Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea

Full name	Chelsea Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Blues, The Pensioners
Founded	10 March 1905 (1905-03-10)[1]
Ground	Stamford Bridge, Fulham, London
Ground Capacity	41,837[2]
Owner	Roman Abramovich
Chairman	Bruce Buck
Manager	José Mourinho
League	Premier League
2012–13	Premier League, 3rd
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Chelsea Football Club /ˈtʃɛlsiː/ is an English football club based in Fulham, London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Their home ground is the 41,837-seat^[2] Stamford Bridge stadium, where they have played since their establishment.

Chelsea had their first major success in 1955, when they won the league championship, and won various cup competitions during the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s and 2000s. The club has enjoyed its greatest period of success in the past two decades, winning 15 major trophies since 1997.^[3] Domestically, Chelsea have won four league titles, seven FA Cups, four League Cups and four FA Community Shields, while in continental competitions they have won two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, one UEFA Europa League and one UEFA Champions League. Chelsea are the only London club to win the UEFA Champions League,^[4] one of four clubs, and the only British club, to have won all three main UEFA club competitions, and also the first club to hold two major European titles simultaneously.^[5][6]

Chelsea's regular kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club's crest has been changed several times in attempts to re-brand the club and modernise its image. The current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion rampant regardant holding a staff, is a modification of the one introduced in the early 1950s.^[7] The club has sustained the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football.^[8] Their average home gate for the 2012–13 season was 41,462, the sixth highest in the Premier League.^[9] Since July 2003, Chelsea have been owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.^[10] In April 2013 it was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the seventh most valuable football club in the world, at £588 million ($901 million), an increase of 18% from the previous year.^[11][12]

History

In 1904, Gus Mears acquired the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium with the aim 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 club 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 new club; names like Kensington FC, Stamford Bridge FC and London FC were also considered.^[13] Chelsea were founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook),^[1] opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards.

The club won promotion to the First Division in their second season, 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 3rd in the First Division in 1920, the club's best league campaign to that point.^[14] Chelsea attracted large crowds^[15] and had a reputation for signing big-name players,^[16] but success continued to elude the club in the inter-war years.

Former Arsenal and England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side with shrewd signings from the lower divisions and amateur leagues, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions' Cup, but after objections from The Football League and the FA Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.^[17] Chelsea failed to build on this success, and spent the remainder 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 youth 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.^[18] In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. Under Docherty's successor, Dave Sexton, Chelsea won the FA Cup in 1970, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a final replay. Chelsea took their first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the following year, with another replayed win, this time over Real Madrid in Athens.

The late 1970s through to the 1980s was a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club,^[19] star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade.^[20] In 1982, Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal sum of £1, although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home.^[21] On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division, before being relegated again in 1988. The 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 deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash.^[22] Chelsea's form in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the 1994 FA Cup Final with Glenn Hoddle. It was not until the appointment of Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 that their fortunes changed. He added several top international players to the side, as the club won the FA Cup in 1997 and established themselves as one of England's top sides again. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, who led the team to victory in the League Cup Final, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final and the UEFA Super Cup in 1998, the FA Cup in 2000 and their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League. Vialli was sacked in favour of Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup Final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.

In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million.^[10] Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies,^[23] and was replaced by José Mourinho.^[24] Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War (2004–05 and 2005–06),^[25] in addition to winning an FA Cup (2007) and two League Cups (2005 and 2007). Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant,^[26] who led the club to their first UEFA Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester United.

