comes effortlessly to EDEN HAZARD, who has been in sensational form for the Blues this season, and the Belgian tells us why he is determined to put a smile on the faces of Chelsea fans as we seek to reclaim the Premier League title

T

he most beautiful thing about watching Eden Hazard in full flow is not knowing what he is going to do next. Those moments in the game that make you gasp, before realising everyone else has done the same thing as a collective “Ah!” sweeps around the ground, are often produced by one of the Belgian forward’s sudden changes in direction.

We are not just talking about a shuffle to the side or a mazy run, either. On several occasions this season Hazard has picked up the ball with his back to an opponent – sometimes two or three – and ended up the other side of them, facing goal, with yards of

12

empty space in front of him. Those turns have bamboozled his markers and left the Chelsea crowd crowing all season, but when we ask him where the inspiration for the work of a moment comes from, we know what Eden Hazard’s response is going to be before he delivers it.

“It’s natural.”

When you speak to a player like Hazard about his ability to ghost past players habitually, his profound understanding of the space around him and his unerring belief he will get the better of his opponent, you have to be prepared for that reply. It’s natural.

All of these things have become second nature to the Belgian because he has spent his whole life practising them, in back

13

Eden Hazard Going up against Bournemouth defender Simon Francis

gardens, in the local park, in the junior ranks, in Ligue 1, the Premier League, the Champions League. He trusts his inherent footballing sixth sense and his awesome talent to take him where he needs to go.

There just isn’t room for him to ponder time and space during the heat of the game. If Hazard had to think about the kind of turns he pulls off, or contemplate the movement of every player around him, he wouldn’t have the devastating impact he inevitably does when he changes direction and opens the game up in the blink of an eye. For Hazard it’s natural, even if the rest of us need to see three slow-motion replays to understand how he did it.

“Don’t try to think about something too much,” he goes on to tell us. “You just have to try to be in your opponent’s mind and if he goes right, then slip it on the left and then you turn. I like to get the ball with the defender on my back and then turn because I’m quick enough 14

IT’S LIKE WHEN I GO TO WATCH A MOVIE OR A SPECTACLE, I WANT TO BE HAPPY. FOR ME, WHEN ALL THE FANS COME TO A GAME, THEY HAVE TO BE HAPPY, SO IT’S MY JOB TO DO MAKE SURE THEY ARE

to turn either to the right or the left. It’s my style of play, I like to do this.”

That outlook makes Hazard unpredictable for the unfortunate ones tasked with marking him. His body position gives nothing away, he could go anywhere. It doesn’t matter what direction he’s facing, because a swivel of the hips or a drop of the shoulder later, everything will have changed.

That was how he won the penalty he picked himself up to convert in our 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Boxing Day. Simon Francis didn’t know which way was up by the time he brought Hazard down in front of the Matthew Harding Stand.

It was also how he began the move for Pedro’s wonderful chipped opener in the same game. On that occasion, Hazard – who was playing up front in Diego Costa’s absence – received the ball to feet while facing the right touchline from the corner of the penalty area.

The best option available to him looked to be a simple ball out wide to Victor Moses,

Celebrating Pedro’s goal against the Cherries

but Eden wouldn’t be Eden if he did what he was expected to do. Instead, he turned back on himself, dragging the ball behind him with the outside of his right boot before darting towards the middle of the penalty area and forcing Bournemouth’s defenders to peddle backwards in a desperate scramble.

He pushed the ball into Cesc Fàbregas on the edge of the box and he, in turn, helped the ball into Pedro’s path, all in an instant, before the Spaniard lifted the ball over Artur Boruc and into the far top corner. Pedro’s finish and Fàbregas’ through ball were equally inventive, but Hazard’s unexpected turn had created the moment of tension, leaving a previously confidently positioned defence with no idea of what was coming next. That’s what he does, he triggers uncertainty in opponents.

“Yeah, and they can’t just focus on one guy,” he adds, grinning. “This is the key for us this season – everyone can score.

Diego, me, Pedro, Willian. They have to be aware of all of our strikers, so it’s more difficult for them.”

At the time of writing, Hazard has scored nine times this season, reached the 50 Premier League goals mark and picked up the league’s Player of the Month award for October 2016. Yet he says he isn’t really interested in those things. He finds his satisfaction in the joy of playing.

“For me, football is like this: I go on the pitch and I try to enjoy it. I don’t look at statistics, I don’t look at goals, I just want to go on the pitch. I prefer to win 5-0 and I play an amazing game, but don’t score or assist, than play a bad game where I score two goals and we win 2-0.

“Football is simple, you just have to win games, so I go on the pitch, I try to do my best and try to make the fans happy.

“This is why I play – for my enjoyment and also for the fans’. It’s like when I go to watch a movie or a spectacle, I want to be happy. For me, when all the fans come to a 15

Eden Hazard

16

Practising his skills during a training session at Cobham

game, they have to be happy, so it’s my job to do make sure they are and I try every game.”

Hazard may not look at the statistics but if he did he would see he has completed the most successful dribbles of any player to have played more than 700 minutes in any of the big five European top flights this season.

That’s more than any regular player in the Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A or Ligue 1. His nine goals also make him the second-highest scoring attacking midfielder in the Premier League, and the pundits are raving about his performances. Despite the adulation, Hazard insists that the performance of the team is the most important thing.

“I’m just happy to play well, the system is good and the players around me are doing well,” he explains.

“This season everyone is playing at their top level – except for one game against Tottenham, but we can’t win every game.

I’M JUST HAPPY TO PLAY WELL, THE SYSTEM IS GOOD AND THE PLAYERS AROUND ME ARE DOING WELL

“We enjoy to play in this system and we don’t have to be sad after losing to Tottenham because football is difficult and you can’t win every game. Two years ago we lost 5-3 there and at the end of the season we finished as champions, so I hope for the same this season. We will see – we have a lot of games to play, but we are ready for the challenge.”

He also has words of praise for another match-winner, Diego Costa, with whom he has dovetailed so effectively in attacking areas this season. The pair have been in lethal form since Antonio Conte’s arrival and have linked up majestically in the devastating raids that have characterised our play since the switch to a 3-4-2-1 back in October.

“Diego understands everything,” Hazard says. “Now is the third year we’ve played together, we know he is a top player and a top guy, and we also know the opponents 17

Eden Hazard

Hazard scored twice during our 5-0 win over Everton

OUR AIM FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON IS TO STAY AT THE TOP OF THE LEAGUE AND BRING THE TROPHY BACK TO STAMFORD BRIDGE

don’t like to play against him because he gives everything on the pitch.

“We enjoy playing together because I know when he is in the box he can score every time and we have a good connection.”

Hazard, Pedro and Willian have all offered overlapping runs either side of Diego Costa this season, meaning our midfield and wide players have more options when picking a pass in the final third. How many times have you seen a Chelsea player burst into the area with a team-mate up alongside him, either as a decoy or as an outlet for the square pass in front of goal? Leicester, Manchester United, Everton, Stoke and Peterborough have all been completely overrun by such attacking ferocity at Stamford Bridge in this campaign and Hazard agrees the team is in great physical condition.

“Yeah, it’s fitness,” he nods. “We work a lot in training this season. The manager wants us to run a lot, so maybe this is the reason. Because we work a lot in training we know what to do in the game.”

So which performance so far in 2016/17 would he highlight as his best display individually?

“Everton was good,” he replies, “so was Man City away and Man United at home.

They were different performances. Against Everton I scored two goals in a 5-0 win but it’s not just about this. Everything I did in this game was…good,” he adds with a shrug and a ‘What can I say?’ expression.

“So I want to choose this game as my best individually.

“For the team performance, I think I would say the 4-0 win against Man United. They are a big, big team and it’s always difficult to play against them. We did well. The whole team was fantastic that day and we hope for games like this all the time.

“Now our aim for the second half of the season is to stay at the top of the league and bring the trophy back to Stamford Bridge. This is what we want.”

There it is again – that simple, optimistic Hazard outlook. Don’t think too much about it, just go and do it. It’s natural.

19

MONTH AHEAD FIXTURES & RESULTS 2016/17

ON THE PITCH

August Mon 15 West Ham United

H 2-1

Sat 20 Watford

A 2-1

Tue 23 Bristol Rovers (EFLC second round)

H 3-2

Sat 27 Burnley

H 3-0

September Sun 11 Swansea City

A 2-2

Fri 16

H 1-2

Liverpool

Tue 20 Leicester City (EFLC third round)

A 4-2*

Sat 24 Arsenal

A 0-3

October Sat 1

Hull City

Sat 15 Leicester City Sun 23 Manchester United

H 4-0 A

A 2-0

1-2

November H

5-0

Sun 20 Middlesbrough

A 1-0

Sat 26 Tottenham Hotspur

H 2-1

December Sat 3

Manchester City

A 3-1

Sun 11 West Bromwich Albion

H 1-0

Wed 14 Sunderland

A 1-0

Sat 17 Crystal Palace

A 1-0

Mon 26 Bournemouth

H 3-0

Sat 31 Stoke City

H

Wed 4 Tottenham Hotspur

A 0-2

Sun 8

H 4-1

Sat 14 Leicester City (5.30pm) BT

A

-

Sat 22 Hull City (4.30pm) Sky

H

-

27-30 Brentford (FAC fourth round)

H -

Tue 31 Liverpool (8pm) BT

A

-

February Sat 4

Arsenal (12.30pm) Sky

H

-

Sat 12 Burnley (1.30pm) Sky

A

-

Sat 18 FAC fifth round

- -

Sat 25 Swansea City

H

-

March Sat 4

West Ham United

A

-

Sat 11 Watford

H

-

Sat 11

- -

FAC quarter-final

Sat 18 Stoke City

A

-

Crystal Palace

H

-

Wed 5 Manchester City (7.45pm)

H

-

Sat 8

A

-

Sat 15 Manchester United

A

-

Sat 22 Southampton

H

-

22/23

N -

April Sat 1

Bournemouth

FAC semi-final

Sat 29 Everton

A

-

May Sat 6

Middlesbrough

H

-

Sat 13 West Bromwich Albion

A

-

Sun 21 Sunderland

H

-

Sat 27 FAC final

N

-

Fixtures correct at time of going to press and are subject to change. All games kick off at 3pm unless stated.

N - Wembley Stadium. EFLC - English Football League Cup. FAC - FA Cup. *After extra-time.

20

27-30 JANUARY

BRENTFORD (H) – FA CUP FOURTH ROUND The Blues have twice faced the Bees in the FA Cup, first in 1949/50, when we won 1-0 at Griffin Park.

We also travelled there in 2012/13 and, after a 1-1 draw, won 4-0 in the replay at the Bridge.

We will look ahead to our FA Cup fourth-round tie in the days leading up to the match and there will be highlights on the official website 24 hours after the game has been played.

4-2

January Peterborough United (FAC third round)

Pre-Match At The Bridge begins at 3.30pm, with Jason Cundy and Ben Andrews bringing you all the team news live from the gantry. They will also speak to the manager after the full-time whistle.

A 2-0

Sun 30 Southampton Everton

JANUARY

H 3-0

Wed 26 West Ham United (EFLC4)

Sat 5

22

HULL CITY (H) – PREMIER LEAGUE Although the Tigers avoided defeat on their first Premier League visit to Stamford Bridge, we have won the subsequent three meetings, scoring twice in each.

31 JANUARY

LIVERPOOL (A) – PREMIER LEAGUE Had it not been for two last-minute equalisers we would have a record of four wins from our past four top-flight visits to Anfield, with our last defeat coming in May 2012 a few days after we’d beaten them in the FA Cup final.

Wherever They May Be starts at 7pm for this mouth-watering fixture against Jurgen Klopp’s side. We’ll have exclusive interviews from within the Blues camp before and after the match.

4 FEBRUARY

ARSENAL (H) – PREMIER LEAGUE We have won seven of our last 10 home matches against the Gunners, who have picked up only six victories over the Blues in all competitions in the past decade.

It’s an early kick-off against the Gunners, so tune in from 11.30am for Pre-Match At The Bridge. You can also have your say on the phone-in during Post-Match At The Bridge.

12

BURNLEY (A) – PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea have netted three goals against the Clarets in three of our five Premier League meetings so far, winning four of those matches.

FEBRUARY

As with all our first-team fixtures, a full re-run of the Clarets match will be available to Chelsea TV subscribers, with a variety of highlights packages online for Fan Club members.

chelseafc.com

@chelseafc

OFF THE PITCH 21 JANUARY – TOUR WITH BOBBY TAMBLING (PLUS FREE BOOK)

BLUES BIRTHDAYS

Bobby Tambling was Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer for almost 50 years before Frank Lampard surpassed his tally of 202 in 2013. Last year the forward published his autobiography Goals in Life and you can get your hands on a copy and hear Bobby’s stories first-hand when he takes you around our west London home. Tickets cost £80 and booking info is below.

RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK 23.1.96 (21)

25 JANUARY – BURNS NIGHT SUPPER Celebrate the life and works of Scotland’s greatest poet, Robert Burns, and join us for a traditional supper at Marco Grill on the anniversary of his birthday. Tickets are £60 and include a four-course Scottish inspired meal, half a bottle of wine per person and a shot of Macallan 12 to toast the haggis.

12 FEBRUARY – TOUR WITH COLIN PATES AND GARY CHIVERS Meet two homegrown Chelsea heroes as they regale you with stories from the Seventies and Eighties while showing you around Stamford Bridge. Pates, who was the first Chelsea captain to lift a trophy at Wembley, and Chivers will share their experiences with you on an unforgettable stadium tour, which also includes a signed personalised photo and a Q&A session. Prices are £70 for adults and you can book online now. Alternatively, call 0371 811 1955 or email tours@chelseafc.com.

We ended 2016 on a bang with a secret gig by Robbie Williams, which included an impromptu performance of the Spice Girls’ hit 2 Become 1 along with Emma Bunton, and the fun continues at Under The Bridge in the new year.

Starting things off will be Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, who are playing on Friday 20 January.

Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) has been covered over 100 times by some of the biggest musical acts, but why not hear the original and best?

The following night we welcome LA based guitar-player and singer Ana Popovic, who is back on the road promoting her new triple album Trilogy. Bruce Springsteen reckons she is “one helluva guitar player” and who are we to argue?

Find out what all the fuss is about on Saturday 21 January. Live/Dead

KENEDY 8.2.96 (21)

was the first live official album

by The Grateful Dead released in 1969 after being recorded over a series of concerts that year. Tom Constanten was the pianist on this album and he returns with an all-star line-up featuring members of Jefferson Starship, Bob Weir & Ratdog and David Crosby’s band to perform the album in its entirety for one night only. Friday 3 February is the date for your diaries…

Visit www.underthebridge.co.uk for more information about all of our upcoming gigs and to book your tickets now.

ALSO ON The Blues’ Under-18s are in FA Youth Cup action as this magazine hits the shelves, taking on Birmingham City in the fourth round, and Chelsea TV will have exclusive live coverage of the match.

