Association football club in London

football club
Chelsea Football Club is an english professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, the club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Chelsea are among England ‘s most successful clubs, having won over thirty competitive honours, including six league titles and eight european trophies. Their home prime is Stamford Bridge. [ 4 ]

Reading: Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea won their foremost major honor, the League championship, in 1955. The club won the FA Cup for the first clock time in 1970 and their inaugural european honor, the Cup Winners ‘ Cup, in 1971. After a period of decline in the belated 1970s and 1980s, the cabaret enjoyed a revival in the 1990s and had more achiever in cup competitions. The past two decades have been the most successful in Chelsea ‘s history : they have won five Premier League titles, two UEFA Champions League titles and two UEFA Europa League titles during this menstruation. [ 5 ] Chelsea are one of five clubs to have won all three of UEFA ‘s main baseball club competitions, the first English clubhouse to achieve the UEFA soprano, the only London club to have won the Champions League and the merely club to have won all three major european competitions twice. [ 6 ] Chelsea ‘s home kit out colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The golf club ‘s crest features a ceremonial leo rampant regardant holding a staff. [ 7 ] The club has rivalries with neighbor teams Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, and a historic competition with Leeds United. Based on attendance figures, the club has the sixth-largest fanbase in England. [ 8 ] In terms of club value, Chelsea are the sixth most valuable football baseball club in the world, worth £2.13 billion ( $ 2.576 billion ), and are the eighth highest-earning football club in the world, with earnings of over €428 million in the 2017–18 season. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Since 2003, Chelsea have been owned by Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich. [ 11 ] [ 12 ]

history

Founding and early on years

In 1904, Gus Mears acquired the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium with the bearing of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearby Fulham was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own cabaret to use the stadium. As there was already a team named Fulham in the borough, the name of the adjacent borough of Chelsea was chosen for the modern club ; names like Kensington FC, Stamford Bridge FC and London FC were besides considered. [ 13 ] Chelsea were founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun public house ( now The Butcher ‘s Hook ), [ 2 ] [ 14 ] opposite the contemporary main entrance to the grind on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League curtly afterwards. Chelsea won promotion to the First Division in their second temper, and yo-yoed between the First and Second Divisions in their early years. They reached the 1915 FA Cup Final, where they lost to Sheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished third in the First Division in 1920, the club ‘s best league campaign to that point. [ 15 ] Chelsea had a reputation for signing star players [ 16 ] and attracted large push. The club had the highest average attendance in English football in ten separate seasons [ 17 ] including 1907–08, [ 18 ] 1909–10, [ 19 ] 1911–12, [ 20 ] 1912–13, [ 21 ] 1913–14 [ 22 ] and 1919–20. [ 23 ] [ 24 ] They were FA Cup semi-finalists in 1920 and 1932 and remained in the First Division throughout the 1930s, but success eluded the club in the inter-war years .

modernization and the first league championship

Chart showing the progress of Chelsea ‘s league finishes from 1906 to the introduce Former Arsenal and England centre-forward Ted Drake was appointed director in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the baseball club. He removed the club ‘s Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and train government, rebuilt the side with astute signings from the lower divisions and amateur leagues, and led Chelsea to their first gear major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The watch temper saw UEFA create the european Champions ‘ Cup, but after objections from The Football League, Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] Chelsea failed to build on this achiever, and spent the end of the 1950s in mid-table. Drake was dismissed in 1961 and replaced by player-coach Tommy Docherty. Docherty built a new team around the group of talented young players emerging from the club ‘s young person set-up, and Chelsea challenged for honours throughout the 1960s, enduring several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the final stages of the 1964–65 season, winning the League Cup but faltering late on in the other two. [ 27 ] In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runner-up. Under Docherty ‘s successor, Dave Sexton, Chelsea won the FA Cup in 1970, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a concluding replay. The follow year, Chelsea took their first european honor, a UEFA Cup Winners ‘ Cup victory, with another replay acquire, this time over real Madrid in Athens .

renovation and fiscal crisis

The former 1970s through to the ’80s was a disruptive period for Chelsea. An ambitious renovation of Stamford Bridge threatened the fiscal constancy of the cabaret, [ 28 ] asterisk players were sold and the team were relegated. farther problems were caused by a ill-famed bully element among the hold, which was to plague the cabaret throughout the decade. [ 29 ] In 1982, Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal kernel of £1, although by immediately the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to place developers, meaning the club faced losing their home. [ 30 ] On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 director John Neal put together an impressive fresh team for minimal spending. Chelsea won the Second Division style in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division with two top-six finishes, before being relegated again in 1988. The golf club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89. After a long-running legal battle, Bates reunited the stadium freehold with the club in 1992 by doing a consider with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a commercialize crash. [ 31 ] Chelsea ‘s mannequin in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the 1994 FA Cup Final. The appointee of Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 began an upturn in the team ‘s fortunes. He added several top international players to the side and led the club to their first major honor since 1971, the FA Cup. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, whose reign saw Chelsea win the League Cup, the UEFA Cup Winners ‘ Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1998, and the FA Cup in 2000. They besides mounted a strong title challenge in 1998–99, finishing four points behind champions Manchester United, and made their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League. Vialli was sacked in favor of Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup Final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03 .