In 2009, Guus Hiddink guided Chelsea to another FA Cup success,^[27] and in 2009–10, his successor Carlo Ancelotti led them to their first league and FA Cup "Double", becoming the first English top-flight club to score 100 league goals in a season since 1963.^[28] In 2012, caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo led Chelsea to their seventh FA Cup,^[29] and their first UEFA Champions League title, beating Bayern Munich 4–3 on penalties,^[30] the first London club to win the trophy.^[30] A year later Chelsea won the UEFA Europa League against Benfica,^[31] becoming the first club to hold two major European titles simultaneously and one of four clubs, and the only British club, to have won all three of UEFA's major club competitions.^[32]

Stadium

Stamford Bridge
The Bridge
Location	Fulham Road, Fulham London, England, SW6 1HS
Opened	28 April 1877[33]
Renovated	1904–1905, 1990s
Owner	Chelsea Pitch Owners plc
Operator	Chelsea F.C.
Architect	Archibald Leitch (1887)
Capacity	41,837-seat[2]
Field dimensions	103 x 67 metres (112.6 x 73.3 yards)[2]
Tenants
London Athletics Club (1877–1904) Chelsea F.C. (1905–present)

Chelsea have only ever had one home ground, Stamford Bridge, where they have played since foundation. It was officially opened on 28 April 1877 and for the first 28 years of its existence it was used almost exclusively by the London Athletics Club as an arena for athletics meetings and not at all for football. In 1904 the ground was acquired by businessman Gus Mears and his brother Joseph, who had also purchased nearby land (formerly a large market garden) with the aim of staging football matches on the now 12.5 acre (51,000 m²) site.^[33] Stamford Bridge was designed for the Mears family by the noted football architect Archibald Leitch, who had also designed Ibrox, Celtic Park and Hampden Park.^[34] Most football clubs were founded first, and then sought grounds in which to play, but Chelsea were founded for Stamford Bridge.

Starting with an open bowl-like design and one covered terrace, Stamford Bridge had an original capacity of around 100,000.^[33] The early 1930s saw the construction of a terrace on the southern part of the ground with a roof that covered around one fifth of the stand. It eventually became known as the "Shed End", the home of Chelsea's most loyal and vocal supporters, particularly during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The exact origins of the name are unclear, but the fact that the roof looked like a corrugated iron shed roof played a part.^[33]

In the early 1970s the club's owners announced a modernisation of Stamford Bridge with plans for a state-of-the-art 50,000 all-seater stadium.^[33] Work began on the East Stand in 1972 but the project was beset with problems and was never completed; the cost brought the club close to bankruptcy, culminating in the freehold being sold to property developers. Following a long legal battle, it was not until the mid-1990s that Chelsea's future at the stadium was secured and renovation work resumed.^[33] The north, west and southern parts of the ground were converted into all-seater stands and moved closer to the pitch, a process completed by 2001.

When Stamford Bridge was redeveloped in the Ken Bates era many additional features were added to the complex including two hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants, the Chelsea Megastore, and an interactive visitor attraction called Chelsea World of Sport. The intention was that these facilities would provide extra revenue to support the football side of the business, but they were less successful than hoped and before the Abramovich takeover in 2003 the debt taken on to finance them was a major burden on the club. Soon after the takeover a decision was taken to drop the "Chelsea Village" brand and refocus on Chelsea as a football club. However, the stadium is sometimes still referred to as part of "Chelsea Village" or "The Village".

The Stamford Bridge freehold, the pitch, the turnstiles and Chelsea's naming rights are now owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners, a non-profit organisation 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 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.^[35] Chelsea's training ground is located in Cobham, Surrey. Chelsea moved to Cobham in 2004. Their previous training ground in Harlington was taken over by QPR in 2005.^[36] The new training facilities in Cobham were completed in 2007.^[37]

Stamford Bridge has been used for a variety of other sporting events since 1905. It hosted the FA Cup Final from 1920 to 1922,^[38] 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 last in 1932; it was also the venue for an unofficial Victory International in 1946.^[39] In October 1905 it hosted a rugby union match between the All Blacks and Middlesex,^[40] and in 1914 hosted a baseball match between the touring New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox.^[41] It was the venue for a boxing match between world flyweight champion Jimmy Wilde and Joe Conn in 1918.^[42] The running track was used for dirt track racing between 1928 and 1932,^[43] greyhound racing from 1933 to 1968, and Midget car racing in 1948.^[44] In 1980, Stamford Bridge hosted the first international floodlit cricket match in the UK, between Essex and the West Indies.^[45] It was also the home stadium of the London Monarchs American Football team for the 1997 season.^[46]