Jody Morris’s team beat Cardiff City 5-0 in the third round and will be looking to go one step nearer to lifting the prestigious trophy for a fourth consecutive season when they travel to take on the Midlands outfit.

As always, Chelsea TV will be following our youth team in the competition, with coverage beginning at 7pm.

There is more live Academy football later in the month as our Under-18s take on Tottenham in a league fixture at Cobham. At the time of going to print, our youth team held a six-point lead at the top of the Under-18s Premier League South following a run of 12 games without defeat. Spurs sat fourth

in the table so this is sure to be an entertaining London derby – tune in from 11am.

On Tuesday 24 January, at 6.45pm, don’t miss the Best of Chelsea TV 2016, which reflects on life behind the scenes at the club over the last 12 months. We have unprecedented access to the first-team squad at Cobham and Stamford Bridge so there are plenty of light-hearted moments to look back on.

Chelsea TV is available on chelseafc.com with a Fan Club membership. Go to chelseafc.com/join16 for more information on how you can watch Chelsea TV online. You can also watch on television. To join via Sky, call 08442 410 201 or visit www.sky.com/chelseatv.

21

ROY BENTLEY Apps 367 Goals 150

PETER OSGOOD Apps 380 Goals 150

22

GOAL getters Words | Dominic Bliss

In this milestone edition of the magazine, we take a close look at the careers of two Chelsea legends who scored 150 times apiece for the club, with Roy Bentley and Peter Osgood’s remarkable achievements forever ensuring their place in the hearts of Blues supporters

Peter Osgood and Roy Bentley pictured together at Stamford Bridge in 2002

23

GOAL-GETTERS

The Chelsea squad at the start of the 1955/56 season, with Bentley sitting directly behind the league title we won the previous campaign

By now you have probably read that this is the 150th issue of Chelsea magazine, and 150 is a significant figure for two of the greatest players ever to take the field at Stamford Bridge because it is the number of goals that both Roy Bentley and Peter Osgood each scored for the club.

Both men reached that significant milestone over a remarkably similar number of games, as Bentley managed his century-and-a-half in 367 appearances, while Osgood achieved it in 380 (four of those as substitute). Only four players – Frank Lampard, Bobby Tambling, Kerry Dixon and Didier Drogba – have found the net more times in Chelsea’s history.

They have gone down as Chelsea legends because their influence on the team and their all-round contribution made them far more than just goalscorers. But goalscorers they undoubtedly were – and it is on that most glorious of attributes we will focus in this celebration of the 150-goal men.

When we think of Bentley, we naturally reflect, first and foremost, on his part in Chelsea’s first-ever league title success back in 1954/55. After all, he was the captain and the focal point of the attack – the poster 24

Blues manager Ted Drake congratulates Bentley after we secure the title by beating Sheffield Wednesday

boy of the team. The tag ‘Bentley’s Boys’ didn’t appear out of thin air.

At that point he had been at the club for more than seven years and was in the penultimate campaign of a run of eight consecutive seasons as our top scorer. He was brought in to follow in the footsteps of the great Tommy Lawton – a huge responsibility for any player.

“I was under no illusions as to what was expected of me when I joined Chelsea,” he wrote in his autobiography, Roy Wonder. “(The) fans were up in arms at the news of Tommy’s departure.”

Yet he went on to become a favourite among the supporters in the years that followed. In fact, 1950/51 was the only full season in which Bentley didn’t reach double figures in the league, but his eight goals that year were crucial in keeping Chelsea in the top flight as we survived on goal average.

That was the metric that preceded goal difference in separating teams with the same number of points in the league table. Each team’s goal average was reached by dividing the number of goals they scored by the number of goals they conceded that season.

Chelsea – who had looked dead and buried before rallying incredibly to win our last four

games of the season – ended on the same points as the two relegated sides, Sheffield Wednesday and Everton, but finished above them by 0.044 of a goal. We had a finalday 4-0 thumping of Bolton Wanderers at Burnden Park to thank for that, and Bentley was in his element.

He headed Chelsea in front from a corner kick on 17 minutes and doubled our lead from a free-kick two minutes later. He celebrated with a handstand. Who says Fifties footballers were happy with a simple handshake on the jog back to the centre circle?

The result never looked in doubt after that but two more goals from his strike partner, future England international Bobby Smith, secured our place in the top flight a year before Ted Drake took over as manager and gradually transformed us into unlikely title contenders.

Handstand celebrations weren’t the only way in which Bentley was ahead of his time.

He was one of the first wandering strikers, in the mould of the deep-lying centreforwards coming out of central Europe around that time. It would be too much of a stretch to compare him to the modern-day ‘false nine’ but Bentley became more than a target man. Sure, he was great in the air and thrived on converting crosses, but he also looked to stretch defences with his runs into channels and by dropping deep to leave gaps in the opposition backline. He was described in one match report in February 1955 as a “roving merchant venturer” by the Daily Mirror’s Bob Ferrier and Drake did nothing to dissuade him from continuing in that fashion.

“One of the first things I asked Ted was how he wanted me to play,” Bentley later reflected. “He said he liked my ‘roving’ game and did not want me to change my style at all, saying that it helped bring other players into the game and open up defences.”

In front of goal, though, he was better when he was instinctive and he often complained during dry patches that he was “trying too hard” to score. Like any golden boy of the age, he was known for his flying headers and his crashing drives – it helped when he was feeling confident and he didn’t have any pressure weighing him down.

His best two seasons were those when he got on a roll and the club was thriving. In 1953/54, after several seasons battling the drop, Chelsea finished in the top half again and Bentley fired in 21 goals. He matched that tally exactly the following year as we won the championship. Those 42 goals in 24 months earned him a regular place in the England team during 1954/55 and he banged in six goals in four internationals, including a hat-trick against Wales.

Bentley leaps to score a header against Preston North End in 1949

BENTLEY CELEBRATED WITH A HANDSTAND. WHO SAYS FIFTIES FOOTBALLERS WERE HAPPY WITH A SIMPLE HANDSHAKE ON THE JOG BACK TO THE CENTRE CIRCLE? Bentley’s 150 were hugely important goals for Chelsea: after all, they helped to keep us in the top flight one season and to win the league in another. That’s a unique double for a top scorer at this club, and must be rare among any other team, too.

Bentley left Stamford Bridge in September 1956 at the age of 32. His destination was just down the road at Craven Cottage as he began a four-year association with our near neighbours Fulham before ending his career with two seasons at another west London club, QPR. By the time he hung up his boots in 1962, a teenage forward was emerging in the amateur game, at Windsor, banging in 60-80 goals a season. A year later, he was wearing the blue of Chelsea and by the end of his career he had matched Bentley’s goal tally for the club. His name was Peter Osgood.

Oddly enough, 150 was also the number of kids that Osgood reckoned he’d had to stand out among during the trial that

Peter Osgood in 1965

25

BOUTIQUES GENÈVE • PARIS • LONDON • BERLIN • NEW YORK MIAMI • BEVERLY HILLS • LAS VEGAS MOSCOW • DUBAI • TOKYO • HONG KONG SINGAPORE • SAINT-TROPEZ • CANNES COURCHEVEL • GSTAAD • ZERMATT • ZÜRICH

hublot.com

Classic Fusion Chelsea.

Official Watch of Chelsea Football Club.

Self-winding chronograph movement in a titanium case. Dial adorned with Chelsea's logo displayed at 12 o'clock.

Blue alligator strap stitched on rubber.

Limited edition of 200 pieces.

GOAL-GETTERS

OSGOOD ALWAYS STOOD OUT FOR HIS COMPOSURE AS MUCH AS HIS ABILITY. AS A GOALSCORER, HE WAS ICE COOL

Osgood finds the back of the net on his debut against Workington

In conversation with Blues manager Tommy Docherty

prompted Chelsea to take him on at the age of 16.

“I had to go to Hendon at 11.30 on a Saturday morning for the trial and Dick Foss was taking the trials,” he recalled during an interview in later life. “There were about 150 kids there and I thought, ‘Blimey, what chance have I got here?’ because Reading had turned me down, then I’d had a trial for Arsenal. I said, ‘I’ve got to be honest, I can’t play for Reading, I can’t play for Arsenal’.

But Uncle Bob said, ‘You’ve got to go’.

Uncle Bob is a massive Blues fan. He even named his house ‘Winchelsea’.

“My brother took me there and after about half-an-hour, Dickie Foss took me off and said, ‘You’ve got to sign, son. There’s 10 scouts here who want to sign you.’”

Osgood always stood out for his composure as much as his ability. As a goalscorer, he was ice cool. He had a temperament younger generations of supporters might associate with Eidur Gudjohnsen or Eden Hazard – that sense of never being ruffled or overawed; eschewing nervousness in favour of self-confidence.

He made his debut in December 1964, in a League Cup tie at home to Workington, at the age of 17, and scored twice. It was his

only game that season and he had to wait nine months for another opportunity, which came against Roma in the Fairs Cup the following September. But when his moment came, he was given every chance to prove himself by his manager, Tommy Docherty.

“The boss said to me, ‘Look son, we’ve got some strong boys here but I think you’re going to make it and I want you to play.

I’m going to give you 10 games. I don’t care how you play and the crowd will have a go at you because Barry Bridges is a big favourite here. There’s no pressure on you, just play.’”

Osgood managed 11 goals in 47 games that season, but was seriously injured midway through the following campaign.

He missed the lion’s share of the 1966/67 season – “I also put on a stone-and-a-half in weight and lost a bit of pace” – and yet when he returned, he adapted his game to suit his new physique. He became more robust, used the ball more intelligently and seemed a slightly different type of centreforward. He matured.

Osgood’s goals ratio gradually improved and in our glorious 1969/70 campaign, he scored 31 goals in 46 games, including strikes in every round of the FA Cup as we 27

GOAL-GETTERS

The famous diving header during our FA Cup final replay against Leeds

OSGOOD WAS THE SYMBOL OF THAT GREAT TEAM OF THE SIXTIES AND EARLY SEVENTIES

won the famous old competition for the first time. He was part artist, part action man, as his equalising goal in the FA Cup final replay against Leeds that year demonstrated.

Having dropped deep to pick up a pass and lay the ball off to Ian Hutchinson on his right, he quickly turned and made his way towards the muddy penalty area at Old Trafford.

Charlie Cooke then collected the ball from Hutchinson midway inside the Leeds half and delicately lifted a pass over the defence, with the ball dropping invitingly in front of Ossie’s run between the penalty spot and the edge of the six-yard box. Flinging himself forward to meet it with a diving header, he diverted the ball past a stranded David Harvey before picking himself up and punching the air.

“Charlie Cooke floated a great ball in and I think if (Gary) Sprake had been playing, he would have come and clattered me,” Osgood later recalled. “His replacement David Harvey didn’t know whether to come out or stay on his line. His hesitation was fatal. In the end, he stayed and I had all the time in the world to score.

“Those two games against Leeds in 1970 were awesome. You had to have bottle, you

had to have class, you had to have skill and we had everything.”

At that point, Osgood was assured of legend status at the club and two seasons later he matched that 31-goal total with another sensational year in front of goal. He was the symbol of that great team of the Sixties and early Seventies.

“I never saw a centre-forward like him,” said his team-mate Alan Hudson. “For such a big man he was like a ballet dancer in comparison with many players, and yet he’d still give stick to centre-halves.”

Osgood left Chelsea in March 1974 after a series of disagreements with manager Dave Sexton. He went on to play for Southampton and, briefly on loan, Norwich, before moving to America for a year with Philadelphia Fury.

But he returned to his spiritual home to end his career with Chelsea in 1978, playing 11 more games before hanging up his boots in 1979. He scored two more goals in that second spell at Stamford Bridge, taking his tally to the nice round 150 mark, and matching that other great Blues forward, Roy Bentley. The names and achievements of both men will never be forgotten at Chelsea.

29

FEBRUARY Words Daniel Wittenberg

2 FEBRUARY

Chelsea inflicted Arsenal’s only league defeat of the campaign. The Gunners may have gone on to reclaim the First Division title, but their Class of ’91 can only rue what might have been if not for the Blues’ 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge. The hosts seized control in the second half after Kerry Dixon (pictured) headed into an almost unguarded goal and Graham Stuart was equally unmarked when he doubled the advantage.

Alan Smith pulled one back late on, but Chelsea stood firm to ensure that invincibility would have to wait.

13 FEBRUARY

Nowadays, Chelsea are looking to avoid FA Cup upsets, but in the Eighties the Blues pulled off a surprise of our own with a 2-0 fifth-round win against Liverpool. As Chelsea lay eighth in the Second Division with little sign of progress, not even the home supporters had much hope of securing progress against the European champions. Attention shifted eight minutes in, however, when Peter Rhoades-Brown slid the ball past Bruce Grobbelaar for the opening goal, and Colin Lee sealed a famous triumph six minutes from time (pictured) after capitalising on a mix-up in the Liverpool defence.

12 FEBRUARY

Chelsea are no strangers to prolonged winning streaks this season, but six decades ago our eighth win in a row in all competitions was a record. Bobby Tambling netted the only goal of the game (pictured) in our FA Cup fourth-round victory over Don Revie’s Leeds United, the previous season’s runners-up, in front of a 57,847-strong crowd at the Bridge. The Blues’ all-time top scorer until 2013, Tambling managed five goals in five cup ties as Chelsea reached the semifinals, only to be defeated by Sheffield Wednesday.

30

14 FEBRUARY

David Luiz instantly captured the imagination of Chelsea fans after he arrived from Benfica at the end of a winter transfer window that also brought our record signing Fernando Torres to the Bridge.

The Brazilian defender was named Man of the Match on his full debut against Fulham, helping the Blues keep a clean sheet during a goalless draw at Craven Cottage. Just over a month later he had netted a goal against each of the two Manchester clubs to assure his cult status.

18 FEBRUARY

Gianluca Vialli celebrated his first match in charge of the Blues with a 3-1 victory over Arsenal in the second leg of the League Cup semifinal at Stamford Bridge. A trio of future managers grabbed the goals to complete a 4-3 aggregate triumph. Mark Hughes levelled the overall score inside 10 minutes before Chelsea took control of the tie with two goals in two minutes from Roberto Di Matteo and Dan Petrescu, the first a spectacular effort from 30 yards. Dennis Bergkamp netted a late consolation for the Gunners, but Vialli’s men held on to reach what proved a successful final against Middlesbrough.

21 FEBRUARY

Guus Hiddink got his tactics spot on in his first Premier League match overseeing Chelsea. Appointed caretaker manager until the end of the season, the Russia coach paired Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka up front during a 1-0 victory away to Aston Villa, with a clever finish from the French striker (pictured) sealing the points. The Blues seemed to rediscover their attacking instincts and defensive solidity under Hiddink and lost just one more game during the remainder of the campaign, finishing third in the league and winning the FA Cup. This was also our first top-flight win at Villa Park in over a decade.