The Abramovich era

In July 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million. [ 11 ] Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was ineffective to deliver any trophies, [ 32 ] and was replaced by José Mourinho. [ 33 ] Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the one-fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War ( 2004–05 and 2005–06 ), [ 34 ] in accession to winning an FA Cup ( 2007 ) and two League Cups ( 2005 and 2007 ). After a poor begin to the 2007–2008 season, Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant, [ 35 ] who led the club to their first UEFA Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester United .
In 2009, under caretaker director Guus Hiddink, Chelsea won another FA Cup. [ 36 ] In 2009–10, his successor Carlo Ancelotti led them to their inaugural Premier League and FA Cup Double, besides becoming the first gear english top-flight club to score 100 league goals in a season since 1963. [ 37 ] In 2012, Roberto Di Matteo led Chelsea to their seventh FA Cup, [ 38 ] and their beginning UEFA Champions League title, beating Bayern Munich 4–3 on penalties, the first London club to win the trophy. [ 39 ] The stick to year the club won the UEFA Europa League, [ 40 ] making them the first club to hold two major european titles simultaneously and one of five clubs to have won the three chief UEFA trophies. [ 41 ] Mourinho returned as director in 2013 and led Chelsea to League Cup achiever in March 2015, [ 42 ] and the Premier League title two months later. [ 43 ] Mourinho was sacked after four months of the following season after a poor start. [ 44 ] In 2017, under newly coach Antonio Conte, Chelsea won their sixth English title and the following season won their eighth FA Cup. [ 45 ] In 2018 Conte was sacked after a 5th-place end and replaced with Maurizio Sarri, [ 46 ] [ 47 ] under whom Chelsea reached the League Cup final examination, which they lost on penalties to Manchester City [ 48 ] and won the Europa League for a second time, beating arsenal 4–1 in the final. Sarri then left the baseball club to become coach of Juventus and was then replaced by early Chelsea player Frank Lampard. [ 49 ] In Lampard ‘s beginning season he guided Chelsea to 4th place in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final, losing 2–1 to Arsenal. [ 50 ] Lampard was dismissed in January 2021 and replaced with Thomas Tuchel. [ 51 ] [ 52 ] Under Tuchel, Chelsea reached the FA Cup concluding, losing 1–0 to Leicester City, and won their second UEFA Champions League deed with a 1–0 acquire over Manchester City in Porto. [ 53 ] The golf club subsequently won the 2021 UEFA Super Cup for the second time by defeating Villarreal 6–5 in a penalty gunfight, after it had ended 1–1 in Belfast after supernumerary time. [ 54 ] On 18 April 2021, Chelsea announced they would be joining a newfangled european Super League, a league contest comprising the biggest european club. [ 55 ] After a backlash from supporters, the club announced their withdrawal days late. [ 56 ] Former Chelsea player Tony Cascarino revealed that the club had been calling ex-players to check up on their health during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ 57 ] [ 58 ] The cabaret opted against furloughing their non-matchday staff with the decision reportedly coming from Abramovich himself. Chelsea, one of the first club to help the National Health Service, lent the club-owned Millenium Hotel for the NHS staff. [ 58 ]