The current club ownership have stated that a larger stadium is necessary in order for Chelsea to stay competitive with rival clubs who have significantly larger stadia, such as Arsenal and Manchester United.^[47] Owing to its location next to a main road and two railway lines, fans can only enter the ground via the Fulham Road exits, which places constraints on expansion due to health and safety regulations.^[48] The club have consistently affirmed their desire to keep Chelsea at their current home,^[49][50][51] but Chelsea have nonetheless been linked with a move to various nearby sites, including the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Battersea Power Station and the Chelsea Barracks.^[52] On 3 October 2011, Chelsea made a proposal to CPO shareholders to buy back the freehold to the land on which Stamford Bridge sits, stating that "buying back the freehold removes a potential hurdle should a suitable site become available in the future".^[53] The proposal was voted down by CPO shareholders.^[54] In May 2012, the club made a formal bid to purchase Battersea Power Station, with a view to developing the site into a 60,000 seater stadium,^[55] but lost out to a Malaysian consortium.^[56]

Crest and colours

Crest

Since the club's foundation, Chelsea have had four main crests, though all underwent minor variations. In 1905, Chelsea adopted as their first crest the image of a Chelsea pensioner, which contributed to the "pensioner" nickname, and remained for the next half-century, though it never appeared on the shirts. As part of Ted Drake's modernisation of the club from 1952 onwards, he insisted that the pensioner badge be removed from the match day programme to change the club's image and that a new crest be adopted.^[57] As a stop-gap, a temporary emblem comprising simply the initials C.F.C. was adopted for one year. In 1953, Chelsea's crest was changed to an upright blue lion looking backwards and holding a staff, which was to endure for the next three decades. This crest was based on elements in the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea^[58] with the "lion 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 also featured three red roses, to represent England, and two footballs. This was the first club badge to appear on shirts, since the policy of putting the crest on the shirts was only adopted in the early 1960s.^[57]

In 1986, with Ken Bates now owner of the club, Chelsea's crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise and to capitalise on new marketing opportunities.^[57] The new badge featured a more naturalistic non-heraldic lion, in white and not blue, standing over the C.F.C. initials. It lasted for the next 19 years, with some modifications such as the use of different colours, including red from 1987 to 1995, and yellow from 1995 until 1999, before the white returned.^[59] With the new ownership of Roman Abramovich, and the club's centenary approaching, 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 crest was officially adopted for the start of the 2005–06 season and marked a return to the older design, used from 1953 to 1986, featuring a blue heraldic lion holding a staff. For the centenary season this was accompanied by the words '100 YEARS' and 'CENTENARY 2005–2006' on the top and bottom of the crest respectively.^[7]

• 

  Chelsea's crest, 1905–52

• 

  Chelsea's crest, 1952–53

• 

  Chelsea's crest, 1953–86

• 

  Chelsea's crest, 1986–2005

• 

  Chelsea's crest, 2005–06,
  which commemorated Chelsea's 100th anniversary, was used only in the 2005–06 season

Colours

Chelsea have always worn blue shirts, although they originally used the paler eton blue, which was taken from the racing colours of then club president, Earl Cadogan, and was worn with white shorts and dark blue or black socks.^[60] The light blue shirts were replaced by a royal blue version in around 1912.^[61] In the 1960s Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty changed the kit again, switching to blue shorts (which have remained ever since) and white socks, believing it made the club's colours more modern and distinctive, since no other major side used that combination; this kit was first worn during the 1964–65 season.^[62] Since then Chelsea have always worn white socks with their home kit apart from a short spell from 1985 to 1992, when blue socks were reintroduced.