25 FEBRUARY

Didier Drogba guided Chelsea to the League Cup for the second time in three seasons. Two years after lifting his first trophy for the Blues in our 2005 triumph against Liverpool, when he scored the winning goal in extra-time, the Ivorian again led from the front during a London derby with Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium. Chelsea fell behind to a goal from 17-year-old Theo Walcott before Drogba decided another cup final. A goal in each half from the forward delivered the fifth honour of the Roman Abramovich era.

26 FEBRUARY

A chorus of Chelsea players, including Peter Osgood, Ron Harris and Peter Bonetti, released our signature tune Blue Is The Colour to coincide with our League Cup final against Stoke City. Although our appearance at Wembley Stadium was ultimately unsuccessful, the Blues losing 2-1 despite an Osgood goal on the stroke of half-time, the record reached number five in the UK charts the following month and has grown to be one of the best-known football songs. It was released under Penny Farthing Records.

31

32

Drawing on

EXPERIENCE

SPECIAL DAYS Words | Dominic Bliss

Two-time title winner WILLIAM GALLAS tells us why he will never forget his time at Stamford Bridge as he looks back on five years with Chelsea, including his role in the meanest defence the Premier League has seen

H

ow did your move to Chelsea come about back in 2001?

watch these guys play. I was really, really lucky to have the opportunity to play with those three big French defensive players.

My agent told me Chelsea were interested in buying me, but also that some Italian clubs wanted to sign me.

I was very interested in Italian football at the time and I asked, “Isn’t it always cold in England?”

But I came to Chelsea and it was great.

I didn’t speak any English at all, I was very young and I remember Marcel Desailly and Emmanuel Petit were like, if I can say, my mentors. They helped me a lot at that time, I settled in and Chelsea was a great move for me.

You struck up a very strong partnership with John Terry during your time here as well.

Tell us about the understanding you shared with him.

Did you know Marcel Desailly before you arrived at Chelsea?

Did you always feel confident your pace would allow you to recover the ground on any forward looking to get in behind our back four?

Before I joined Chelsea, I met him once because we had the same agent, but Marcel, Lilian Thuram and Laurent Blanc were my heroes as a young player. I had the opportunity to play with Blanc when I was at Marseille, with Marcel at Chelsea and Lilian with France, so I was watching all the time, trying to understand their football, trying to take on the good things from them and trying to do it as well in training.

Because I was a young boy, I wanted to learn and it was very important for me to

I would say it was very easy. My English was not very good, but the connection between John and me on the pitch was natural. John is a strong defender, very intelligent as well and he can play with both feet. Me? I was very quick, I could read the game as well, so I knew he would cover my back and I would cover his back. That’s maybe why we had a great partnership.

To be honest, everyone was talking about my pace but I will tell you something: maybe I had that pace, but I was reading the game as well. So before the opposition midfielder was playing the long ball, I already knew where he would put that ball. I would start running before the striker, so that’s why sometimes people were thinking I was very quick. It’s because I was always the first to the ball.

33

Drawing on EXPERIENCE

Celebrating our Premier League title win in 2006 with Hernan Crespo, Geremi and Didier Drogba

FACTFILE WILLIAM GALLAS BORN ASNIERES-SUR-SEINE, FRANCE DATE OF BIRTH 17.08.77 CHELSEA CAREER 2001-06 CHELSEA APPS, GOALS 225 APPS, 14 GOALS Training at POSITION DEFENDER Harlington in 1985 So would you put it down to anticipation as much as pace?

Yes. I always had the anticipation because when I was playing with Laurent Blanc at Marseille, I was watching him during all the training sessions and during all the games. He didn’t have that pace, so I was very curious and I was looking at him, saying, “How does he get to the ball before his striker?” Slowly, slowly, I saw him reading the game and anticipating the moves. So I tried to do the same thing when I was playing for Marseille, and when I arrived at Chelsea I did the same thing.

When Roman Abramovich took over the club in 2003 and we strengthened our squad significantly, did you feel confident you would win major trophies with Chelsea?

To achieve something, you need to have a big squad. You need to have a combination of big players, young players, experienced players and what Chelsea did was perfect because, in the second year after Mr Abramovich became owner of the club, we won the Premier League. At the same time, when you train with that type of player, you are learning a lot; from 34

their movement, from the strikers you train against, from their quality. The level is always very high in training, so that’s why we were always ready to play against the big players at the weekend.

What was it like to be part of that group which won consecutive league titles with ease in 2005 and 2006?

That confidence came from José Mourinho. He also gave us that little arrogance before we started the game.

In the tunnel before we went onto the pitch, we always respected our opponents, but we were also a little bit arrogant, and sometimes you can win the game not only on the pitch, but before the game starts. Sometimes we already knew we were going to win the game because the opponent was scared of us.

We only conceded 15 goals in winning the Premier League in 2004/05, which is still a record for a 38-game season. We’ve discussed the quality of our centre-backs, but how important was Claude Makelele in front of the defence?

Makelele was very important for Chelsea because where he played was key for the two centre-backs. We knew he would

cut out all the passes to the strikers, so it was a little bit easier for us to defend their strikers.

It was not only from the defenders and Claude, though. It was from the team – the striker, the wingers – they did a lot of good defensive work. They were the first defenders when we didn’t have the ball, so that’s why we didn’t concede too many goals.

José was very focused on set-pieces as well. He didn’t want us to concede any goals. Before the game, we had some meetings and some videos to watch to give us all the information we needed for the game. After that, it was a little bit easier for the players to do their jobs.

You scored some memorable goals, none more so than that last-minute stunner to beat Tottenham in 2006.

You know why people remember that goal? Because it was from me and I am a defender, and I had never scored a goal like that in my career. Some people were in shock! Even me, I was shocked!

I could not breathe, everybody was jumping on me and after the goal I lost my head, I was running everywhere and was jumping on José. It was a great moment.

That is why people like to play in

William Gallas

England, that is why the Premier League is the best league in the world.

Your goals often arrived in big games.

Did you have extra determination to make something happen up the other end when we needed it the most?

Yeah, because although I had to defend first, when you score it gives you that good sensation. You understand the strikers more when you score and get that feeling. I was very happy with all the goals I scored – I was smiling, I was making jokes with my team-mates, especially with John. For the 2004/05 season, we had a challenge to see which one of us was going to score most goals that season. Unfortunately, John scored more goals than me. But all the goals I scored from corners were things we practiced. In training, I was always on the second post and I scored so many goals in that position.

I COULD NOT BREATHE, EVERYBODY WAS JUMPING ON ME The joyous scene after Gallas’ late winner against Tottenham in 2006

35

OfferClub

free

E

V

E

R

Y

BET W

E

E

K

1. JOIN WILLIAM HILL OFFER CLUB 2. BET £20 OR MORE, IN A WEEK, ON FOOTBALL ACCUMULATORS WITH FOUR OR MORE SELECTIONS 3. GET A £5 FREE BET ON THE FRIDAY

AVAILABLE TO ALL CUSTOMERS. ON MOBILE AND ONLINE. INCLUDES ALL MAJOR DOMESTIC LEAGUES T&Cs APPLY, SEE WEBSITE FOR FULL DETAILS.

AVAILABLE ON ANDROID

To qualify, a total of at least £20 must be staked on bets that are settled within the qualification period: 00:00:00 every Friday until 23:59:59 every Thursday. Only pre-match football accumulators with a minimum of 4 selections will count towards the promotion. To be eligible for a free bet, customers must opt-in to the William Hill Offer Club at www.offerclub.williamhill.com before placing any bets. Free bets will be credited by midday on the Friday after the qualifying period in which the bet was settled has ended. Only one £5 free bet will be credited per customer, per week. Applies to bets placed via William Hill mobile (mobile.williamhill.com or iOS Mobile App) and William Hill online (desktop site) only. Offer not available in William Hill shops or kiosks, self-service betting terminals or via text or telebetting. Players who have been informed of concessions removal from William Hill won’t qualify for this promotion. See website or app for full terms and conditions.

William Hill rules apply. Over 18s only. FOR ADVICE & INFORMATION VISIT WWW.GAMBLEAWARE.CO.UK.NATIONAL GAMBLING HELPLINE 0808 8020 133.

William Gallas

Luis Garcia’s controversial goal against the Blues in the Champions League semi-final in 2005

Frank Lampard was on TV the other week referring to the player attacking the back post from a corner as being “in the William Gallas position”!

Yeah? Well, like I said, because we worked on it in training, it was easier for us to do it in games. But Frank was one of the best midfielders I played with and he had the quality to deliver a good ball.

How do you reflect on your time at Chelsea in its entirety?

I had a great time. I spent five years there and Chelsea gave me the opportunity to lift some trophies and that’s something special – you feel like you are the King of England! I missed out on maybe only one thing and that was the Champions League.

I remember 2004/05, when we lost against Liverpool. We played against them many times and if you see how many games we played and how many times we won, we were better than that Liverpool side. So it hurt. Personally, it hurt me a lot.

THE BALL DIDN’T CROSS THE LINE Did the ball cross the line for Luis Garcia’s goal at Anfield? Only you can tell us!

I don’t have to lie. The ball didn’t cross the line, and I said that to John, because we had that conversation when I interviewed him for French television. When they had the technology, they talked again about that goal – I don’t remember if it was in England or France – and they showed that the ball

didn’t cross the line. That gave me even more frustration about that game, but going back to what you asked before, Chelsea gave me everything. It was a pleasure to come back recently to see some people who were with me when I was there and who helped me a lot. I am very grateful to Chelsea, to the fans, to the players – because I played with a lot of amazing players. Every day I was happy to go to training and I will never forget Chelsea.

37

CLUB AMBASSADOR CARLO CUDICINI

It’s been an incredible journey, now Conte is leading us down another path to success This is the 150th edition of Chelsea magazine and it’s incredible to think it is 10 years since I starred on the front cover of issue 29. Back then I spoke about how thrilling it was to see how the club had grown since I arrived in 1999 and I am delighted that growth has continued with much more success over the last decade.

I left a couple of years after appearing in that magazine and the club went on to win another two Premier League titles along with more domestic cups. And, of course, we became European champions for the first time as well as winning the Europa League.

It is great for me to be back at the club, forming part of Antonio Conte’s coaching staff – it is an amazing experience for me, I am learning a huge amount and really enjoying myself. I appreciate the trust the club put in me to help the manager in his role. I also have to thank some of the senior players who have been at the club for a long time such as JT, Iva and Obi – who has now left. They have been a great help for my work.

The team did incredibly well during the first half of the season and it was an unbelievable achievement to win 13 league games in a row from the start of October to the end of the year. Obviously, there was a bit of disappointment after the game at Tottenham, but that takes nothing away from what was an incredible run. Everybody should be very proud of what we achieved.

As I’m sure you are all now aware, Antonio is a really hard worker and I am delighted for him that his mentality and ideas have had a positive effect. When he first arrived there were many things he had to become accustomed to, including the differences between Italian and English football. He had to adapt and understand the game here and, in one sense, be very strict about what he wanted and, in another 38

Antonio Conte at work on the training ground and, inset, Carlo Cudicini on the front cover of Chelsea magazine

sense, be softer in his approach to certain aspects. It was about finding the right balance and in the beginning I could see the effort he was putting in to gather knowledge and get all his ideas across to the players.

I also feel he quickly created a positive bond between the players. He’s a man that really trusts in his work – he is very honest and he treats every player the same. He doesn’t look at the name, he just looks at what he thinks is the best way of getting the right result. If you perform in training and show you are good enough to play, that is enough.

Of course, it was also important for the players to adapt to his way of playing football and his training methods, and I think they have done that very well. The results were important in this process, because when you start winning games, confidence grows quickly. The longer our winning run went on, the more the players believed in the work they were doing.

As you can imagine, the mood at

Cobham has been extremely positive and it was very important for us to return to winning ways when we faced Peterborough in the FA Cup. We have another home tie to look forward to in the fourth round and, at the time of writing, we have 18 league games remaining.

For sure, there will be ups and downs along the way, but we want to win as many of our fixtures as possible and end the season with silverware.

Every game is very important and you fans can have a huge impact on what we are trying to achieve. You have been superb at all our matches this season and I ask you to continue to trust in the work that the manager, his staff and the players are doing because you can push the team to do even better and hopefully we can end the season with at least one trophy.

PHOTO ALBUM

40

Picture perfect Whether it is a magic moment on or off the pitch, every edition of Chelsea magazine has featured a great picture from that particular month. Whittling them all down to a selection of just 13 proved to be tricky, but over the next seven pages are just a few of our favourite images which have appeared in the publication since its launch at the start of the 2004/05 season

CHELSEA ARE THE KINGS OF EUROPE Didier Drogba. Munich. 2012. Need we say any more? No Blues fan will ever forget the moment when the Ivorian slotted home the decisive penalty to ensure Chelsea became London’s first-ever Champions League winners. As commentator Martin Tyler put it: “They’ve found the holy grail.”

41

PHOTO ALBUM

PREMIER ACHIEVEMENT

The first of many open-top bus parades for John Terry and Frank Lampard after our maiden Premier League championship in 2005. None of it would have been possible without Roman Abramovich, who has turned Chelsea into one of the biggest clubs in the world.

BLUES STARS FLYING HIGH Although the Blues came away from the 2008 Champions League final empty-handed, the efforts of three of our players were recognised by UEFA as Petr Cech, John Terry and Frank Lampard (not pictured) – here arriving in Monaco for the Champions League draw – were selected as the best players in their position.

42

LOUD AND PROUD SUPPORTER Will Ferrell has made quite the habit of showing off his love for Chelsea, regularly donning his Blues shirt on TV. On this occasion, for MTV’s TRL show in 2008, he was partaking in a karaoke session with Step Brothers co-star John C. Reilly.

PERFECT STAGE

As a distinguished actor for over half a century, Lord Attenborough was used to performing on the big stage. On a night to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the club’s election to the Football League, our Life Vice-President spoke movingly about his pride at being associated with the Blues for so many years. He is sorely missed by everyone at the club.

43

PHOTO ALBUM

44

BEATING THE DRUM

Start spreading the news: the Blues are in New York, New York! Beats by Dre welcomed us to the Big Apple when we visited the States on our pre-season tour in 2015, with this greeting lit up on the largest electronic billboard in Times Square.

BRIGHT SIDE OF LONDON

This image of Frank Lampard taking a corner kick against Portsmouth was selected as part of an exhibition to celebrate London’s cultural, commercial, social and sporting life at London House in China shortly after Beijing hosted the Olympic Games in 2008.

MAGIC MOMENT

Didier Drogba played his cards right on the pitch in a Champions League win over Juventus in 2009, but he had no answer to the mastery of David Blaine. We’re sure even David Luiz could learn a thing or two from arguably the world’s most famous magician.