stadium

Chelsea have lone had one home flat coat, Stamford Bridge, where they have played since the team ‘s foundation. It was formally opened on 28 April 1877 and for the first 28 years of its universe, it was used about entirely by the London Athletic Club as an stadium for athletics meetings and not at all for football. In 1904 the anchor was acquired by businessman Gus Mears and his brother Joseph, who had besides purchased nearby state ( once a large market garden ) with the aim of staging football matches on the now 12.5 acre ( 51,000 m2 ) web site. [ 59 ] Stamford Bridge was designed for the Mears syndicate by the note football architect Archibald Leitch, who had besides designed Ibrox, Craven Cottage and Hampden Park. [ 60 ] Most football clubs were founded first, and then sought grounds in which to play, but Chelsea were founded for Stamford Bridge. Starting with an unfold bowl-like design and one grandstand with seat, Stamford Bridge had an original capacitance of around 100,000, making it the second biggest stadium in England after Crystal Palace. [ 59 ] The early 1930s saw the construction of a terrace on the southerly part of the grind with a roof that covered around one fifth of the stand. As the roof resembled that of a corrugate iron shed, the rack finally became known as the “ shed end ”, although it is obscure who first base coined this name. Starting in the 1960s, it became known as the home plate of Chelsea ‘s most loyal and vocal supporters. [ 59 ] In 1939, another small seated stall was added, the North Stand, which remained until its demolition in 1975. [ 59 ] In the early 1970s, the club ‘s owners announced a modernization of Stamford Bridge with plans for a state-of-the-art 50,000 all-seater stadium. [ 59 ] Work began in 1972 but the project was beset with problems and ultimately alone the East Stand was completed ; the cost brought the baseball club close to bankruptcy, culminating in the freehold being sold to place developers. Following a long legal battle, it was not until the mid-1990s that Chelsea ‘s future at the stadium was secured and renovation influence resumed. [ 59 ] The north, west and southerly parts of the ground were converted into all-seater stands and moved closer to the pitch, a process completed by 2001. The East Stand was retained from the 1970s development. In 1996, the north stand was renamed the Matthew Harding point of view, after the club film director and benefactor who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier that year. [ 61 ]
vs. Chelsea West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge on 23 September 1905 ; Chelsea won 1–0. When Stamford Bridge was redeveloped in the Bates era many extra features were added to the complex including two Millennium & Copthorne hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants, the Chelsea Megastore, and an synergistic visitor attraction called Chelsea World of Sport. The intention was that these facilities would provide extra gross to support the football side of the clientele, but they were less successful than hoped and before the Abramovich coup d’etat in 2003 the debt taken on to finance them was a major load on the club. soon after the coup d’etat a decision was taken to drop the “ Chelsea Village ” stigmatize and refocus on Chelsea as a football cabaret. however, the stadium is sometimes still referred to as part of “Chelsea Village” or “The Village”. The Stamford Bridge freehold, the flip, the turnstiles and Chelsea ‘s diagnose rights are now owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners, a non-profit constitution in which fans are the shareholders. The CPO was created to ensure the stadium could never again be sold to developers. As a condition for using the Chelsea FC name, the baseball club has to play its first team matches at Stamford Bridge, which means that if the club moves to a new stadium, they may have to change their name. [ 62 ] Chelsea ‘s training ground is located in Cobham, Surrey. Chelsea moved to Cobham in 2004. Their former prepare ground in Harlington was taken over by QPR in 2005. [ 63 ] The new education facilities in Cobham were completed in 2007. [ 64 ]
Stamford Bridge hosted the FA Cup Final from 1920 to 1922, [ 65 ] has held ten FA Cup Semi-finals ( most recently in 1978 ), ten FA Charity Shield matches ( the last in 1970 ), and three England international matches, the end in 1932 ; it was besides the venue for an unofficial Victory International in 1946. [ 66 ] The 2013 UEFA Women ‘s Champions League Final was played at Stamford Bridge ampere well. [ 67 ] The stadium has besides been used for a diverseness of other sports. In October 1905 it hosted a rugby coupling peer between the All Blacks and Middlesex, [ 68 ] and in 1914 hosted a baseball match between the touring New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox. [ 69 ] It was the venue for a box match between world flyweight ace Jimmy Wilde and Joe Conn in 1918. [ 70 ] The running track was used for crap traverse racing between 1928 and 1932, [ 71 ] greyhound racing from 1933 to 1968, and Midget car race in 1948. [ 72 ] In 1980, Stamford Bridge hosted the first international floodlit cricket equal in the UK, between Essex and the West Indies. [ 73 ] It was besides the home stadium of the London Monarchs American Football team for the 1997 season. [ 74 ] The stream baseball club ownership have stated that a larger stadium is necessary in order for Chelsea to stay competitive with rival clubs who have importantly larger stadium, such as Arsenal and Manchester United. [ 75 ] Owing to its location next to a independent road and two railroad track lines, fans can alone enter Stamford Bridge via the Fulham Road exits, which places constraints on expansion due to health and safety regulations. [ 76 ] The clubhouse have systematically affirmed their desire to keep Chelsea at their current home, [ 77 ] [ 78 ] but have however been linked with a move to respective nearby sites, including the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Battersea Power Station and the Chelsea Barracks. [ 79 ] In October 2011, a proposal from the club to buy back the freehold to the land on which Stamford Bridge sits was voted down by Chelsea Pitch Owners shareholders. [ 80 ] In May 2012, the club made a dinner dress command to purchase Battersea Power Station, with a position to developing the site into a new stadium, [ 81 ] but lost out to a malaysian consortium. [ 82 ] The golf club subsequently announced plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge into a 60,000-seater stadium, [ 83 ] and in January 2017 these plans were approved by Hammersmith and Fulham council. [ 84 ] however, on 31 May 2018, the clubhouse released a instruction saying that the new stadium project had been put on hold indefinitely, citing “ the stream unfavorable investment climate. ” [ 85 ]