Chelsea's traditional away colours are all yellow or all white with blue trim, but, as with most teams, they have had some more unusual ones. The first away strip consisted of black and white stripes and for one game in the 1960s the team wore blue and black stripes, inspired by Inter Milan's kit, again at Docherty's behest.^[63] Other memorable away kits include a mint green strip in the 1980s, a red and white checked one in the early 90s and a graphite and tangerine edition in the mid-1990s.^[64]

Support

Chelsea have the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football^[8] and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge; they were the sixth best-supported Premier League team in the 2012–13 season, with an average gate of 41,462.^[9] Chelsea's traditional fanbase comes from all over the Greater London area including working-class parts such as Hammersmith and Battersea, wealthier areas like Chelsea and Kensington, and from the home counties. There are also numerous official supporters clubs in the United Kingdom and all over the world.^[65] Between 2007 and 2012 Chelsea were ranked fourth worldwide in annual replica kit sales, with an average of 910,000.^[66]

At matches, Chelsea fans sing chants such as "Carefree" (to the tune of Lord of the Dance, whose lyrics were probably written by supporter Mick Greenaway^[67][68]), "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", with the latter often resulting in fans ritually throwing celery. The vegetable was banned inside Stamford Bridge after an incident involving Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas at the 2007 League Cup Final.^[69]

During the 1970s and 1980s in particular, Chelsea supporters were associated with football hooliganism. The club's "football firm", originally known as the Chelsea Shed Boys, and subsequently as the Chelsea Headhunters, were nationally notorious for football violence, alongside hooligan firms from other clubs such as West Ham United's Inter City Firm and Millwall's Bushwackers, before, during and after matches.^[70] The increase of hooligan incidents in the 1980s led chairman Ken Bates to propose erecting an electric fence to deter them from invading the pitch, a proposal that the Greater London Council rejected.^[71]

Since the 1990s there has been a marked decline in crowd trouble at matches, as a result of stricter policing, CCTV in grounds and the advent of all-seater stadia.^[72] In 2007, the club launched the 'Back to the Shed' campaign to improve the atmosphere at home matches, with notable success. According to Home Office statistics, 126 Chelsea fans were arrested for football-related offences during the 2009–10 season, the third highest in the division, and 27 banning orders were issued, the fifth highest in the division.^[73]

Rivalries

Chelsea do not have a traditional rivalry on the scale of the Merseyside derby or the North London derby because their West London derbies with Fulham or Queens Park Rangers have not been as prominent over the years since the clubs have often been in different divisions. A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com found that Chelsea fans consider their main rivalries to be with (in order): Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.^[74] Their rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur is said to have developed following the 1967 FA Cup Final, the first cup final held between two London clubs. Additionally, a strong rivalry with Leeds United dates back to several heated and controversial matches in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the 1970 FA Cup Final.^[75] More recently a rivalry with Liverpool has grown following repeated clashes in cup competitions.^[76]

Records

Chelsea's highest appearance-maker is ex-captain Ron Harris, who played in 795 first-class games for the club between 1961 and 1980.^[77] This record is unlikely to be broken in the near future; Chelsea's current highest appearance-maker is Frank Lampard with 636.^[78] The record for a Chelsea goalkeeper is held by Harris's contemporary, Peter Bonetti, who made 729 appearances (1959–79). With 103 caps (101 while at the club), Frank Lampard of England is Chelsea's most capped international player.

Frank Lampard is Chelsea's all-time top goalscorer, with 209 goals in 636 games (2001–);^[77] he passed Bobby Tambling's longstanding record of 202 in May 2013.^[79] Seven other players have also scored over 100 goals for Chelsea: George Hilsdon (1906–12), George Mills (1929–39), Roy Bentley (1948–56), Jimmy Greaves (1957–61), Peter Osgood (1964–74 and 1978–79), Kerry Dixon (1983–92) and Didier Drogba (2004–12). Greaves holds the record for the most goals scored in one season (43 in 1960–61).^[78]