MOVING CELEBRATIONS

MARATHON CHALLENGE

Guus Hiddink’s first spell as Chelsea manager ended with an FA Cup triumph over Everton at Wembley Stadium in 2009 and some nifty dance moves in the dressing room. “We had a nice dance party and everyone participated in it,” was the Dutchman’s take on it.

In 2010, our mascot Stamford the Lion missed the Blues’ 7-0 drubbing of Stoke City to take part in the London Marathon and raise over £10,000 for Help a London Child. Here, he is putting in the hard yards in front of Big Ben ahead of his 26.2-mile run, which he completed in six hours and 25 minutes.

45

CHELSEAMEGASTORE.COM THE OFFICIAL MEGASTORE FOR UK, EUROPE AND AFRICA

WWW.CHELSEAMEGASTORE.COM +44(0)333 0144 539* *Calls to this number cost 10p per minute, plus network extras.

OCCASION TO SAVOUR

There appears to be a combination of satisfaction and disbelief etched across the face of Michael Essien following his first Premier League triumph in 2006. Or maybe he’s just making sure he looks his best for all the photographs to come!

COME RAIN OR SHINE

PULLING NO PUNCHES

Blues fans had the chance to cheer the boys on through the sun and rain when this rainbow showed up over Stamford Bridge during our game against Newcastle United in February 2014.

There was also a pot of gold at the end of it for Eden Hazard as he scored a sublime hat-trick against the Magpies.

We’re used to seeing a different type of one-two from Joe Cole, who boxed his way back to fitness a decade ago with physio Dave Hancock. The former Blues Player of the Year has long been a boxing enthusiast and he is good mates with Chelsea fan and former world champion Darren Barker.

47

MATCH ACTION CHELSEA Pedro 18, 75, Batshuayi 43, Willian 52

4-1

PETERBOROUGH UNITED Nichols 70

THIRD ROUND

STAMFORD BRIDGE, 08.01.17, 3PM

FIRST-TEAM HEAD COACH

MANAGER

Antonio Conte

Grant McCann

CHELSEA

PETERBOROUGH UNITED

1 Asmir Begovic

1 Luke McGee

5 Kurt Zouma

2 Michael Smith

26 John Terry (c)

4 Michael Bostwick

66

24 Gary Cahill

5 Ryan Tafazolli

2 Branislav Ivanovic

3 Andrew Hughes

4 Cesc Fàbregas

11 Marcus Maddison

29 Nathaniel Chalobah

18 Leonardo Da Silva Lopes

11 Pedro

8 Chris Forrester (c)

22 Willian

7 Gwion Edwards

14 Ruben Loftus-Cheek

9 Lee Angol

23 Michy Batshuayi

21 Tom Nichols

34 Ola Aina

57

10 Paul Taylor

57

28 Cesar Azpilicueta

69

36 Martin Samuelsen

57

7 N'Golo Kanté

72

29 Jerome Binnom-Williams

83

UNUSED SUBS Eduardo, Victor Moses, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa

(3-4-2-1)

1 26

5 4

2

24 29

22

11 14

23

3664C 36

64

48

POSSESSION %

Chelsea progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup for the 19th consecutive season with a dominant victory over our opponents from League One. Several changes were made to the side which saw its winning Premier League run halted by Spurs, most notably the return to firstteam action of Kurt Zouma after 11 months on the sidelines.

The defence was rarely tested, however, as we hammered 35 shots at the Posh goal across the 90 minutes, with the first to find the back of the net coming from the boot of Pedro as the Spaniard showed good composure before curling an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

Michy Batshuayi and Willian scored either side of half-time, the former clinically firing home from Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s lay-off and the latter netting the goal of the game with a low drive from outside the box.

Although John Terry was harshly sent off and the visitors swiftly pulled a goal back, Pedro netted five minutes later with another curler, this time from outside the box, to ensure progress was comfortably assured.

Referee: Kevin Friend

Attendance: 41,003

13 11 11 9 9

SHOTS ON TARGET SHOTS OFF TARGET BLOCKED SHOTS CORNERS FOULS

3 5 4 3 6

ShayUNUSED Given, PhilSUBS Bardsley, Ramadan Sobhi, Glenn Ball, Whelan, Mark Tyler, Dominic WilfriedBradden Bony Inman Callum Chettle,

(4-4-2)

1 4

5

18

8

9

21

2

11

3

7

4060C 82

PASSING ACCURACY IN OPPOSITION HALF %

61

chelseafc.com

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Alli 45+1, 54

2-0

@chelseafc

CHELSEA

WHITE HART LANE

04.01.17, 8PM

MANAGER

Mauricio Pochettino TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (3-4-2-1)

1 Hugo Lloris (c) 15 Eric Dier 4 Toby Alderweireld 5 Jan Vertonghen 2 Kyle Walker 12 Victor Wanyama 19 Mousa Dembele 3 Danny Rose 23 Christian Eriksen 20 Dele Alli 10 Harry Kane 29 Harry Winks

73

17 Moussa Sissoko

85

7 Heung-Min Son

90+2

UNUSED SUBS Michel Vorm, Kieran Trippier, Kevin Wimmer, Ben Davies

Our club-record run of victories came to an end in north London after Dele Alli scored headers either side of half-time in a closely contested match decided by fine margins.

The Blues had a great chance to go ahead inside the first five minutes when Eden Hazard ran onto a clipped ball and tried to catch Hugo Lloris off-guard by taking on the half-volley early, only to see his shot just miss the target.

It proved the best opportunity until first-half stoppage time, when Alli directed a header past Thibaut Courtois from Christian Eriksen’s cross.

Our response after the interval was impressive, as Diego Costa forced a good save from Lloris and Hazard headed just wide from inside the six-yard box, but Spurs took the wind out of our sails with another header by Alli, who was once again found by Eriksen.

The home side’s defence stood firm as Antonio Conte tried to change our fortunes with a number of attacking changes, but a late David Luiz header which sailed over was our best opportunity.

Referee: Martin Atkinson

FIRST-TEAM HEAD COACH Antonio Conte

CHELSEA (3-4-2-1) 13 Thibaut Courtois 28 Cesar Azpilicueta 30 David Luiz 24 Gary Cahill (c) 15 Victor Moses 7 N'Golo Kanté 21 Nemanja Matic 3 Marcos Alonso 11 Pedro 10 Eden Hazard 19 Diego Costa

CHELSEA

2-2

65

4 Cesc Fàbregas

78

23 Michy Batshuayi

85

UNUSED SUBS Attendance: 31,491

Cahill 34, Willian 57, 65, Diego Costa 85

22 Willian

Asmir Begovic, Branislav Ivanovic, Kurt Zouma, Nathaniel Chalobah

STOKE CITY

STAMFORD BRIDGE

31.12.16, 3PM

FIRST-TEAM HEAD COACH Antonio Conte

CHELSEA (3-4-2-1) 13 Thibaut Courtois 28 Cesar Azpilicueta 30 David Luiz 24 Gary Cahill (c) 15 Victor Moses 4 Cesc Fàbregas 7 N'Golo Kanté 3 Marcos Alonso 22 Willian 10 Eden Hazard 19 Diego Costa 21 Nemanja Matic

73

2 Branislav Ivanovic

82

29 Nathaniel Chalobah

84

UNUSED SUBS Asmir Begovic, Kurt Zouma, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Michy Batshuayi

Goal

Own goal

Booked

The Blues closed out 2016 with a 13th topflight league win on the bounce, but we were made to work hard for the victory by a Stoke City side who equalised on two occasions in a thrilling second half.

Although Lee Grant made a number of excellent saves in the opening half-hour, there was no denying Gary Cahill the opening goal when the No24 rose highest to powerfully head home a corner by Cesc Fàbregas.

The Potters were level just a minute after the break through a smart finish by another centreback, Bruno Martins Indi, but Willian soon fired the Blues back in front following a sublime layoff by Eden Hazard.

Peter Crouch’s close-range finish restored parity for the visitors, but it was short lived as Willian was on target virtually straight from the restart, Fàbregas providing the assist once again. Victory was secured with five minutes remaining when Diego Costa doggedly held off the challenge of two Stoke centre-halves before lashing home a sensational finish.

Referee: Robert Madley

Straight red card

Sent-off for two bookings

MANAGER

Mark Hughes

STOKE CITY (3-4-2-1) 33 Lee Grant 8 Glen Johnson 17 Ryan Shawcross (c) 15 Bruno Martins Indi 18 Mame Biram Diouf 16 Charlie Adam 4 Joe Allen 3 Erik Pieters 22 Xherdan Shaqiri 14 Ibrahim Afellay 25 Peter Crouch

Second sub

Third sub

61

21 Giannelli Imbula

61

UNUSED SUBS

Attendance: 41,601

First sub

27 Bojan

Shay Given, Phil Bardsley, Ramadan Sobhi, Glenn Whelan, Wilfried Bony

49

MATCH ACTION CHELSEA Pedro 24, Hazard 49 (pen), S Cook own goal 90+3

3-0

BOURNEMOUTH

STAMFORD BRIDGE

26.12.16, 3PM

FIRST-TEAM HEAD COACH Antonio Conte

CHELSEA (3-4-2-1) 13 Thibaut Courtois 28 Cesar Azpilicueta 30 David Luiz 24 Gary Cahill (c) 15 Victor Moses 4 Cesc Fàbregas 21 Nemanja Matic 3 Marcos Alonso 22 Willian 11 Pedro 10 Eden Hazard 29 Nathaniel Chalobah

82

34 Ola Aina

89

23 Michy Batshuayi

90+4

UNUSED SUBS Asmir Begovic, Branislav Ivanovic, Kurt Zouma, Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Chelsea set a new club record of 12 straight Premier League wins with a comfortable Boxing Day victory over Bournemouth.

The Blues were in control of the contest from the moment Pedro opened the scoring with another fine strike from distance, the Spaniard showing excellent composure to shift the ball from under his feet and loft a curling effort beyond the reach of Artur Boruc.

Our lead was doubled early in the second half when Eden Hazard converted a penalty after being felled by Simon Francis’ clumsy challenge, becoming the sixth player to reach the 50-goal mark for the Blues in the Premier League.

Thibaut Courtois was made to work for his fourth consecutive clean sheet, with his save from substitute Benik Afobe perhaps his best of the afternoon, and the gloss was put on the victory in stoppage time when Pedro’s jinking run finished with Steve Cook deflecting the ball past his own keeper.

MANAGER Eddie Howe

BOURNEMOUTH (3-4-2-1) 1 Artur Boruc 2 Simon Francis (c) 3 Steve Cook 11 Charlie Daniels 15 Adam Smith 4 Dan Gosling 6 Andrew Surman 14 Brad Smith 32 Jack Wilshere 8 Harry Arter 17 Joshua King

Attendance: 41,384

0-1

65

9 Benik Afobe

66

33 Jordon Ibe

76

UNUSED SUBS

Referee: Mike Jones

CRYSTAL PALACE

19 Junior Stanislas

Adam Federici, Tyrone Mings, Ryan Fraser, Callum Wilson

CHELSEA Diego Costa 43

SELHURST PARK

17.12.16, 12.30PM

MANAGER

Alan Pardew

CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1) 13 Wayne Hennessey 34 Martin Kelly 6 Scott Dann (c) 27 Damien Delaney 2 Joel Ward 7 Yohan Cabaye 16 Joe Ledley 11 Wilfried Zaha 18 James McArthur 42 Jason Puncheon 17 Christian Benteke 10 Andros Townsend

76

9 Fraizer Campbell

79

19 Zeki Fryers

84

UNUSED SUBS Julian Speroni, Noor Husin, Jordon Mutch, Chung-Yong Lee

50

The Blues equalled our club record of 11 consecutive league wins with a third 1-0 victory in the space of seven days.

Diego Costa was our match-winner with his 13th Premier League goal of the season coming shortly before the end of a scrappy first half which neither side was able to take by the scruff of the neck.

Antonio Conte’s side were the only team not to have scored or conceded a headed goal this season, but that all changed when Cesar Azpilicueta advanced down the right and picked out our striker to nod us in front.

Although there was Palace pressure after the break, the best chances fell our way.

N’Golo Kanté, Cesc Fàbregas and Marcos Alonso all tested the goalkeeper, while the latter also hit the underside of the bar with a free-kick.

The victory did come at a cost, however, as both Diego Costa and Kanté received yellow cards which rule them out of the Bournemouth game.

Referee: Jon Moss

FIRST-TEAM HEAD COACH Antonio Conte

CHELSEA (3-4-2-1) 13 Thibaut Courtois 28 Cesar Azpilicueta 30 David Luiz 24 Gary Cahill (c) 15 Victor Moses 7 N'Golo Kanté 21 Nemanja Matic 3 Marcos Alonso 22 Willian 10 Eden Hazard 19 Diego Costa 4 Cesc Fàbregas

64

2 Branislav Ivanovic

78

23 Michy Batshuayi

89

UNUSED SUBS Attendance: 25,259

Asmir Begovic, Kurt Zouma, Nathaniel Chalobah, Pedro

chelseafc.com

SUNDERLAND

0-1

@chelseafc

CHELSEA Fàbregas 40

STADIUM OF LIGHT

14.12.16, 7.45PM

MANAGER

David Moyes

SUNDERLAND (3-4-2-1) 13 Jordan Pickford 23 Lamine Kone 16 John O'Shea (c) 5 Papy Djilobodji 2 Billy Jones 4 Jason Denayer 27 Jan Kirchhoff 3 Patrick van Aanholt 44 Adnan Januzaj 9 Fabio Borini 18 Jermain Defoe 7 Sebastian Larsson

56

22 Donald Love

59

10 Wahbi Khazri

83

UNUSED SUBS Vito Mannone, Joel Asoro, Josh Maja, George Honeyman

A classy finish from Cesc Fàbregas separated Chelsea and Sunderland, but we were indebted to a pair of world-class saves by Thibaut Courtois as we recorded 10 Premier League wins in a row for only the third time.

Just as against West Brom, the Blues came up against a disciplined and well-organised rearguard designed to frustrate our attack, although on this occasion the breakthrough wasn’t quite so long in the making. Fàbregas was the scorer, netting his first Premier League goal of the season with a precise low finish from outside the box after being fed by Willian.