Crest and colours

crest

Chelsea have had four main crests, which all undergo minor variations. The first, adopted when the club was founded, was the image of a Chelsea pensioner, the united states army veterans who reside at the nearby Royal Hospital Chelsea. This contributed to the club ‘s original “ pensioner ” dub, and remained for the next half-century, though it never appeared on the shirts. When Ted Drake became Chelsea director in 1952, he began to modernise the clubhouse. Believing the Chelsea pensioner crown to be antique, he insisted that it be replaced. [ 86 ] A stop-gap badge which comprised the initials C.F.C. was adopted for a year. In 1953, the club crest was changed to an good blue leo looking backwards and holding a staff. It was based on elements in the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea [ 87 ] with the “ leo rampant regardant ” taken from the arms of then club president Viscount Chelsea and the staff from the Abbots of Westminster, former Lords of the Manor of Chelsea. It besides featured three red roses, to represent England, and two footballs. [ 86 ] This was the first base Chelsea crown to appear on the shirts, in the early 1960s. In 1986, with Ken Bates now owner of the club, Chelsea ‘s crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise and because the erstwhile rampant leo badge could not be trademarked. [ 88 ] The new badge featured a more naturalistic non-heraldic lion, in white and not blue sky, standing over the C.F.C. initials. This lasted for the adjacent 19 years, with some modifications such as the function of different colours, including red from 1987 to 1995, and chicken from 1995 until 1999, before the ashen returned. [ 89 ] With the new possession of Roman Abramovich, and the club ‘s centennial border on, combined with demands from fans for the popular 1950s badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2005. The new cap was officially adopted for the beginning of the 2005–06 season and marked a return to the older design, used from 1953 to 1986, featuring a blue heraldic leo holding a staff. For the centennial season this was accompanied by the words ‘100 YEARS ‘ and ‘CENTENARY 2005–2006 ‘ on the clear and bottom of the crest respectively. [ 7 ]

Colours



[90] Chelsea ‘s first gear home colors ( 1905 – c. 1912 ) Chelsea have constantly worn aristocratic shirts, although they in the first place used the pale eton blue, which was taken from the racing colours of then clubhouse president of the united states, Earl Cadogan, and was worn with blank shorts and benighted amobarbital sodium or bootleg socks. [ 91 ] The light blue sky shirts were replaced by a royal blue version in around 1912. [ 92 ] In the 1960s Chelsea director Tommy Docherty changed the kit again, switching to blue shorts ( which have remained always since ) and white socks, believing it made the cabaret ‘s colours more modern and classifiable, since no early major side used that combination ; this kit was first base wear during the 1964–65 season. [ 93 ] Since then Chelsea have constantly worn white socks with their family kit aside from a short-circuit enchantment from 1985 to 1992, when blue socks were reintroduced. Chelsea ‘s away colours are normally all scandalmongering or all ashen with blue trim. More recently, the club have had a number of black or dark blue sky away kits which alternate every class. [ 94 ] As with most teams, they have besides had some more unusual ones. At Docherty ‘s behest, in the 1966 FA Cup semi-final they wore aristocratic and black stripes, based on Inter Milan ‘s kit. [ 95 ] In the mid-1970s, the away strip was a red, white and green kit inspired by the hungarian home slope of the 1950s. [ 96 ] early away kits include an all adulteress strip worn from 1986 to 1989, crimson and white diamonds from 1990 to 1992, graphite and tangerine from 1994 to 1996, and aglow yellow from 2007 to 2008. [ 94 ] The graphite and tangerine strip has appeared in lists of the worst football kits ever. [ 97 ]

support

Chelsea fans at a match against Tottenham Hotspur, on 11 March 2006 Chelsea are among the most widely supported football clubs in the worldly concern. [ 98 ] [ 99 ] They have the sixth highest average all-time attendance in English football, [ 8 ] and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge ; they were the seventh best-supported Premier League team in the 2013–14 temper, with an median gate of 41,572. [ 100 ] Chelsea ‘s traditional fanbase comes from all over the Greater London area including propertyless parts such as Hammersmith and Battersea, wealthier areas like Chelsea and Kensington, and from the home counties. There are besides numerous official supporters clubs in the United Kingdom and all over the world. [ 101 ] Between 2007 and 2012, Chelsea were ranked one-fourth worldwide in annual replica kit sales, with an average of 910,000. [ 102 ] As of 2018, Chelsea had 72.2 million followers on social media, the one-fourth highest among football clubs. [ 103 ] At matches, Chelsea fans sing chants such as “ Carefree “ ( to the tune of “ Lord of the Dance “, whose lyrics were credibly written by patron Mick Greenaway ), [ 104 ] [ 105 ] “ Ten Men Went to Mow ”, “ We All Follow the Chelsea ” ( to the tune of “ Land of Hope and Glory “ ), “ Zigga Zagga ”, and the celebratory “ Celery ”. The latter is often accompanied by fans throwing celery at each other, although the vegetable was banned inside Stamford Bridge after an incidental involving Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas at the 2007 League Cup Final. [ 106 ] During the 1970s and 1980s in finical, Chelsea supporters were associated with football vandalism. The club ‘s “ football firm “, in the first place known as the Chelsea Shed Boys, and subsequently as the Chelsea Headhunters, were nationally ill-famed for football violence, aboard bully firms from other clubs such as West Ham United ‘s Inter City Firm and Millwall ‘s Bushwackers, before, during and after matches. [ 107 ] The increase of bully incidents in the 1980s led president Ken Bates to propose erecting an electric wall to deter them from invading the pitch, a proposal that the Greater London Council rejected. [ 108 ] Since the 1990s, there has been a cross off decline in push trouble oneself at matches, as a result of nonindulgent patrol, CCTV in grounds and the advent of all-seater stadium. [ 109 ] In 2007, the club launched the Back to the Shed political campaign to improve the atmosphere at home matches, with noteworthy success. According to Home Office statistics, 126 Chelsea fans were arrested for football-related offences during the 2009–10 season, the third gear highest in the division, and 27 banning orders were issued, the fifth-highest in the division. [ 110 ]