Chelsea's biggest winning scoreline in a competitive match is 13–0, achieved against Jeunesse Hautcharage in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1971.^[80] The club's biggest top-flight win was an 8–0 victory against Wigan Athletic in 2010, and matched in 2012 against Aston Villa.^[81] Chelsea's biggest loss was an 8–1 reverse against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1953.^[82] 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.^[83][84] The modernisation of Stamford Bridge during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands mean that neither record will be broken for the foreseeable future. The current legal capacity of Stamford Bridge is 41,837.^[2]

Chelsea hold the English record for the highest ever points total for a league season (95), the fewest goals conceded during a league season (15), the highest number of Premier League victories in a season (29), the highest number of clean sheets overall in a Premier League season (25) (all set during the 2004–05 season),^[85] and the most consecutive clean sheets from the start of a league season (6, set during the 2005–06 season).^[86] The club's 21–0 aggregate victory over Jeunesse Hautcharage in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 remains a record in European competition.^[87] Chelsea hold the record for the longest streak of unbeaten matches at home in the English top-flight, which lasted 86 matches from 20 March 2004 to 26 October 2008. They secured the record on 12 August 2007, beating the previous record of 63 matches unbeaten set by Liverpool between 1978 and 1980.^[88][89] Chelsea's streak of eleven consecutive away league wins, set between 5 April 2008 and 6 December 2008, is also a record for the English top flight.^[90] Their £50m purchase of Fernando Torres in January 2011 is a British record transfer fee.^[91]

Chelsea, along with Arsenal, were the first club to play with shirt numbers, on 25 August 1928 in their match against Swansea Town.^[92] They were the first English side to travel by aeroplane to a domestic away match, when they visited Newcastle United on 19 April 1957,^[93] 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.^[94] On 19 May 2007, they became the first team to win the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium, having also been the last to win it at the old Wembley.^[95] At the end of the 2007–08 season, Chelsea became the highest ranked club under UEFA's five-year coefficient system, the first English club to do so in the 21st century.^[96] On the final day of the 2009–10 season, Chelsea became the first team in Premier League history to score at least 100 goals in a single season.^[28] In 2012, Chelsea became the first London based club to win the UEFA Champions League, after beating Bayern Munich in the final.^[4][97] On winning the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Chelsea became the first English club to win all four European trophies.

Ownership and finances

Chelsea Football Club was founded by Gus Mears in 1905. After his death in 1912, his descendents continued to own the club until 1982, when Ken Bates bought the club from Mears' great-nephew Brian Mears for £1. Bates bought a controlling stake in the club and floated Chelsea on the AIM stock exchange in March 1996.^[98] In July 2003, Roman Abramovich purchased just over 50% of Chelsea Village plc's share capital, including Bates' 29.5% stake, for £30 million and over the following weeks bought out most of the remaining 12,000 shareholders at 35 pence per share, completing a £140 million takeover. Other shareholders at the time of the takeover included the Matthew Harding estate (21%), BSkyB (9.9%) and various anonymous offshore trusts.^[99] After passing the 90% share threshold, Abramovich took the club back into private hands, delisting it from the AIM on 22 August 2003. He also took on responsibility for the club's debt of £80 million, quickly paying most of it.^[100]

Thereafter, Abramovich changed the ownership name to Chelsea FC plc, whose ultimate parent company is Fordstam Limited, which is controlled by him.^[101] Chelsea are additionally funded by Abramovich via interest free soft loans channelled through his holding company Fordstam Limited. The loans stood at £709 million in December 2009, when they were all converted to equity by Abramovich, leaving the club itself debt free,^[102][103] although the debt remains with Fordstam.^[104] Since 2008 the club has had no external debt.^[105] In November 2012, Chelsea announced a profit of £1.4 million for the year ending 30 June 2012, the first time the club has made a profit under Abramovich's ownership.^[106][107]