Jordan Pickford in the Sunderland goal had frustrated us until that moment and though he continued to make saves throughout, Courtois had to match him at the other end. As well as denying Adnan Januzaj on a breakaway, the Belgian made an even better save in the closing stages when he somehow kept out a goal-bound effort by former Blues defender Patrick van Aanholt.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick

FIRST-TEAM HEAD COACH Antonio Conte

CHELSEA (3-4-2-1) 13 Thibaut Courtois 28 Cesar Azpilicueta 30 David Luiz 24 Gary Cahill (c) 15 Victor Moses 7 N'Golo Kanté 4 Cesc Fàbregas 3 Marcos Alonso 22 Willian 11 Pedro 19 Diego Costa

Diego Costa 76

1-0

Antonio Conte

CHELSEA (3-4-2-1) 13 Thibaut Courtois 28 Cesar Azpilicueta 30 David Luiz 24 Gary Cahill (c) 15 Victor Moses 7 N'Golo Kanté 21 Nemanja Matic 3 Marcos Alonso 11 Pedro 10 Eden Hazard 19 Diego Costa 22 Willian

63

4 Cesc Fàbregas

73

2 Branislav Ivanovic

78

UNUSED SUBS Asmir Begovic, Ola Aina, Nathaniel Chalobah, Michy Batshuayi

Booked

89

2 Branislav Ivanovic

90+2

Asmir Begovic, Kurt Zouma, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Michy Batshuayi

11.12.16, 12NOON

FIRST-TEAM HEAD COACH

Own goal

29 Nathaniel Chalobah

WEST BROMWICH ALBION

STAMFORD BRIDGE

Goal

75

UNUSED SUBS Attendance: 41,008

CHELSEA

21 Nemanja Matic

Diego Costa scored a brilliant late winner which ensured West Bromwich Albion’s long wait for a league win at Stamford Bridge continues.

The Baggies arrived in west London unbeaten in four matches and frustrated us for much of the game, with chances hard to come by for the in-form Blues. Indeed, our best opportunity of the opening half was Pedro’s clever deflection from a low N’Golo Kanté shot which just missed the target.

Although West Brom kept plenty of men back at all times, the industrious Salomon Rondon posed an occasional threat – but Diego Costa displayed a perfect example of lone centre-forward play with his winning goal.

Chasing down a long ball by substitute Cesc Fàbregas, Chelsea’s No19 robbed Gareth McAuley of possession wide on the right before cutting inside. With the angle against him, the stunning left-footed finish into the top far corner was befitting of the Premier League’s leading scorer.

Referee: Mike Dean

Straight red card

Sent-off for two bookings

MANAGER Tony Pulis

WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-5-1)

1 Ben Foster 25 Craig Dawson 23 Gareth McAuley 6 Jonny Evans 2 Allan Nyom 11 Chris Brunt 24 Darren Fletcher (c) 5 Claudio Yacob 7 James Morrison 10 Matt Phillips 9 Salomon Rondon

Second sub

Third sub

77

22 Nacer Chadli

78

4 Hal Robson-Kanu

84

UNUSED SUBS Attendance: 41,622

First sub

14 James McClean

Alex Palmer, Jonas Olsson, Brendan Galloway, Craig Gardner

51

PIC OF THE MONTH 31 December

RECORD BREAKERS Willian is joined by Cesc FĂ bregas and Eden Hazard as he celebrates scoring our third goal in a record-setting victory against Stoke City. The Blues had already set a new high of 12 successive league wins with our 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Boxing Day. The victory over the Potters stretched that to 13 and also set a new benchmark of 10 consecutive wins in all competitions, beating the previous best of nine which we had achieved twice before, in September 2005 and February 2008.

Turn the page for more stats from an impressive December for the Blues.

52

53

MONTH NUMB3RS IN

Looking through the stats at play

Our win at Crystal Palace was Chelsea’s 500th in the Premier League.

Manchester United and Arsenal are the only other clubs to have achieved that landmark.

54

42 points

Luiz Felipe Scolari 2008/09

41 points

50 50

DIDIER DROGBA

2009/10

62

JIMMY FLOYD HASSELBAINK

46 points

Carlo Ancelotti

60

GIANFRANCO ZOLA

49 points

2004/05

59

EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN

2016/17

José Mourinho

78 80

EDEN HAZARD

Season Points

Antonio Conte

87

SALOMON KALOU

Manager

CHELSEA'S LEADING FOREIGN GOALSCORERS

NICOLAS ANELKA

FIRST 19 LEAGUE GAMES

164

Diego Costa scored his 50th Chelsea goal at Crystal Palace on his 97th appearance. He is only the ninth overseas player to reach that milestone.

TORE ANDRE FLO

Antonio Conte made the best start of any Chelsea manager at the halfway stage of his first league season, accruing 49 points from 19 matches.

Marcos Alonso became the first player in English league history to win his first 14 starts for one club (research by English Football Archive).

DIEGO COSTA

Cesc Fàbregas recorded his 100th Premier League assist when he teed up Willian in our win over Stoke, which was his 293rd English top-flight appearance.

10+38+52I

Chelsea and Tottenham became the first teams to meet 50 times in the Premier League.

50

200 OR MORE CHELSEA CAREER APPEARANCES BY OVERSEAS PLAYERS Cech 494, Drogba 381, Ivanovic 376, Mikel 372, Zola 312, Gudjohnsen 263, Essien 256, Kalou 254, Ramires 251, Malouda 229, Hazard 228, Gallas 225, Desailly 222, Ferreira 217, Makelele 217, Cudicini 216, Carvalho 210, Petrescu 208, Azpilicueta 205, Lebœuf 204, Oscar 203.

GAMES

Cesar Azpilicueta made his 200th appearance in all competitions for the Blues at Sunderland. He is the 21st overseas player to reach that landmark for the club.

Our 4-2 win over Stoke equalled one of English football’s longeststanding records – for consecutive top-flight victories in a single season. No team has ever surpassed 13, which was first achieved by both Sunderland and Preston North End during the 1891/92 season and by Arsenal in 2001/02.

19+21+60I

WON 26 DRAWN 19 LOST 5

GOALS FOR/AGAINST

92

47

We extended our unbeaten home run against West Brom to 16 games in all competitions since the Baggies last won against us at the Bridge in November 1983 in the League Cup. The last time the Throstles came away from SW6 with a league win was in September 1978 when Ron Atkinson managed them to a 3-1 victory.

CHELSEA IN 2016

47

We extended our unbeaten league record against Stoke at Stamford Bridge to 12 games. Dave Sexton was our manager when the Potters last won a league game here in April 1974.

GAMES

WON 28 DRAWN 10 LOST 9

GOALS FOR/AGAINST

100

51

Clean sheets - 16 Most minutes - Cesar Azpilicueta 4,442 Most goals - Diego Costa 24 EDEN HAZARD

EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN

Eden Hazard’s penalty against Stoke saw him become the sixth player to score 50 Premier League goals for Chelsea. He also went fourth in our list of all-time spot-kick scorers, with 17, behind Frank Lampard, Peter Sillett and Dennis Wise.

GIANFRANCO ZOLA

50 54

FRANK LAMPARD

CHELSEA'S LEADING PREMIER LEAGUE GOALSCORERS

59

JIMMY FLOYD HASSELBAINK

DIDIER DROGBA

The Blues’ unbeaten run in the FA Cup third round now stands at 19 seasons. We last lost a tie at that stage of the competition in 1998 when Manchester United beat us 5-3 at Stamford Bridge.

69 104 147

* Stats correct up to 11.01.17

55

00132

MEMBERSHIP 2016/17

SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS AND BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

ON SALE NOW All membership tiers include priority ticket access Adults from £25 / Kids from £20

onceabluealwaysablue.com

Dujon Sterling in action against Dinamo Zagreb in the Premier League International Cup

Words | Dominic Bliss

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES Playing against senior pros has been a valuable learning experience for the Blues’ development squad, and our youngsters are drawing inspiration from previous successes as we seek to retain the FA Youth Cup

A

t the halfway point of the season, development squad head coach Adi Viveash and Under-18s coach Jody Morris have been reflecting on the campaign so far.

Our Under-23s group have been competing on several fronts, with games in the Premier League 2, the Checkatrade Trophy and the Premier League International Cup giving them experience of taking on senior players more often than in previous years.

“I believe the overall games programme in 2016/17 has been at the best level of the nine-and-a-half years I’ve been at the club,” said Viveash.

“The league games have been difficult because we are a young group – younger than we have been in previous years – in terms of experience of playing at this level.

So they have had to learn on the job, as the season has progressed.

“Then there have been the cup competitions, such as the Checkatrade Trophy,

which gave us the opportunity to play against first teams, while we’ve also played Feyenoord and Dinamo Zagreb’s ‘B’ teams in the Premier League International Cup. “On top of that, we have gone away to Everton, Manchester United and Manchester City in the Premier League 2, playing a really high calibre of matches in the first half of the season. So the challenges have been excellent and the boys will certainly have learned a lot.”

With our Checkatrade Trophy and 57

ACADEMY Celebrating Ike Ugbo’s goal against Cardiff

DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Date Opposition Res AUGUST Sun 14 Sunderland A 1-1 Mon 22 Liverpool H1 4-1 Sun 28 Manchester United A 1-1 SEPTEMBER Fri 9 Tottenham Hotspur H3 3-1 Tue 13 Swindon Town (EFLT Group C South) A 1-2 Mon 19 Reading A 1-2 Fri 23 Arsenal H3 1-2 OCTOBER Fri 14 Leicester City H1 0-0 Tue 18 Exeter City (EFLT Group C South) A 2-3 Mon 24 Derby County H1 2-2 Mon 31 Everton A 1-1 NOVEMBER Tue 8 Oxford United (EFLT Group C South) H3 1-1# Mon 21 Southampton H2 3-2 Sat 26 Manchester City A 2-2 Tue 29 Feyenoord (PLIC Group D) H1 2-1 DECEMBER Fri 9 Manchester United H1 3-1 Fri 16 Dinamo Zagreb (PLIC Group D) H1 0-1 Thu 22 Swansea City (PLIC Group D) H1 1-2 JANUARY Fri 6 Tottenham Hotspur A 2-2 Fri 13 Leicester City (1pm) A Fri 27 Arsenal (1pm) A FEBRUARY Fri 3 Reading H1 Fri 17 Manchester City H1 MARCH Mon 6 Southampton (7pm) A Sun 12 Liverpool (1.05pm) A APRIL Fri 7 Sunderland H1 Fri 21 Everton H1 MAY Fri 5 Derby County A All games kick off at 7.05pm unless stated.

H1 - Aldershot Town FC. H2 - Cobham Training Ground.

H3 - Stamford Bridge. EFLT - English Football League Trophy.

PLIC - Premier League International Cup. #Won 13-12 on penalties after 90 minutes.

APPEARANCES 2016/17 T Chalobah 17, Mount 16+3, J Dasilva 16, Ugbo 15+4, Collins 15, Sterling 14+3, Tomori 14, Scott 12+1, Dabo 12, Quintero 11+3, Colley 8+3, Ali 7+3, Christie-Davies 6+4, Sammut 6+2, Van Ginkel 6, Wakefield 5+4, Solanke 4, Zouma 4, Maddox 3+7, Muheim 3+4, Clarke-Salter 3, Colkett 2+1, Aina 2, Baxter 2, Batshuayi 1, Beeney 1, Eduardo 1, Fàbregas 1, James 1, Terry 1, St Clair 0+3, Taylor-Crossdale 0+3, Grant 0+1, Uwakwe 0+1

GOALS 2016/17 Ugbo 6, Quintero 4, Sterling 4, Mount 3, Batshuayi 2, J Dasilva 2 (2 pens), Tomori 2, Ali 1, Christie-Davies 1, Maddox 1, Scott 1, Solanke 1, Van Ginkel 1, Wakefield 1, own goal 1

Trevoh Chalobah PREMIER LEAGUE 2 - DIVISION 1 Team

1 Everton

2 Man City

3 Liverpool

4 Chelsea

5 Arsenal

6 Sunderland

7 Southampton

8 Reading

9 Man Utd

10 Leicester

11 Tottenham

12 Derby Stats correct up to and including 09.01.17

58

Pld W D L GD Pts 13 9 2 2 +19 29 13 8 3 2 +10 27 12 7 2 3 +11 23 13 4 7 2 +6 19 13 6 1 6 +1 19 13 5 4 4 -1 19 13 4 3 6 -5 15 13 4 2 7 -7 14 13 3 5 5 -7 14 12 3 3 6 -7 12 13 3 3 7 -8 12 13 2 3 8 -12 9

Premier League International Cup campaigns now at an end, however, the club has sought out suitable fixtures for the development squad in the second half of the season.

“We have arranged quite a few international friendlies, some of which are under-21s games and some under-23s,” confirms Viveash. “That means there is a slightly different look to the programme ahead and there will be a bit more time to work with the players during the week.

“In the Checkatrade Trophy the league teams took advantage of certain areas that development squads still have to work on, such as aerial challenges and defending second balls. These were very different games to those we face every week in the league, and that is all part of the learning process. I think the best players in our group are now further ahead than they would have been without this sort of games programme.”

For Morris’ Under-18s, the league and cup responsibilities become greater in the second half of the season, as the players prepare to wrap up the Premier League South fixtures in the hope of topping the table and progressing to the elite Group 1 for the final phase alongside the top four sides in each of the regional leagues.

WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR ALL EVENTUALITIES AND PART OF THAT PROCESS IS GELLING THE BOYS FROM THE YOUTH TEAM AND THE DEVELOPMENT SQUAD TOGETHER AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND REMINDING THEM THEY ARE A TIGHT GROUP WHO HAVE WON THINGS TOGETHER

Jody Morris

chelseafc.com

Tariq Uwakwe has been inspired by seeing several of his Academy predecessors play for the first team

older boys to lead by example and show their experience,” he tells us. “The fact they’ve been involved in previous successful campaigns means they have an important role to play as leaders this season.

“Whatever time the tough games come this season, we have to be ready for them and remembering previous occasions when we have overcome obstacles is a big part of that. We need to be prepared for all eventualities and part of that process is gelling the boys from the youth team and the development squad together as quickly as possible and reminding them they are a tight group who have won things together previously.”

In these important months ahead, the youngsters will be buoyed by the progress of several of their predecessors with the first team this season.

Nathaniel Chalobah, Ola Aina and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all started games for Antonio Conte’s side and made appearances in all three domestic competitions, and 17-year-old midfielder Tariq Uwakwe sees those players as an inspiration.

“This season and last season, more players have started pushing up to the first team and it’s really boosted my self-confidence,” he told us in an interview for last month’s magazine. “I can see there is a path and if I keep pushing, hopefully one day it’ll come.”

With that positive attitude permeating the Academy at the moment, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic in the short and long term.