Rivalries

Chelsea have long-standing rivalries with North London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. [ 111 ] [ 112 ] A strong competition with Leeds United dates back to several heated and controversial matches in the 1960s and 1970s, peculiarly the 1970 FA Cup Final. [ 113 ] More recently a competition with Liverpool has grown following recur clashes in cup competitions. [ 114 ] [ 115 ] Chelsea ‘s colleague West London sides Brentford, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers are generally not considered major rivals, as matches have only taken station intermittently due to the clubs often being in separate divisions. [ 116 ] A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com found that Chelsea fans consider their chief rivalries to be with ( in descending order ) : armory, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. In the same survey, fans of Arsenal, Fulham, Leeds United, QPR, Tottenham, and West Ham United named Chelsea as one of their three chief rivals. [ 117 ] In a 2008 poll conducted by the Football Fans Census, Chelsea fans named Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United as their most dislike clubs. In the lapp survey, “ Chelsea ” was the top answer to the question “ Which other English club do you dislike the most ? ” [ 118 ] A 2012 review, conducted among 1,200 supporters of the top four league divisions across the country, found that many clubs ‘ main rivals had changed since 2003 and reported that Chelsea fans consider Tottenham to be their independent rivals, above Arsenal and Manchester United. additionally, fans of Arsenal, Brentford, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, QPR, Tottenham and West Ham identified Chelsea as one of their top three rivals. [ 119 ]