Chelsea has been described as a global brand; a 2012 report by Brand Finance ranked Chelsea fifth and valued the club's brand value at US $398 million – an increase of 27% from the previous year, also valuing it at US $10 million more than the sixth best brand, London rivals Arsenal – and gave the brand a strength rating of AA (very strong).^[108][109] In 2012, Forbes magazine ranked Chelsea seventh in their list of the ten most valuable football clubs in the world, valuing the club's brand at £473 million ($761 million).^[11][12] Chelsea are currently ranked sixth in the Deloitte Football Money League^[110] with an annual commercial revenue of £225.6 million.^[111]

Chelsea's kit has been manufactured by Adidas since 2006, which is contracted to supply the club's kit from 2006 to 2018. The partnership was extended in October 2010 in a deal worth £160 million over eight years.^[112] This deal was again extended in June 2013 in a deal worth £300 million over another ten years.^[113][114] Previously, the kit was manufactured by Umbro (1968–81), Le Coq Sportif (1981–86), The Chelsea Collection (1986–87) and Umbro again (1987–2006). Chelsea's first shirt sponsor was Gulf Air, agreed during the 1983–84 season. The club were then sponsored by Grange Farms, Bai Lin Tea and Simod before a long-term deal was signed with Commodore International in 1989; Amiga, an off-shoot of Commodore, also appeared on the shirts. Chelsea were subsequently sponsored by Coors beer (1995–97), Autoglass (1997–2001) and Emirates Airline (2001–05). Chelsea's current shirt sponsor is Samsung who took over the sponsorship from their mobile division in 2007–08.^[115] In 2012, Gazprom became the club's official Global Energy Partner on a three-year sponsorship deal.^[116] The club also has a variety of other sponsors and partners, which include Delta Air Lines,^[117] Sauber, Audi, Singha, EA Sports, Dolce & Gabbana^[118] Barbados Tourism Authority, Atlas, AZIMUT Hotels, BNI, Vietinbank, Nitto Tire, Orico, Guangzhou R&F, Coca Cola, Grand Royal, Digicel, Lucozade Sport, and Viagogo.^[119]

Chelsea Ladies

Chelsea also operate a women's football team, Chelsea Ladies. It has been affiliated to the men's team since 2004,^[120] and is part of the club's Community Development programme. They play their home games at Imperial Fields, the home ground of Isthmian League club Tooting & Mitcham United.^[121] The club won the Surrey County Cup in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010,^[122] and were promoted to the Premier Division for the first time in 2005 as Southern Division champions. In the 2009–10 season, they finished 3rd in the Premier League, equalling their highest ever placing, and in 2010 were one of the eight founder members of the FA Women's Super League.^[123] John Terry, the current captain of the Chelsea men's team, is President of Chelsea LFC.^[124]

Popular culture

In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films, The Great Game.^[125] One-time Chelsea centre forward, Jack Cock, who by then was playing for Millwall, was the star of the film and several scenes were shot at Stamford Bridge, including the pitch, the boardroom, and the dressing rooms. It included guest appearances by then-Chelsea players Andrew Wilson, George Mills, and Sam Millington.^[126] Owing to the notoriety of the Chelsea Headhunters, a football firm associated with the club, Chelsea have also featured in films about football hooliganism, including 2004's The Football Factory.^[127] Chelsea also appear in the Hindi film Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.^[128] In April 2011, Montenegrin comedy series Nijesmo mi od juče made an episode in which Chelsea plays against FK Sutjeska Nikšić for qualification of the UEFA Champions League.^[129][130]

Up until the 1950s, the club had a long-running association with the music halls, with their underachievement often providing material for comedians such as George Robey.^[131] It culminated in comedian Norman Long's release of a comic 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 day when Chelsea finally won a trophy.^[16] 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 squad singing; it reached number five in the UK Singles Chart.^[132] (The song was later adopted, as an anthem, by the Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada, after being changed to "White is the Colour".^[133]) 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.^[134] Bryan Adams, a fan of Chelsea,^[135] dedicated the song "We're Gonna Win" from the album 18 Til I Die to the club.^[136]

