According to many experts’ opinions, some clubs from the English Premier League belong to the category of the strongest, top-performing, and most popular clubs on the planet. One of those teams is Chelsea.
The Blues, or the so-called Pensioners, together with clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham, are one of the most well-known football clubs, not only in England but also in the whole world.
This club was founded more than one century ago. During this period, it went through many changes and phases. Few people can argue that this club’s history and tradition are not interesting.
As a club that won two Champions League titles and was a runner-up once, Chelsea has lots of things to be proud of. Additionally, this club is no stranger to winning other top-notch competitions like Super Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup, Club World Cup, Europa League, etc.
With such performances, Chelsea didn’t lack titles in domestic leagues and tournaments, either. Plus, there are many superstar players that wore the Chelsea shirt.
Most of them are known and popular across the globe and boast different awards, ranging from the Premier League Golden Boot all the way to the Player of the Year awards.
Early Days
One hundred eighteen years ago, Chelsea was founded in West London. Ever since then, the Blues have played at Stamford Bridge. And yeah, they are called the Blues because they have played in blue uniforms ever since the club’s founding.
Chelsea’s away kit is white with dark-coloured socks. Their third kit has changed a couple of times in the past. The most recent one appears to be somewhat orange and golden.
After Chelsea started playing its first professional football matches, it soon got to the First Division. The First Division was the name of what we today know as the Premier League.
The Blues also competed in the FA Cup. They were the finalists twice, first in 1920 and then in 1932. Interestingly, this club went through its modernisation phase starting in the 1950s.
After the legendary player Ted Drake became the manager of this club, Chelsea entered its modernisation phase. First, the Blues changed their crest. They switched from the Pensioner crest to the one containing the club initials.
It was not long before this club changed its crest once more. It was in 1953, and the Blues put the lion symbol as their official logo. In the early 1960’s Chelsea got its new manager, Tommy Docherty.
During this era, the Blues were contestants in some prestigious European tournaments, too. In fact, they got far in the FA Cup and League Cup but didn’t win the titles. The following decade was very important for this club, as it won the major trophies.
First, the Blues lifted the trophy in the FA Cup after putting their new coach, Dave Sexton, in charge. On top of that, Chelsea won the final match against Real Madrid and earned the Cup Winners’ Cup title.
80’s and 90’s & the Roman Abramovich Era
The 1980s were a time of struggles for this team. They got into a financial crisis and played in the Third Division. The following decade was a bit better for the Blues. In the meantime, they got back to the First Division.
The Pensioners hired and sacked a few coaches along the way. The biggest success here was winning one domestic and two international cups. In other words, Chelsea won the League Cup, as well as the Cup Winners’ Cup and Super Cup in 1998. In 2000, the Blues won the FA Cup.
The Success After Abramovich’s Arrival
This team witnessed one of the best periods after the Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich, bought them. As Chelsea was also facing a financial crisis back then, the Russian didn’t spend much money buying it.
Once he finally took over the club, he soon brought Jose Mourinho there. Under Mourinho, Chelsea won its first back-to-back league championships in 2005 and 2006. They also won two cups, the FA Cup and the League Cup, both in 2005 and 2007.
Under Avram Grant, who was the coach for Chelsea in 2008, the Pensioners even reached the Champions League finals. However, they lost to Man Utd. Later on, in 2009, the Blues won another FA Cup.
Once Carlo Ancelotti got the job as a coach, he led Chelsea to both the FA Cup and Premier League trophies in 2010. In 2012, it was Robert Di Matteo who coached the Pensioners. With his guidance, Chelsea won one of the most elite football club competitions, the Champions League.
The Blues won over Bayern Munich after a penalty shootout. Only one year later, the Pensioners won another tournament, which is also thought of as very important in Europe among experts and fans, i.e. the Europa League.
Several years after that, Antonio Conte was appointed by the Pensioners as their coach. In 2017, Chelsea won another Premier League title and became the FA Cup champions, too. In the year that followed, the Blues’ new coach, Sarri, replaced Conte.
That season, Chelsea went far and played in the League Cup finals but was defeated by Man City. Still, the Pensioners lifted the Europa League trophy for the second time after beating Arsenal in the finals.
Success Under Tuchel & Abramovich’s Decision to Put Chelsea Up for Sale
Not long after Sarri left the club, the Blues’ legend, Frank Lampard was brought to the Blues’ headquarters. Yet, Lampard was not very successful as a coach. Chelsea quickly responded to this by employing Thomas Tuchel. The year 2021 was very successful for Chelsea.
First, they were the FA Cup runners-up after losing the final match to Leicester by 1:0. But they once again won the most popular and well-liked football club competition this year, that is the Champions League. The Blues went on to win the Super Cup after getting better of Villarreal on penalties.
Even more, this club won the Club World Cup as they also overpowered Palmeiras by 2:1. In 2022, due to a political situation, Roman Abramovich decided to sell Chelsea. He wrote off the debt that this club owed him and started preparing it for the new ownership.
Getting a New Owner (Todd Boehly)
In May 2022, Chelsea officially got the new owners. It was Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss, Clearlake Capital, and Mark Walter who became the new owners of the Blues. The club announced that some club officials would step down and that some new faces would take their positions from then.
For instance, Bruce Buck was no longer chairman of this club after June 30, 2022. Similarly, Peter Cech quit being the technical and performance adviser. Marina Granovskaia also left her position as sporting director.
Season 2022/23
Following the new ownership, Chelsea didn’t really get back on its feet after it faced very big changes. Just like every Premier League season, the Pensioners played 38 matches. Unfortunately, the Blues only won 11 games only.
Just the same, they had 11 no-winner encounters. The real sign this club still needs lots of improvement is the fact that they lost as many as 16 matches in the 2022/23 Premier League season and ranked 12th.
Speaking of the goal difference, Chelsea also dropped the ball as they scored 38 but allowed 47 goals. Taking the 12th spot on the table means that the Pensioners will not be part of any European contests in the season 2023/24. The last time this happened was the season 2016/17.
In the FA Cup, the Blues were eliminated by Man City after losing by 3:0 in the third round. When it comes to the European tournaments, Chelsea had a very good start. They were part of Group E. The Pensioners won four out of six games.
This team tied one game with Salzburg (1:1) and lost one match to Dinamo Zagreb by 1:0. In total, Chelsea got 13 points and was the top-ranking team in their group, leaving clubs like Milan behind.
The Pensioners continued their journey in the playoffs, where they first faced Dortmund. The Blues were beaten by the Germans in the first game by 1:0. In London, Chelsea scored two goals and allowed none, which meant that they would advance to the following round.
The quarterfinal round confronted this club with Real Madrid. Despite all their efforts, the Pensioners couldn’t get past Los Blancos. They lost both encounters by 2:0, after which they were knocked out from this season of the Champions League.
The Future of Chelsea
After one year, there are not many things which Chelsea’s owners should be proud of. However, the people who are in charge of making the most important decisions have promised to give their best and bring this club back on the right track.
Before all else, the Blues are thinking of bringing the ex-PSG and Tottenham coach, Pochettino, to Stamford Bridge. In fact, the Pensioners have already had some changes in their headquarters.
For example, they appointed Chris Jurasek as the director. He will make sure that everything runs smoothly outside of the pitch. The Blues are also working on building their scouting team, and they have already employed Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who will be responsible for recognising and bringing new talents to the club.