Records

Chelsea ‘s highest appearance-maker is ex-captain Ron Harris, who played in 795 competitive games for the club between 1961 and 1980. [ 120 ] Four other players made more than 500 appearances for the club : Peter Bonetti ( 729 ; 1959–79 ), John Terry ( 717 ; 1998–2017 ), Frank Lampard ( 648 ; 2001–2014 ) and John Hollins ( 592 ; 1963–1975 and 1983–1984 ). With 103 caps ( 101 while at the club ) for England, Lampard is Chelsea ‘s most capped international musician. every starting actor in Chelsea ‘s 57 games of the 2013–14 season was a broad international – a new club record. [ 121 ] Lampard is Chelsea ‘s all-time top goalscorer, having scored 211 goals in 648 games ( 2001–2014 ) ; [ 120 ] he passed Bobby Tambling ‘s longstanding record of 202 in May 2013. [ 122 ] Eight other players have besides scored over 100 goals for Chelsea : George Hilsdon ( 1906–1912 ), George Mills ( 1929–1939 ), Roy Bentley ( 1948–1956 ), Jimmy Greaves ( 1957–1961 ), Peter Osgood ( 1964–1974 and 1978–1979 ), Kerry Dixon ( 1983–1992 ), Didier Drogba ( 2004–2012 and 2014–2015 ), and Eden Hazard ( 2012–2019 ). Greaves holds the golf club record for the most goals scored in one season ( 43 in 1960–61 ). [ 123 ] While a Chelsea actor, Greaves besides became the youngest ever player to score 100 goals in the english top-flight, at 20 years and 290 days. [ 124 ] Chelsea ‘s biggest winning scoreline in a competitive equal is 13–0, achieved against Jeunesse Hautcharage in the Cup Winners ‘ Cup in 1971. [ 125 ] The cabaret ‘s biggest top-flight win was an 8–0 victory against Wigan Athletic in 2010, which was matched in 2012 against Aston Villa. [ 126 ] Chelsea ‘s biggest loss was an 8–1 reverse against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1953. [ 127 ] [ 128 ] The club ‘s 21–0 sum victory over Jeunesse Hautcharage in the UEFA Cup Winners ‘ Cup in 1971 is besides a read in european contest. [ 129 ] Officially, Chelsea ‘s highest home attendance is 82,905 for a first Division match against Arsenal on 12 October 1935. however, an estimated crowd of over 100,000 attended a friendly match against Soviet team Dynamo Moscow on 13 November 1945. [ 130 ] [ 131 ]
In January 2011 Chelsea broke the british transfer record to sign Fernando Torres for £50 million ; the read stood until 2014 From 20 March 2004 to 26 October 2008, Chelsea went a record 86 straight league matches at home without frustration, beating the previous record of 63 matches unbeaten set by Liverpool between 1978 and 1980. [ 132 ] [ 133 ] Chelsea hold the English record for the fewest goals conceded during a league temper ( 15 ), the highest numeral of cleanse sheets overall in a Premier League season ( 25 ) ( both set during the 2004–05 season ), [ 134 ] and the most consecutive clean sheets from the start of a league season ( 6, set during the 2005–06 season ). [ 135 ] Chelsea ‘s streak of eleven back-to-back away league wins, set between 5 April 2008 and 6 December 2008, is a commemorate for the English top flight. [ 136 ] Chelsea are the only Premier League side to win their open nine league games of the temper, doing so in 2005–06. [ 137 ] [ 138 ] From 2009 to 2013, Chelsea were unbeaten in a record 29 back-to-back FA Cup matches ( excluding punishment shoot-outs ). [ 139 ] On 25 August 1928, Chelsea, along with Arsenal, became the first gear club to play with shirt numbers, in their match against Swansea Town. [ 140 ] They were the first english side to travel by airplane to a domestic aside couple, when they visited Newcastle United on 19 April 1957, [ 141 ] and the first First Division side to play a match on a Sunday, when they faced Stoke City on 27 January 1974. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first british side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up ( no British or Irish players ) in a Premier League match against Southampton. [ 142 ] In May 2007, Chelsea were the first team to win the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium, having besides been the last to win it at the erstwhile Wembley. [ 143 ] They were the first English baseball club to be ranked No. 1 under UEFA ‘s five-year coefficient system in the twenty-first century. [ 144 ] They were the first Premier League team, and the first team in the English acme flight since 1962–63, to score at least 100 goals in a single season, reaching the milestone during the 2009–10 season. [ 37 ] Chelsea are the alone London club to win the UEFA Champions League. [ 145 ] [ 146 ] Upon winning the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Chelsea became the inaugural English club to win all four UEFA club trophies and the lone club to hold the Champions League and the Europa League at the like prison term. [ 147 ] Chelsea have twice broken the read for the highest transfer tip paid by a british baseball club. Their £30.8 million purchase of Andriy Shevchenko from A.C. Milan in June 2006 was a british read until surpassed by the £32.5 million paid by Manchester City for Robinho in September 2008. [ 148 ] [ 149 ] The cabaret ‘s £50 million purchase of Fernando Torres from Liverpool in January 2011 [ 150 ] held the record until Ángel Di María signed for Manchester United in August 2014 for £59.7 million. [ 151 ] The club ‘s £71 million buy of Kepa Arrizabalaga in August 2018 remains a world record fee paid for a goalkeeper. [ 152 ]

ownership and finances

Chelsea Football Club were founded by Gus Mears in 1905. After his death in 1912, his descendants continued to own the clubhouse until 1982, when Ken Bates bought the clubhouse from Mears ‘ great-nephew Brian Mears for £1. Bates bought a controlling venture in the cabaret and floated Chelsea on the AIM malcolm stock exchange in March 1996. [ 153 ] In the mid-1990s Chelsea sports fan and businessman Matthew Harding became a conductor and loaned the club £26 million to build the fresh North Stand and invest in fresh players. [ 154 ] In July 2003, Roman Abramovich purchased precisely over 50 % of Chelsea Village plc ‘s share capital, including Bates ‘ 29.5 % stake, for £30 million and over the come weeks bought out most of the remaining 12,000 shareholders at 35 penny per contribution, completing a £140 million takeover. other shareholders at the time of the takeover included the Matthew Harding estate ( 21 % ), BSkyB ( 9.9 % ) and assorted anonymous offshore trusts. [ 155 ] At the time of the Abramovich takeover, the club besides had debts of around £100 million, which included a ten-year £75 million Eurobond taken out in 1997 by the Bates government to buy the freehold of Stamford Bridge and finance the renovation of the stadium. The 9 % matter to on the lend cost the club around £7 million a year and according to Bruce Buck, Chelsea were struggling to pay an episode due in July 2003. [ 156 ] Abramovich paid off some of this debt immediately, but the great £36 million on the Eurobond was not amply repaid until 2008. [ 157 ] Since then, the clubhouse have had no external debt. [ 158 ] Abramovich changed the possession identify to Chelsea FC plc, whose ultimate parent company is Fordstam Limited, which is controlled by him. [ 159 ] Chelsea are additionally funded by Abramovich via interest free voiced loans channelled through his holding company Fordstam Limited. The loans stood at £709 million in December 2009, when they were all converted to fairness by Abramovich, leaving the club themselves debt detached, [ 160 ] [ 161 ] although the debt remains with Fordstam. [ 162 ] Chelsea did not turn a profit in the first nine years of Abramovich ‘s ownership, and made read losses of £140m in June 2005. [ 163 ] In November 2012, Chelsea announced a net income of £1.4 million for the year ending 30 June 2012, the inaugural fourth dimension the club had made a profit under Abramovich ‘s possession. [ 163 ] [ 164 ] This was followed by a loss in 2013 and then their highest always profit of £18.4 million for the class to June 2014. [ 165 ] In 2018 Chelsea announced a criminal record after-tax profit of £62 million. [ 166 ] Chelsea have been described as a ball-shaped sword ; a 2012 report by Brand Finance ranked Chelsea fifth among football brands and valued the clubhouse ‘s sword value at US $ 398 million – an increase of 27 % from the previous year, besides valuing them at US $ 10 million more than the one-sixth best brand, London rivals Arsenal – and gave the stigmatize a persuasiveness rate of AA ( very potent ). [ 167 ] [ 168 ] In 2016, Forbes magazine ranked Chelsea the one-seventh most valuable football cabaret in the earth, at £1.15 billion ( $ 1.66 billion ). [ 169 ] As of 2016, Chelsea are ranked one-eighth in the Deloitte Football Money League with an annual commercial gross of £322.59 million. [ 170 ]