Players

First team squad

As of 31 January 2014.^[137]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Petr Čech (3rd captain) 2 DF Branislav Ivanović 3 DF Ashley Cole 4 DF David Luiz 7 MF Ramires 8 MF Frank Lampard (vice-captain) 9 FW Fernando Torres 11 MF Oscar 12 MF John Mikel Obi 14 FW André Schürrle 15 MF Mohamed Salah 16 MF Marco van Ginkel 17 MF Eden Hazard

No. Position Player 19 FW Demba Ba 21 MF Nemanja Matić 22 MF Willian 23 GK Mark Schwarzer 24 DF Gary Cahill 26 DF John Terry (captain) 27 DF Nathan Aké 28 DF César Azpilicueta 29 FW Samuel Eto'o 33 DF Tomáš Kalas 40 GK Henrique Hilário 46 GK Jamal Blackman

For recent transfers, see 2013–14 Chelsea F.C. season.

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player 6 MF Oriol Romeu (at Valencia until 30 June 2014) 13 FW Victor Moses (at Liverpool until 30 June 2014) 18 FW Romelu Lukaku (at Everton until 30 June 2014) 20 MF Josh McEachran (at Wigan Athletic until 30 June 2014) 30 FW Lucas Piazón (at Vitesse until 30 June 2014) 31 FW Gaël Kakuta (at Lazio until 30 June 2014)

No. Position Player 34 DF Ryan Bertrand (at Aston Villa until 30 June 2014) 38 DF Patrick van Aanholt (at Vitesse until 30 June 2014) — GK Thibaut Courtois (at Atlético Madrid until 30 June 2014) — MF Marko Marin (at Sevilla until 30 June 2014) — DF Kurt Zouma (at Saint-Étienne until 30 June 2014)

Reserves and Academy

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player 32 DF Wallace (on loan to Inter Milan until 30 June 2014) 37 MF Bertrand Traoré (at Vitesse until 30 June 2014) 45 DF Nathaniel Chalobah (at Middlesbrough until 30 June 2014) 59 DF Kenneth Omeruo (on loan to Middlesbrough until 30 June 2014) — GK Matej Delač (on loan to FK Sarajevo until 30 June 2014) — DF Todd Kane (on loan to Blackburn Rovers until 30 June 2014) — MF Cristián Cuevas (on loan to FC Eindhoven until 30 June 2014) — MF Ulises Dávila (on loan to Córdoba CF until 30 June 2014) — MF Thorgan Hazard (on loan to Zulte Waregem until 30 June 2014)

No. Position Player — MF Christian Atsu (at Vitesse until 30 June 2014) — MF George Saville (on loan to Brentford until 30 June 2014) — MF Billy Clifford (on loan to Royal Antwerp until 30 June 2014) — FW Milan Lalkovič (on loan to Walsall until 30 June 2014) — FW Patrick Bamford (on loan to Derby County until 30 June 2014) — FW Jhon Pírez (on loan to CD Leganés until 30 June 2014) — FW Stipe Perica (on loan to NAC Breda until 30 June 2014) — FW Joao Rodríguez (on loan to Uniautónoma until 30 June 2014)

Player of the Year

^[138]

Year Winner 1967 Peter Bonetti 1968 Charlie Cooke 1969 David Webb 1970 John Hollins 1971 John Hollins 1972 David Webb 1973 Peter Osgood 1974 Gary Locke 1975 Charlie Cooke 1976 Ray Wilkins 1977 Ray Wilkins 1978 Micky Droy 1979 Tommy Langley 1980 Clive Walker 1981 Petar Borota 1982 Mike Fillery