UNDER-18s Date Opposition Res AUGUST Sat 13 Fulham H 3-2 Sat 20 Southampton A 2-3 Fri 26 Swansea City H 5-0 SEPTEMBER Sat 10 Norwich City A 4-5 Sat 17 Arsenal H 4-2 Sat 24 Aston Villa A 1-1 OCTOBER Sat 1 West Ham United H 1-0 Sat 15 Reading H 2-0 Sat 22 Tottenham Hotspur A 1-1 Sat 29 Leicester City H 2-0 NOVEMBER Fri 4 Brighton & Hove Albion A 3-1 Sat 19 Southampton H 4-1 Sat 26 Fulham A 2-0 DECEMBER Sat 3 Arsenal A 2-2 Sat 10 Norwich City H 3-1 Tue 13 Cardiff City (FA Youth Cup 3) H1 5-0 JANUARY Thu 5 Swansea City A 5-0 Sat 14 Aston Villa (12.05pm) H Wed 18 Birmingham City (FA Youth Cup 4, 7.05pm) A Sat 28 Tottenham Hotspur H FEBRUARY Sat 4 Reading A Sat 11 Leicester City (12noon) A Sat 18 Brighton & Hove Albion H Sat 25 West Ham United A MARCH Sat 11 Merit Group Round 1 - Sat 18 Merit Group Round 2 - APRIL Sat 1 Merit Group Round 3 - Sat 8 Merit Group Round 4 - Sat 22 Merit Group Round 5 - Sat 29 Merit Group Round 6 - MAY Sat 13 Merit Group Round 7 - All home games kick-off at 11.05am and away games 11am unless stated. H1 - Aldershot Town FC.

APPEARANCES 2016/17 McCormick 15, Taylor-Crossdale 14+2, Grant 14, C Dasilva 12+2, St Clair 12+1, James 11+6, Uwakwe 11+3, Gallagher 10+6, Guehi 10+1, Nartey 9+1, Cumming 9, Maddox 9, G McEachran 8+4, Hudson-Odoi 7+2, Colley 6, C Brown 5+9, Castillo 5+7, Thompson 5, Mount 3, Sterling 3, Ugbo 3, Bulka 2, T Chalobah 2, Medley 1+1, Baxter 1, Panzo 0+2

GOALS 2016/17 Taylor-Crossdale 13 (3 pens), C Brown 6, St Clair 6, Uwakwe 6, Ugbo 4 (1 pen), Hudson-Odoi 2, McCormick 2, G McEachran 2, own goals 2, Gallagher 1, Guehi 1, James 1, Maddox 1, Mount 1, Nartey 1

Luke McCormick

U18 PREMIER LEAGUE - SOUTH Team 1 Chelsea 2 Reading 3 West Ham 4 Tottenham 5 Arsenal 6 Aston Villa 7 Fulham 8 Norwich 9 Brighton 10 Southampton 11 Leicester 12 Swansea

Pld W D L GD Pts 16 11 3 2 +25 36 16 10 2 4 +7 32 16 9 3 4 +12 30 15 7 3 5 +13 24 14 6 5 3 +11 23 15 6 4 5 -6 22 16 5 4 7 -2 19 15 5 3 7 +2 18 15 4 4 7 -9 16 15 3 5 7 -12 14 15 2 3 10 -20 9 14 1 5 8 -21 8

Fixtures correct at time of going to press.

We have also begun our defence of the FA Youth Cup, beating Cardiff City 5-0 in the third round in December to set up a fourth-round tie with Birmingham City on January 18, shortly after this magazine hits the shelves.

Whatever the result of that game, the fact remains those early Youth Cup fixtures bring some of the players at the older end of the eligibility range for the competition into the Under-18s group again, after several of them had moved up to the development squad at the start of the season. For Morris, it is an opportunity to highlight the fact team spirit crosses age groups in the Academy.

“Some of the boys in the Youth Cup team don’t play alongside each other regularly in league football because they are split between the Under-18s and the development squad,” he explains.

“They are a tight-knit group anyway because most of them have been at the Academy together for years, but you need a little reminder at the right time because the Under-18s group haven’t been working with players like Trevoh Chalobah and Mason Mount this season.”

The idea of asking more experienced players to show an example to the younger boys is important in building the right mentality and Morris is aware of the challenges facing a squad where competition for places is so intense. Togetherness is the key.

“You want competition for places from the younger groups, but you also want the

@chelseafc

Stats correct up to and including 07.01.17

59

ACADEMY INTERVIEW

REECE JAMES

D.O.B. 08.12.99 BIRTHPLACE London POSITION Defender/Midfielder

The first-year scholar on the season so far, his rise through the Academy ranks, switching positions and stepping up to the next level

How pleased are you with the season so far, in terms of both individual and team performance?

I think I started the season well. My initial aim was to start the first game, and I did that. Then the next challenge was to keep my place and stay in the team. I didn’t have the best performance in that first game, so I was on the bench for the second and third matches and I had to work hard in training to get back in the team. Since I came back into the team again, I haven’t been out.

You must be pleased to have nailed down a spot in your first year as a full-time scholar.

Yes, it’s very pleasing, especially featuring in our opening FA Youth Cup game against Cardiff. I didn’t expect that, but I felt I played well. I think if you’re playing well, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be in the team.

How did you come to be a Chelsea player?

I started playing when I was really young because my brother and my dad played and I just played along with them. I first came to Chelsea in the development centre when I was six, after I was spotted playing for my Sunday League team. I stayed in the development centre until I was nine and that’s when I signed forms. So I’ve been here from the very start.

What are the benefits of coming through the Chelsea Academy system?

The training is probably the best in the country. It’s good to train with the best players because what you then come up against in matches is nothing compared to who you train with.

60

Now the players are having their schooling here as well, were you better prepared for becoming a full-time footballer once you reached the Under-18s group this season?

It eases you in slowly because you’re not always playing football when you first come in full-time, you have to mix it up with school. So that helps to prepare you because you’re on-site more, you get to know your team-mates better and you train more often.

So it just helps you as a team and you do better in school as well because there are fewer of you in a class than in a normal school.

We are currently top of the south section of the Under-18s Premier League. If we progress again to the national Group 1, will that be as much of a priority as the cup?

Yes, I think they’re the same in terms of priority. I don’t see why the Youth Cup should be ahead, I think they both mean the same. The league’s a target for us – we’d like to win both and we’re capable of doing that.

Is it good to be coached by a former Chelsea player, in Jody Morris?

Yes, he’s played the game so he knows what’s what and it helps him to explain if we need help understanding something

chelseafc.com

@chelseafc

Photo: Dan Davies

Ola Aina’s progress is helping to inspire the next generation of Academy players

better. We’ve played a few different systems this season and it depends what opposition we come up against. Sometimes a different formation could affect how we press in a game.

How much extra work do you do outside of training sessions?

Maybe three times a week I’ll be in at 8.30am to do extra, so I’ll do a gym session or I’ll be on the bike for half-an-hour before training. Then I’ll do technical stuff as well, like working on my crossing or my left foot.

Do you watch any first-team players particularly closely to help with your development?

As I’ve been playing right-back, I watch Cesar Azpilicueta a lot, but if I wasn’t looking at his game I would probably be looking at Ola Aina because he has come through the Academy as well and now he’s in and around the first team. That’s inspiring for everyone – it’s given us a bit of a boost.

Were you always a right-back?

No. When I first started I was a striker, from Under-9s to Under-13s, then I was a midfielder for a couple of years after that.

But from Under-15s to now I’ve played more

YOU NOTICE THE PLAYERS ARE FASTER AND STRONGER WHEN YOU STEP UP AN AGE GROUP, AND THE INTENSITY IS A BIT QUICKER, BUT I THINK I’M CAPABLE OF DOING IT

often at right-back. I don’t know exactly why I kept on moving but it was partly because I was struggling with getting up and down the pitch in midfield, so they moved me to right-back where I would have to do that all the time. Now it’s something I’m comfortable with.

flat four there’s only one defender at your side, so you always need to be tucked in. Defence is always the priority, though, but if you can attack as well then I think that’s a bonus.

How much does it help the team spirit when so many of the players have been at the club from a very young age?

It helps a lot. Most of the players have been together since we were Under-9s so we know exactly how each other plays. Even the older boys who we play alongside once we reach this age group, we still know them from before because we have played against them in Under-10s vs Under-11s games and things like that.

What is your next target now?

My aim now is to play in the next Youth Cup fixture, so I’m always looking at the next game. I’ve played once for the development squad so far and I’m looking to play more. You notice the players are faster and stronger when you step up an age group, and the Can you be more attack-minded when you play wing-back instead of in a flat back four? intensity is a bit quicker, but I think I’m capable of doing it.

You can go forward more because you’ve Interview | Dominic Bliss got support behind you, but if you play in a 61

LADIES INTERVIEW

MOVING US TO THE NEXT LEVEL Chelsea Ladies have strengthened their squad considerably ahead of the new campaign. As Emma Hayes’ players return to pre-season training, allow us to introduce you to three new arrivals.

An interview with the fourth signing, Crystal Dunn, will appear in next month’s magazine

RAMONA BACHMANN D.O.B. 25.12.90 BIRTHPLACE Malters, Switzerland POSITION Forward

How excited are you to sign for Chelsea?

I’m very excited. It’s a big honour for me to play for such a big club. They are going for the Champions League and they always want to win trophies. That’s exactly what I want to do and I think we will fit together perfectly. The kind of football they want to play also fits me perfectly.

What role has the manager said you will play?

I will take every role I get and I will do my best in every position I’m asked to play. I’d say it’s more central, but I can also play on the wing because I’m a fast player. I play wherever I’m asked to play.

Are you a Chelsea supporter?

Yeah, since I was a kid I followed the Premier League. It’s the league I loved to watch and I enjoyed watching Chelsea.

Coming to sign here is the first time I’ve been to Stamford Bridge. It’s hard for me to travel to games because I’m a player myself.

62

Who would you compare yourself to in the Chelsea men’s team?

It’s always hard to compare ladies with men, but if I had to choose one I would probably say Eden Hazard. I’m a fast player who likes to dribble and I’m also good at linking play.

He likes to do all of the things I listed before and he creates and scores a lot of goals. He is my favourite Chelsea player to watch and one of my absolute favourite players in the world, along with Lionel Messi and Neymar.

I was also a big fan of the Brazilian Ronaldo when I was younger, I would always wear his jerseys.

Tell us about your upbringing in Switzerland.

garden – until I was 16 and then I got the offer from Umea in Sweden. At that time it was the best club in Europe, playing the Champions League final, and also Marta was there so it was a big opportunity for me. I think I did really well.

What’s your earliest football memory?

My dad was a professional football player in Switzerland at a club called Kriens and then he was a coach. I was maybe five years old, but he took me in and I got the chance to play with boys even though I was one year younger than them. I really enjoyed it and was really good at it – I was dribbling all the time, maybe a bit too much!

How about your best moment in football?

I lived there with my parents and younger brother – he was my goalkeeper in the back

There are a lot. Every time you win! It’s really

chelseafc.com/ladies

@chelseaLFC LADIES

In Champions League action for Wolfsburg against the Blues in 2015

Switzerland to play for the national team. I think it was good to do it for one year but I wouldn’t have done it for a longer time.

hard to choose one but it’s always nice to win titles, which I’ve done in Sweden, then there was one last year with Wolfsburg. Also, playing at the World Cup for the first time was a really big step. If you want personal moments, to win the best player award in Sweden twice and twice in Switzerland was special, and I also got nominated among the best 10 players in the world last year after the World Cup. Hopefully the best player in England award is still to come...

That would be nice, but it’s not my first priority. I just want the team to do really well and to win trophies. If you perform well as a team you will also perform well individually.

Your English is almost perfect. How many different languages do you speak?

German, English and Swedish. I did English at school but I wasn’t really good at it until I went to the States and then I got better. I think it can be a lot better still, but at least I understand and can communicate.

Tell us about your time in the USA. Weren’t you drafted as the No1 player?

It was a huge thing. I was 18 or 19 at that time and it was big for me to be drafted first. It was a really good life experience and I enjoyed living and playing there. But it was hard to always travel back and forth to

You’ve already been playing almost 10 years at senior international level, which is incredible since you just turned 26.

I JUST WANT THE TEAM TO DO REALLY WELL AND TO WIN TROPHIES. IF YOU PERFORM WELL AS A TEAM YOU WILL ALSO PERFORM WELL INDIVIDUALLY

It’s a long time but I really enjoy it. It’s a big honour to play games for your country. I think we have made huge steps the last two years. We qualified for the World Cup for the first time last year and we did really well and could maybe have done even better with more luck. We’ve also qualified for the European Championship for the first time and it’s going to be a big thing for us, too.

We have a really good team but not that many players on the same level so hopefully everyone can stay healthy so we can play a good tournament.

What’s the biggest game you’ve played in?

Probably the Champions League final last year. It doesn’t really start with the day, it’s the days before when you realise you worked your whole life for this moment. It’s really emotional and you are just trying so much to focus on the game, but also to relax and just enjoy the whole day. I did, and I enjoyed the game – I just wasn’t that happy we lost. But it’s a really nice experience.

Erin Cuthbert interview 63

LADIES INTERVIEW

ERIN CUTHBERT D.O.B. 19.07.98 BIRTHPLACE Irvine, Scotland POSITION Midfielder

What did Emma Hayes say to you before you signed for Chelsea?

I didn’t need much convincing to come here, really, but she told me where she wants to take this club and she’s got really high aspirations. I’d like to be a part of it – I was taken aback by the ambition she has and I want to do everything I can to help her and the team to achieve that.

I think she sees me as a central player, but just to be signed by Emma, when she’s got such great midfielders and so much talent at the club, is a huge thing. It’s a big step for me, I’m grateful she’s believed in me and I want to pay her back.

For a Scottish girl who is not even old enough to remember the glory years under Kevin Keegan, how on earth did you become a Newcastle United fan?!

them like Lionel Messi does, but he’s another role model for me. I think he’s the best football has ever seen.

Did you watch much of Frank Lampard?

I don’t actually know how I came to support them, I think it goes back to when I was young and I must have just liked the black and white strip. Ever since then I’ve supported the team. We’ve been relegated a couple of times, it’s been hard, but they’re a good team and I’m happy to support them.

I think I’m going to have to start supporting Chelsea now – they’ll certainly be my Premier League team this season. I’m looking forward to being part of the club and going to matches. I think I’ll just naturally fall in love with the club.

What is your favourite position?

Anywhere in the middle of the park – No6, 8, 10, whatever you want to call it I’ll play there, but predominantly central midfield. I played mainly No8 at Glasgow and finished top scorer last season. It’s not just about attacking, it’s about finding the balance. I don’t really prefer being more attacking or defensive, I just want to be on the pitch.

64

Which footballers in particular do you look up to?

I shouldn’t admit this as I’m a big Rangers fan, but I love watching Scott Brown, the Celtic captain. I’m also a big fan of Iniesta, who is a brilliant player – the way he skips past players is frightening, it’s like he’s not even trying. I can only dream of going past

Yeah, he’s got an ability to time his late runs like nobody else and it’s spectacular how many goals he has managed from a deep position. His late runs are something defenders simply haven’t been able to cope with over the years. I hope to bring something similar to Chelsea. A lot of my goals for Glasgow came from late runs and it’s all about the timing, it’s absolutely crucial.

We’ve got a lot of experienced midfielders here for you to learn from.