The club ‘s recent account records highlight £26.6m they have lost in compensation to former head bus Antonio Conte for sacking and to pay off his backroom staff and the legal costs that followed. [ 171 ]

Chelsea ‘s kit has been manufactured by Nike since July 2017. previously, the kit was manufactured by Adidas, which was originally contracted to supply the clubhouse ‘s kit from 2006 to 2018. The partnership was extended in October 2010 in a deal worth £160 million over eight years. [ 172 ] This deal was again extended in June 2013 in a deal worth £300 million over another ten-spot years. [ 173 ] In May 2016, Adidas announced that by reciprocal agreement, the kit sponsorship would end six years early on 30 June 2017. [ 174 ] Chelsea had to pay £40m in compensation to Adidas. In October 2016, Nike was announced as the new kit sponsor, in a deal worth £900m over 15 years, until 2032. [ 175 ] Previously, the kit was manufactured by Umbro ( 1975–81 ), Le Coq Sportif ( 1981–86 ), The Chelsea Collection ( 1986–87 ), Umbro ( 1987–2006 ), and Adidas ( 2006–2017 ). Chelsea ‘s first shirt patron was Gulf Air, agreed during the 1983–84 temper. The club were then sponsored by Grange Farms, Bai Lin Tea and Simod before a long-run manage was signed with Commodore International in 1989 ; Amiga, an outgrowth of Commodore, besides appeared on the shirts. Chelsea were subsequently sponsored by Coors beer ( 1994–97 ), Autoglass ( 1997–2001 ), Emirates ( 2001–05 ), Samsung Mobile ( 2005–08 ), Samsung ( 2008–15 ). [ 176 ] [ 177 ] and Yokohama Tyres ( 2015–20 ). Chelsea ‘s stream sponsor is Three, starting from July 2020. [ 178 ] Following the introduction of sleeve sponsors in the Premier League, Chelsea had Alliance Tyres as their first sleeve sponsor in the 2017–18 season. [ 179 ] For the 2018–19 season, they have Hyundai Motor Company as the new sleeve patron. [ 180 ] The club besides has a variety show of early sponsors and official partners, which include Bangkok Bank, Beats by Dre, Cadbury, Carabao, Delta Air Lines, EA Sports, Ericsson, Fiserv, Gazprom, GO Markets, Grand Royal Whisky, Guangzhou R & F, Hublot, IndusInd Bank, Levy Restaurants, Millennium Hotels, MSC Cruises, Mobinil, Ole777, Parimatch, Rexona, Singha, Sony Music, Trivago, Vitality, William Hill, Wipro, and Zapp. [ 181 ]