Yeah, I tried to learn as much as possible at Glasgow City and I had a few role models to learn from. At Chelsea, Katie Chapman has been there and done that, she’s been heavily capped by England. I can really learn off these quality players, who are very experienced and know the game very well. I think they’ll be able to pass on this information to develop me as a player.

chelseafc.com/ladies

@chelseaLFC LADIES

Going in front of the camera for Chelsea TV

worst birthday ever. That will be pretty special for me anyway, but I’ve got to get my head down and do everything I can to make that Euro squad. I’ll be working hard to impress the manager, we’ve got a lot of friendlies before then and I hope to be involved and get that one opportunity I can grab.

Tell us about your international debut, which came last summer a month before your 18th birthday.

That was spectacular, really special to me.

It’s what I dreamed of as a little girl and for that to become a reality shows that doing all the training, all the late nights and early mornings, working on a Saturday to fund being able to train, made it all worth it. It was a special moment for my family too – I like to reward them for everything they’ve done for me, they’re always there and I can’t ask any more of them.

Were they at the game?

No, it was in Belarus! You need a visa to get there and I had no inkling I was going to be in the squad so my mum and dad were on holiday in Lanzarote. But they managed to find a live stream of the match so they were sat in the hotel lobby watching the game.

Next summer’s European Championship will see Scotland face England in the group stage. That’s a pretty interesting draw, isn’t it?

To say the least! I’m 19 on 19 July and the Scotland-England game falls on my birthday, so it could be the best or the

I REMEMBER ALL THE BOYS AND THE COACHES BEING LIKE, “WOAH, WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” THEY’D NEVER HAD A GIRL BEFORE. THEY ALL LOOKED AT ME AS IF TO SAY, “WHY IS SHE HERE?” LET’S JUST SAY THEY WEREN’T THINKING THAT BY THE END OF THE SESSION

What is your earliest memory of football?

I remember kicking the ball about with my papa (granddad), who was a big influence on me, even though he was 65 and I was about two, and he had metal knees and everything! I also remember my first-ever training session. I was on a school trip, I must have been about four or five, and we were on the bus and one of the parenthelpers who was there told me about a club running locally – just a minute’s walk from where I lived. I begged my dad to let me go. It was a boy’s team – there weren’t many for just girls at that time – I turned up and I remember all the boys and the coaches being like, “Woah, what’s going on here?” They’d never had a girl before. They all looked at me as if to say, “Why is she here?” Let’s just say they weren’t thinking that by the end of the session and the coach signed me up straight away.

Maren Mjelde interview 65

LADIES INTERVIEW

MAREN MJELDE D.O.B. 06.11.89 BIRTHPLACE Bergen, Norway POSITION Defender/midfielder

How much are you looking forward to being based near London?

The main reason I’ve signed was, of course, the club and the fans, but it’s also cool to live near such a big city. I was over in London last December to watch a Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge. I was actually going to watch Arsenal v Manchester City, but then they moved the game so I went to Chelsea instead. It was the first game after Mourinho left and they beat Sunderland 3-1.

So you’re an Arsenal or Man City fan?

No, I’ve supported Liverpool since I was five years old. My brother was a huge fan and when you’re living in a family supporting Liverpool, it’s difficult to choose someone else. The also had two Norwegian players, Stig Inge Bjornebye and Vegard Heggem.

Who was your football hero?

When I was younger, my favourite was Stan Collymore. My brother’s favourite was Robbie Fowler and I wanted to have him as my idol but my brother wouldn’t let me!

When Stan left Liverpool, I cried the whole day!

Moving on to matters Chelsea Ladies, how did Emma Hayes sell the club to you?

She told me about the plans to become better and better every year and I wanted to come to a club with ambition. Chelsea clearly had that and it was easy to make the decision. Seeing the facilities and hearing Emma’s plans, I couldn’t say no.

You’re a versatile player, which will certainly come in handy for the manager.

I know I can play both in defence and midfield. I prefer to play midfield, but in the 66

national team I play central defence. I’m happy wherever. I’ve played full-back, centre-back and midfield, I know the three positions really well. I’ll play wherever the team needs me, that’s what type of player I am.

You have won over 100 caps for Norway in 10 years. That’s some going.

I was 17 when I made my debut and I haven’t missed many games. I haven’t had many injuries in my career, maybe two months when I’ve been really injured, so hopefully that will continue.

You’ve experienced life in Germany and Sweden, too. What did you learn?

When I moved to Germany it was my first time away from home. The mentality and the way the Germans are training is sometimes really hard, sometimes we’d train three times a day. The mentality is really strong, so I was learning a lot of that. But when I came to make my latest

move, I could have gone on to Germany but I think the English league is improving and the way the English clubs are training is better than in Germany. But I’m glad I had that experience in my career, I learned a lot.

And now you’re starting a new experience.

Do you know any of the players already?

I’m starting fresh here, but I’m also looking forward to meeting lots of new people and experiencing a new environment. My boyfriend is coming with me to stay as he has a really flexible job, but he will also have to travel back to Norway to work two weeks each month. I also have my dog, so I’ll have family with me! He’s a boxer called Biggie.

What is the biggest crowd you’ve played in front of?

It must have been the Euros final in Sweden, I think there were almost 40,000 people there. Unfortunately we didn’t get the win against Germany, but we were close. We had two penalties and missed both of them.

chelseafc.com/ladies

@chelseaLFC LADIES

Coming up against future team-mate Katie Chapman while playing for Norway against England at the 2015 Women’s World Cup

for family life instead of football. I’ve heard he was really talented. We owe him and my mum a lot! Maybe that is why we became good footballers.

Getting to the final is one of my proudest moments, although it’s still hard to think we lost that day. But hopefully bigger and better is to come and we can win some trophies together here.

Anyone else we’ve missed?

You’re now captain of Norway, too.

I took over one-and-a-half years ago. I’m very proud, it’s a big honour to be captain of your country. We’ve qualified for the Euros this year and we’re playing Holland in the opening match – it was my dream to get the hosts in the opening match. I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve got Belgium and Denmark, which is a big game for us.

You come from a family of footballers, don’t you?

Yeah, my brother Erik is a professional and he plays for a team called Sandefjord.

They’ve just gone up to the top division, but he has spent 12 years at the highest level in Norway. My dad used to play, but he quit when he was 20 years old because he was having a family. My brother was born when he was 17 and me when he was 21, so he had to take a choice – and that was

I WANTED TO COME TO A CLUB WITH AMBITION. CHELSEA CLEARLY HAD THAT AND IT WAS EASY TO MAKE THE DECISION. SEEING THE FACILITIES AND HEARING EMMA’S PLANS, I COULDN’T SAY NO

I have one younger brother also, but he played more handball than football. I have also been playing handball for a long time and many said I should have chosen that as my sport, but I think I made the right choice.

Here in Norway, handball is so popular and they are the best in the world, but I’m happy with the choice I made.

What are your early memories of football?

I played with boys from six to 15 years old and towards the end of that I captained our team. We met the best side in our region and when they saw I was playing they just laughed at me and said we must be a really bad team. They laughed even more when they saw I was captain, but I think I was the best player on the pitch. They gave me good motivation.

Interviews | Richard Godden 67

Legends Tour

CoLin PaTes gary Chivers sunday 12 February, 2.30Pm TiCKeTs £70

Join Chelsea legends Colin Pates and Gary Chivers as they take you on an unforgettable tour of Stamford Bridge.

Q&A session ∙ Free signed personalised photo Museum guidebook and audio guide ∙ Personal anecdotes

01243

booK now CheLseaFC.Com/sTadium-Tours

FOUNDATION NEWS

chelseafc.com/foundation

@chelseafc FOUNDATION

Sessions leave their mark on Harlem students Thousands of schoolchildren have benefited from free football sessions during a busy couple of months for the Chelsea Foundation coaches in New York.

The Foundation has had ties to the Harlem community for more than three years, helping to develop initiatives for young people and improve soccer facilities in the neighbourhood after linking up with FC Harlem in July 2013.

That commitment has continued to develop since then, with the latest project seeing coaches Steven O’Reilly and Harry Cutler base themselves in New York for more than two months, visiting 18 schools in West and Central Harlem and engaging with close to 4,000 local children.

“I’m so happy our students received such a great opportunity, learning from some of the most knowledgeable trainers from a world-class organisation like Chelsea Football Club,” said Drew Marsek, physical education teacher at Democracy Prep Charter Middle School.

“Our kids were totally engaged in learning soccer skills while playing games.

The kids still talk about their experience, which has led to more interest in our school’s soccer team. I hope the lads can return in the future to continue their stellar teachings.”

During the same two-month period, the Foundation coaches also spent time developing the schools’ teaching staff, providing coach education to ensure longterm development, and spent weekends working with the players at FC Harlem.

Chris Woodward, Foundation

Thousands of young people have benefited from the free football sessions in Harlem

international development officer for the USA, added: “As part of our partnership with FC Harlem, we have been offering our Soccer in the Schools programme to introduce young people to the sport.

“We have had a fantastic response from the schools and we feel it is important to give back to these communities, who may not get the opportunity to take part in soccer otherwise.”

Futsal Academy’s class acts visit Stamford Bridge Three players from the Chelsea Foundation’s EFLT Education and Futsal Programme visited Stamford Bridge as a reward for excelling on the course.

The Futsal Academy at St Joseph’s College, London, is now in its fourth year with 30 scholars currently working towards a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport and four futsal teams competing in the Football League Trust Futsal League.

The Chelsea Foundation, in association with St Joseph’s College, are currently looking to recruit players to start in September 2017.

Players combine their studies with futsal, training four days a week and competing in regional and national competitions against opposition representing other

Ted Jones, Bradley Kabwe and Christian Quishpe have excelled at the Futsal Academy at St Joseph’s College, London

Premier League and Football League clubs, as well as being able to gain FA qualifications and coaching experience with the Foundation, subject to suitability and DBS checks.

“I’d recommend this course to anyone interested in combining sport with education,” said Bradley Kabwe, who visited the Bridge with his futsal team-mates Ted Jones and Christian Quishpe.

“Not only do you wear the Chelsea kit, but you’re able to do something which you enjoy. So you go to school, you learn sport and at the same time you’re able to train every day and play once a week.”

For more information about the programme please contact james.phillips@chelseafc.com.

69

BIG

REPLICA KIT

SAVINGS Now available in the Chelsea Megastore Terms and Conditions: Selected Lines Only

ONCE A BLUE, ALWAYS A BLUE

72

80

81

ONE OF US KIERAN DONAGHY

WE WERE THERE! WE WERE THERE!

MESSAGE BOARD

82

76

KING’S ROAD BOUTIQUE

71

KIERAN DONAGHY The Gaelic football star tells us how he fell in love with the Blues, which players he idolised growing up and why getting dropped was a price worth paying to watch us win the Champions League in Munich

You recently released your autobiography where you reveal that going to watch Chelsea in the 2012 Champions League final cost you your place in your Gaelic football team.

That’s right. My manager had told me not to go because we had a Championship game – the equivalent of a big FA Cup match – the following week. I’m one of the main guys in the team and he felt it would set a bad precedent if I was going away to a soccer match the week before. But I’ve been a Chelsea fan for as long as I remember and we’d been knocking on the door of winning the Champions League for so many years, and in my mind it was a

72

Kieran Donaghy outside the Stamford Bridge tunnel

case of going to the game no matter what happens. To get the chance to experience that, being dropped by my manager was a small price to pay.

I thought it might just have been a threat, but he followed through with it. He dropped me from the starting line-up, but he then had to bring me on because we were down by a point in a game we shouldn’t really have been losing.

The funnier side of that story is that as I was coming on, he put a hand around my shoulder, it was really tense and one of the supporters in Row B jumped up and shouted, “Go on Drogba.” There’d been a big tabloid story in Ireland about why I’d been dropped so this guy must have read it. All I could do was start laughing, but I went on, got us

ONE OF US two points and we won the game so everybody was happy afterwards.

Celebrating our Champions League triumph in 2012

So you had two reasons to celebrate – tell us about your emotions after we had won the Champions League for the first time.

That night in Munich was something I will never forget. If I’d listened to the manager and didn’t go, I would never have forgiven myself, but with only a few minutes to go before Drogba scored the equaliser I wasn’t thinking that! It was an amazing night and it was just an incredible cup run.

How did you become a Chelsea fan?

My mum and dad separated when I was younger and my dad came over here, so I would visit him. He was living close by and he took me to a game at the Bridge. It would have been around 1991 or 1992 and it was against Sheffield Wednesday. I don’t recall much about the game, but I remember the crowd and all the chants and I was just hooked straight away.

When I went home I was a Chelsea fan and I took a lot of stick because we weren’t great back then, and everybody in my class supported either Man United or Liverpool.

There’s a part of me that wishes our successful years came a little bit earlier so I could have enjoyed it while I was at school. But we pushed it close when I was in fifth and sixth year – we were the nearly boys – and we won the FA Cup in 1997 and 2000 so that gave me some glory.

Who were your Chelsea heroes in those early years?

I loved Dennis Wise and the way he was on the field. He was small in stature but he bossed it on the pitch for us. I always loved those kinds of characters – Roy Keane when he played for Ireland as well.

Then you had Zola who was just one of those freakish special talents. I have a real soft spot for the team with the likes of him, Petrescu, Poyet, Vialli and Flo. That goal on the opening day of the season against Sunderland where Zola looped a ball over the defence and Poyet scissor-kicked it in – that was just incredible.

I loved Desailly as well, but John

THAT NIGHT IN MUNICH WAS SOMETHING I WILL NEVER FORGET. IF I’D LISTENED TO THE MANAGER AND DIDN’T GO, I WOULD NEVER HAVE FORGIVEN MYSELF Terry has to be my favourite player of all time. He’s phenomenal – captain, leader, legend says it all. He’s an unbelievable reader of the game, he makes the big tackles and he pops up with big goals as well. The sign of a great player is can you make the guys around you better or do you just worry about your own game?

Terry has always made the guys around him so much better.

How frequent a visitor to the Bridge have you been over the years?

I would say I’ve come along every season since 2002 or 2003. I was at the game against Liverpool at the end of the 2002/03 season when Desailly and Gronkjaer scored. That was the game that got us into the Champions League and they say it’s the one that persuaded Mr Abramovich to buy the club so it was a massive one. Every year since then I have come to one or two games.

Our season starts in January so I look to come over before that.

Are you a member of one of our Irish Supporters’ Clubs?

Yeah, the Kerry Supporters’ Club who have got a banner at the Bridge.

The boys who run it put in a lot of work and I actually met two Chelsea legends recently – Bobby Tambling and Kerry Dixon – at an event out in Ireland. To meet these guys was great, they were so down to earth, so relaxed and took pictures with everybody who wanted one.

What have you made of our season so far? Are you surprised by what you’ve seen?

I am and I guess it goes back to how frustrating last season was, but to see Conte

73

01164

NO JOINING FEE* *BEFORE 28.02.17

ME MYSELF & I Chelsea FC Members or Season Ticket Holders can enjoy exclusive discounts on membership C H E L S E A H E A LT H C L U B . C O M

ONE OF US coming in this year and everything he has done is fantastic. The players are playing with passion and I think Diego has been incredible – he looks fit, sharp and fired up. He’s an absolute boss on the field and I love the way he is on and off the pitch.