popular culture

Chelsea parade through the streets of Fulham and Chelsea after winning their league and cup double, May 2010 In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films, The Great Game. [ 182 ] erstwhile Chelsea concentrate ahead, Jack Cock, who by then was playing for Millwall, was the star of the film and respective scenes were shot at Stamford Bridge, including on the pitch, the boardroom, and the trim rooms. It included guest appearances by then-Chelsea players Andrew Wilson, George Mills, and Sam Millington. [ 183 ] Owing to the notoriety of the Chelsea Headhunters, a football firm associated with the clubhouse, Chelsea have besides featured in films about football vandalism, including 2004 ‘s The Football Factory. [ 184 ] Chelsea besides appear in the Hindi film Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. [ 185 ] In April 2011, Montenegrin drollery series Nijesmo mi od juče made an episode in which Chelsea bid against FK Sutjeska Nikšić for qualification of the UEFA Champions League. [ 186 ] up until the 1950s, the baseball club had a long-running association with the music halls ; their underachievement much provided material for comedians such as George Robey. [ 187 ] It culminated in comedian Norman Long ‘s release of a amusing song in 1933, ironically titled “ On the Day That Chelsea Went and Won the Cup ”, the lyrics of which describe a series of bizarre and improbable occurrences on the hypothetical sidereal day when Chelsea ultimately won a trophy. [ 16 ] In Alfred Hitchcock ‘s 1935 movie The 39 Steps, Mr Memory claims that Chelsea last won the Cup in 63 BC, “ in the presence of the Emperor Nero. ” [ 188 ] Scenes in a 1980 episode of Minder were filmed during a very meet at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Preston North End with Terry McCann ( played by Dennis Waterman ) standing on the terraces. [ 189 ] The song “ Blue is the Colour “ was released as a single in the build-up to the 1972 League Cup Final, with all members of Chelsea ‘s first team police squad tattle ; it reached number five in the UK Singles Chart. [ 190 ] The birdcall has since been adopted as an anthem by a number of other sports teams around the universe, including the Vancouver Whitecaps ( as “ White is the Colour ” ) [ 191 ] and the Saskatchewan Roughriders ( as “ Green is the Colour ” ). [ 192 ] In the build-up to the 1997 FA Cup Final, the song “ Blue Day ”, performed by Suggs and members of the Chelsea squad, reached number 22 in the UK charts. [ 193 ]

Chelsea Women

Chelsea besides operate a women ‘s football team, Chelsea Football Club Women, once known as Chelsea Ladies. They have been affiliated to the men ‘s team since 2004 [ 194 ] and are separate of the clubhouse ‘s Community Development program. They play their home games at Kingsmeadow, once the dwelling ground of the EFL League One club AFC Wimbledon. The club were promoted to the Premier Division for the first time in 2005 as southerly Division champions and won the Surrey County Cup nine times between 2003 and 2013. [ 195 ] In 2010 Chelsea Ladies were one of the eight fall through members of the FA Women ‘s Super League. [ 196 ] In 2015, Chelsea Ladies won the FA Women ‘s Cup for the first time, beating Notts County Ladies at Wembley Stadium, [ 197 ] and a calendar month former clinched their foremost FA WSL style to complete a league and cup double. [ 198 ] In 2018, they won a second league and FA Cup double. [ 199 ] Two years later in 2020, they repeated their double success by winning the third league title and league cup for the first gear time. [ 200 ] [ 201 ] John Terry, former captain of the Chelsea men ‘s team, is the President of Chelsea Women. [ 202 ]

Players

police squad

As of 14 September 2021[203][204]

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

other players under compress

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Out on lend

eminence : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Under-23s and Academy

player of the class

source : Chelsea F.C .

celebrated managers

The follow managers won at least one trophy when in charge of Chelsea :

management team

source : Chelsea F.C.

Club personnel

Chelsea FC plc is the company which owns Chelsea Football Club. The ultimate parent company of Chelsea FC plc is Fordstam Limited and the ultimate controlling party of Fordstam Limited is Roman Abramovich. [ 210 ] Chelsea Ltd.
Chelsea F.C. plc Board [ 210 ]
Executive Board [ 210 ]
Life President
Vice-Presidents

Peter Digby
Sir Peter Harrison
Joe Hemani
Anthony Reeves
Alan Spence

Club Ambassadors [ 212 ]
source : Chelsea F.C .

Honours

Upon winning the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Chelsea became the fourth club in history to have won the “ european Treble “ of european Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, and european Cup Winners ‘ Cup/UEFA Cup Winners ‘ Cup after Juventus, Ajax and Bayern Munich. Chelsea are the inaugural English golf club to have won all three major UEFA trophies. [ 213 ]

National competitions

league titles

Cups

Winners (4): 1955, 2000, 2005, 2009

european competitions

Didier Drogba holding the Champions League trophy after Chelsea’s victory in 2012

Winners (2): 1998, 2021

Doubles

UEFA club coefficient ranking

As of 17 September 2021[215]

Notes

References

  • Batty, Clive (2004). Kings of the King’s Road: The Great Chelsea Team of the 60s and 70s. Vision Sports Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9546428-1-5.
  • Batty, Clive (2005). A Serious Case of the Blues: Chelsea in the 80s. Vision Sports Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-905326-02-0.
  • Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7553-1466-9.
  • Hadgraft, Rob (2004). Chelsea: Champions of England 1954–55. Desert Island Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-874287-77-3.
  • Harris, Harry (2005). Chelsea’s Century. Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84454-110-2.
  • Ingledew, John (2006). And Now Are You Going to Believe Us: Twenty-five Years Behind the Scenes at Chelsea FC. John Blake Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84454-247-5.
  • Matthews, Tony (2005). Who’s Who of Chelsea. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-010-0.
  • Mears, Brian (2004). Chelsea: A 100-year History. Mainstream Sport. ISBN 978-1-84018-823-3.
  • Mears, Brian (2002). Chelsea: Football Under the Blue Flag. Mainstream Sport. ISBN 978-1-84018-658-1.

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