I’ve watched the Chelsea YouTube videos of what he’s like at training and I see how funny he is to be around. He’s scoring and Chelsea are winning so all the fans are happy and I know the members of the Kerry Supporters’ Club are happy. Long may it continue.

I love the Italians’ passion for the game and Conte is as passionate as they come. You can see his love for his guys and I think that’s reflective.

When a manager shows that passion, it can feed into the team. I think what we are starting to see from this Chelsea team is the real stamp of their manager – they play with a passion and an edge and it’s great to see.

Diego Costa has been in sensational form for the Blues

my

CHELSEA FIVE-A-SIDE TEAM

MANAGER

JOSE MOURINHO I have to start with José Mourinho as gaffer because he was the guy in charge for the early part of the really successful years for our club. Roberto Di Matteo won the Champions League so he gets a nod, but José is the manager of my five-a-side team.

John Terry; Dennis Wise, Frank Lampard; Damien Duff; Didier Drogba

John Terry will have to be in there, as will Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.

I’ll throw in Damien Duff because he is one of the Irish legends who has played for Chelsea. I loved it when it was him and Robben on the wings.

And I’ll have Dennis Wise in there just to have that bit of steel and let

Lamps, Duffer and Drogba do their thing going forward. I haven’t named a goalkeeper, but this is five-a-side so JT can play rush goalie. He went in goal once against Reading when Cech and Cudicini got injured, so we know he can do it!

75

WE WERE THERE! WE WERE THERE! Each month we look at Chelsea’s history from a fan perspective. In this issue, we relive the thrilling day we came from 2-0 down to knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup

THE COMEBACK KINGS Winning the FA Cup in 1997 goes down as one of the most important achievements in Chelsea’s history. It was a pivotal moment in the club’s rise to joining the trophy hunt again after 26 years without silverware.

Yet that famous cup run came very close to being cut off in its infancy when Ruud Gullit’s side found themselves 2-0 down to Liverpool at half-time in our fourth-round match at Stamford Bridge.

Goals from Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore had left Blues fans feeling pretty down on their luck in a three-stand Bridge, with work being done on the new

76

Shed End behind the goal which saw all the action that day.

Then Gullit made a substitution that changed the course of history, bringing on a third striker as Mark Hughes joined Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola in attack. All three forwards were on the scoresheet by the end of the game and Chelsea had run out 4-2 winners. Liverpool were blown away in 45 minutes that will never be forgotten by those who were there. We spoke to three people in attendance that cold January afternoon and they were still euphoric 20 years on...

SARAH HAYES STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON I got into football during the 1990 World Cup, and there was only ever going to be one team for me to support.

My dad had been a Chelsea fan since the Seventies and my brother was a fan too, so we asked if we could get tickets to the games and we started going in about 1992.

We weren’t season-ticket holders at the time (although I am now), but we were members and it was easier to get tickets in those days. For the Liverpool FA Cup game in 1997 we were in the East Stand, down by the Shed End and all the goals were down our end.

It was a really cold January day and there was me, my dad, my thenboyfriend and another friend. I can remember being 2-0 down at half-time and saying, “Oh my God! This is going to be a right nightmare!”

But my dad had seen ups and downs at Chelsea over the years and I can clearly recall him saying, “It could end up 2-2 yet.”

Well, come the second half, Mark Hughes came on and everything changed. He scored a brilliant goal, then Zola got one and Vialli scored twice. I couldn’t believe it. We went from being down in the dumps to not believing what we were seeing. We still talk about it now.

I can’t believe it was 20 years ago, though. I haven’t got a great memory but it’s one that will always stick out for me, because it was such a great game.

We went on to win the FA Cup that year and we hadn’t won anything for so long at that point, so the fact you look back to the fourth round and we were 2-0 down to Liverpool at half-time

makes the whole achievement look that bit more special.

My dad was at the FA Cup final in 1970 and I think even he was thinking along the lines that he wouldn’t see Chelsea win anything else. Now we’ve come from winning that trophy in

1997 to where we are today. I never thought I’d see anything like what we have seen in the past few years during my lifetime. We were a mid-table team, I didn’t think we were going to do anything special, but look where we are now.

Mark Hughes gees up the crowd after getting a goal back

77

WE WERE THERE! WE WERE THERE!

TUBES

We were 2-0 down at halftime and getting absolutely battered – Liverpool gave us a football lesson and the crowd was so flat. I feared the worst; they’d missed so many chances it could have been double figures.

Then we brought on Mark Hughes as a sub. The Welsh warrior. Everything changed.

I was only 15 or 16 at the time, and I’ve never heard an atmosphere like it before or since. Going from the first half being completely silent, and all you could hear was the Liverpool fans, to this belief amongst us that we could actually do this.

I have my season ticket in the Matthew Harding end, and it can get very loud, but that day the stand was literally shaking when Hughes scored our first goal. You knew something special was going to happen.

I have never seen a turnaround like it in my life. Every ball that came up to Hughes was just sticking. It was like that tennis game you play on holiday, where the ball sticks to the pad in your hand!

Players were pinging balls up to him and he was laying it off to Gianfranco Zola, who ran the show.

It was the year we won the FA Cup, and this really started it all off. From that game on, I thought: Do you know what?

We’re going to win it!

This was back in the days when the FA Cup was really, really important. That’s

78

res the equaliser Gianfranco Zola sco

not to say it’s not good now, but it just meant more to the supporters. This was two teams properly going for it. That’s what made it even more special.

Mind you, all our games against Liverpool tend to be pretty good. We’ve played each other so many times that it’s become a rivalry, which I like. Back

in ’97, they weren’t a rival at all. We certainly didn’t have them every week for about two months like we did the other year.

This was just my favourite game. I don’t really know what else to add – you couldn’t actually believe what happened.

It was incredible.

Gianluca Vialli nets our fourth goal

IAN CONNAUGHTON I’ve been going to Chelsea for about 50 years and I should think that is in the top six games I have seen at Stamford Bridge. It was an unbelievable atmosphere in the second half – the crowd helped the team.

When the names come out of the hat for the fourth round, you don’t want to draw a big team, but if you do it’s better to get them at home, as we did with Liverpool in 1997. Chelsea were doing alright that year, but Liverpool were probably doing better, so it was always going to be a good game and you always stand a chance in the cup.

It was the game of the weekend and there was a lot of anticipation because it was two big clubs who both had great players at the time. It was a cold, miserable day and I seem to remember all the goals were up at the Shed End, where there was no stand at the time.

During the first half Liverpool dominated and they went in 2-0 up at half-time, but they could have been 4-0 up. Robbie Fowler had a good chance before half-time and if it had gone to 3-0, then I think that would have been it.

Then Gullit brought on Mark Hughes, who always gave 100 per cent and never gave up, and that turned it around really.

Being able to bring on someone like Hughes at half-time made the difference really: a proven goalscorer and a battler, who could hold the ball up. Five minutes after the break, he got the ball in the area, turned on the swivel and then knocked it into the far corner to make it 2-1. Then we started to believe we could do something.

I remember the crowd were so eager

NEXT MONTH

Hughes and Vialli ce lebrate our remark able victory from then on in and the second goal was just a fantastic shot by Zola with his left foot, which the goalkeeper couldn’t save.

Then Dan Petrescu put a great ball through, which Vialli ran onto and put past the keeper, before getting his second with a header from a Zola free-kick. He was basically unmarked and he just put it straight in the back of the net. The place just erupted and I don’t think I’ve ever known anything like it. The second half was just unreal.

I think winning that game gave everyone the belief we could go on and win the cup. We’d beaten Liverpool from 2-0 down. They had a strong side with good players that season but we

had a lot of class. Our quality players started to show that quality in the second half and if you attack, then you don’t have to defend so much, so that suited our game. I remember the players were ecstatic afterwards, not just the supporters. I don’t think even they thought they were going to come back from 2-0 down against a quality side like that. But that’s the beauty of football – that’s what makes it exciting.

We didn’t play anyone as good as Liverpool for the rest of that cup run and we went on to beat Middlesbrough in the final. As a club, we haven’t looked back since then, it’s just progressed from there.

Next month we want to hear from those of you who were at Bolton for the game that saved Chelsea from relegation to the third tier – and potential oblivion – in 1983. Did you witness Clive Walker’s moment of glory?

If so email us at dominic.bliss@trinitymirror.com and let us know.

79

MESSAGE BOARD

Where fans show the Chelsea colours, wherever they may be

DARRY HUTTON

HANNU & ELINA PEKKANEN Many congratulations to Mr and Mrs Pekkanen on their recent marriage in Tampere, Finland. Hannu is a huge Chelsea supporter and insists his wife Elina is too – although she doesn’t always admit it. They have visited Stamford Bridge twice, to see us take on Sunderland in the Premier League in 2013/14 and the dramatic extra-time win over Liverpool in the 2014/15 League Cup semi-finals, en route to winning the competition. As you can see from this photo, Hannu even insisted on showing their Blues colours on the big day, wearing his shirt and scarf for this picture.

Congratulations to Darry Hutton on your marriage to Gabby. Darry lives in Trinidad and Tobago, where his wedding took place, and as the Caribbean country’s No1 Chelsea fan it was no surprise to see the Blues were heavily represented when he tied the knot on a Tobago beach, with bride Gabby even getting in on the act by wearing a Chelsea garter. Darry has been a Blues supporter ever since he started coming to games at Stamford Bridge in the Nineties, sitting in the half-built West Stand with his uncle John, and still watches as many games as possible from his home in Trinidad, when the time difference allows!

MOLLY BONES Molly Bones is a big Chelsea fan from Felsted in Essex and she was delighted to bump into our captain John Terry before the 3-0 win over Burnley at Stamford Bridge. Molly was given her first season ticket, sitting in the West Stand, by her dad at the start of this campaign and stayed in a London hotel for the weekend to watch the game. The 15-year-old was amazed to find that the Blues squad was staying in the same hotel, getting this photo with Terry and also meeting head coach Antonio Conte.

TIM MCGEEVER RODIJS KUZMINS RICHARD WRIGHT Happy birthday to our true Blue dad, with love from Steve, Dan and Chris. Richard Wright turns 70 years old on 26 January and is a big Chelsea fan and a season-ticket holder at Stamford Bridge.

WANT TO APPEAR ON THE MESSAGE BOARD? 80

Rodijs Kuzmins has been supporting Chelsea from his native Latvia for the past 11 years.

He is continuing a strong family tradition in following the club, as his uncle, dad, brother and mum are also big Blues fans. He has never been to see a match at Stamford Bridge, but is hoping to one day live out his dream of seeing the team play in the flesh.

Tim McGeever never misses a chance to show off his love for the Blues, wherever he is in the world, and always takes his Chelsea shirt with him when travelling abroad. Tim’s recent trip to Sri Lanka and the Maldives was no exception, and the West Stand seasonticket holder wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to get this great photo with one of the residents at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka.

Send your details and a picture to: Message Board, Chelsea Football Club, Matchday Programme, Third Floor, Stamford Bridge, London, SW6 1HS

@

Or email them to: cfc.programme@trinitymirror.com

To celebrate our 150th issue, we’ve picked arguably the biggest Chelsea trophy success of the lot. How’s your memory when it comes to the 2012 Champions League winners?

02

05

04

06

03

07

01 08 09 12

10

16

13

14

11

18 17

15

TEST YOUR CHELSEA KNOWLEDGE...

1 Florent Malouda won the Hero of the Indian Super League award for 2016 while representing which club?

7 In which season did Gary Cahill achieve his best goal tally for Chelsea and how many goals did he score?

13 Jose Bosingwa was named in the Team of the Tournament at which major international competition?

2 Against which team did Daniel Sturridge score his first Chelsea goal in a 7-0 victory?

8 Chelsea paid a club-record transfer fee to sign Michael Essien in the summer of 2005? Which player previously held the record?

14 How many goals did Fernando Torres score for Spain in 110 appearances?

3 Ashley Cole is one of two players to win the Double with two different clubs. Can you name the other player?

4 Who came on as a substitute

for Ryan Bertrand in the 2012 Champions League final?

5 How many Premier League winners’ medals did John Mikel Obi receive in his time at Chelsea?

6 John Terry scored the Blues’

fastest-ever Champions League goal in a 5-0 win against which club in November 2014?

0-5 EXTRA TRAINING SESSION REQUIRED!

9 Ramires wore the No7 shirt for

Chelsea. Can you name the player who preceded him with that squad number, and who wears it now?

10 Raul Meireles was one of four players suspended for the 2012 Champions League final. Can you name the others?

15 Didier Drogba netted more times for Chelsea than any other overseas player. Who is second on the list?

16 David Luiz successfully converted a penalty in the 2012 Champions League final. Against which other side did he score in a shoot-out for the Blues?

11 How many times was Frank

17 Which two clubs has Salomon Kalou played for since leaving Chelsea?

12 Where did Juan Mata begin his playing career?

18 Branislav Ivanovic is one of four overseas players to appear in 350 games for Chelsea. Who are the others?

Lampard named Premier League Player of the Month?

6-14 STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

15-18 EXCELLENT CHELSEA KNOWLEDGE

1. Delhi Dynamos 2. Stoke City 3. Nicolas Anelka 4. Florent Malouda 5. Two (2009/10, 2014/15) 6. Schalke 7. 2012/13 (six). 8. Didier Drogba 9. Andriy Shevchenko and N’Golo Kante 10. Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and John Terry 11. Four (September 2003, April 2005, October 2005 and October 2008) 12. Real Madrid 13. Euro 2008 14. 38 15. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 16. Fulham 17. Lille and Hertha Berlin 18. Petr Cech, Didier Drogba and John Mikel Obi 81

’S KING D

ROAique Bout

Football’s – n finest fashio ux pas d fa and the od

82

We may be more accustomed to seeing Mark Hughes wrapped up warm in the dugout nowadays, but during his playing days the former Chelsea striker and current Stoke City manager clearly wasn’t shy about showing some skin. To be fair to the Welshman, his skimpy adidas outfit looks perfect for a session in the gym, although his glorious hairstyle probably wasn’t quite as practical for a professional athlete.

01151

JOIN T HE WAI T ING LIS T FOR HOSPI TALI T Y 2017/18 Annual packages for the 16/17 season sold out in record time so join the 17/18 waitlist now to avoid disappointment.

SECURE YOUR SEAT FOR NEX T SEASON by joining our waitlist for 17/18 Annual Hospitality Visit chelseafc.com/waitlist for more information

CHELSEAFC.COM/WAITLIST OR CALL 0371 811 1955

Š 2016 adidas AG. adidas, the 3-Bars logo and the 3-Stripes mark are registered trademarks of the adidas Group.