Year Winner 1983 Joey Jones 1984 Pat Nevin 1985 David Speedie 1986 Eddie Niedzwiecki 1987 Pat Nevin 1988 Tony Dorigo 1989 Graham Roberts 1990 Ken Monkou 1991 Andy Townsend 1992 Paul Elliott 1993 Frank Sinclair 1994 Steve Clarke 1995 Erland Johnsen 1996 Ruud Gullit 1997 Mark Hughes 1998 Dennis Wise

Year Winner 1999 Gianfranco Zola 2000 Dennis Wise 2001 John Terry 2002 Carlo Cudicini 2003 Gianfranco Zola 2004 Frank Lampard 2005 Frank Lampard 2006 John Terry 2007 Michael Essien 2008 Joe Cole 2009 Frank Lampard 2010 Didier Drogba 2011 Petr Čech 2012 Juan Mata 2013 Juan Mata

Notable managers

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

Name	Period	Trophies
Ted Drake	1952–1961	First Division Championship, Charity Shield
Tommy Docherty	1962–1967	League Cup
Dave Sexton	1967–1974	FA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
John Neal	1981–1985	Second Division Championship
John Hollins	1985–1988	Full Members Cup
Bobby Campbell	1988–1991	Second Division Championship, Full Members Cup
Ruud Gullit	1996–1998	FA Cup
Gianluca Vialli	1998–2000	FA Cup, League Cup, Charity Shield, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup
José Mourinho	2004–2007 2013–	2 Premier Leagues, 2 League Cups, FA Cup, Community Shield
Guus Hiddink	2009[nb 1]	FA Cup
Carlo Ancelotti	2009–2011	Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield
Roberto Di Matteo	2012[nb 2]	FA Cup, UEFA Champions League
Rafael Benítez	2012–2013[nb 3]	UEFA Europa League

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	José Mourinho
Assistant manager	Steve Holland
Assistant first team coach	Rui Faria
Assistant first team coach	Silvino Louro
Assistant first team coach	Jose Morais
Technical director	Michael Emenalo
Goalkeeper coach	Christophe Lollichon
First team fitness coach	Chris Jones
Senior opposition scout	Mick McGiven
Medical director	Paco Biosca
First team doctor	Eva Carneiro
Reserve team manager	Dermot Drummy
Youth team manager	Adrian Viveash
Academy manager	Neil Bath
Match analyst	James Melbourne

Management

^[139]

Chelsea Ltd.

Owner: Roman Abramovich

Chelsea F.C. plc

Chairman: Bruce Buck

Directors: Ron Gourlay, Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum

Executive Board

Chief executive: Ron Gourlay

Finance and Operations Director: Chris Alexander

Club Secretary: David Barnard

Company secretary: Alan Shaw

Directors: Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum

Chelsea Football Club Board:

Bruce Buck

Eugene Tenenbaum

Ron Gourlay

David Barnard

Football operations director: Mike Forde

Technical director: Michael Emenalo

Life President:

Lord Attenborough

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

• First Division/Premier League^{[nb 4]}
  • (4): 1954–55, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10
• Second Division^{[nb 4]}
  • (2): 1983–84, 1988–89

Cups

• FA Cup
  • (7): 1969–70, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12
• Football League Cup
  • (4): 1964–65, 1997–98, 2004–05, 2006–07
• FA Community Shield^{[nb 5]}
  • (4): 1955, 2000, 2005, 2009
• Full Members Cup
  • (2): 1985–86, 1989–90

European

• UEFA Champions League
  • (1): 2011–12
• UEFA Europa League
  • (1): 2012–13
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • (2): 1970–71, 1997–98
• UEFA Super Cup
  • (1): 1998

Notes

1. ↑ Includes Caretaker manager
2. ↑ Won as Interim first team coach
3. ↑ Includes Interim manager
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Upon its formation in 1992, the Premier League became the top tier of English football; the First and Second Divisions then became the second and third tiers, respectively. The First Division is now known as the Football League Championship and the Second Division is now known as Football League One.
5. ↑ The trophy was known as the Charity Shield until 2002, and as the Community Shield ever since.

Footnotes

References

• Batty, Clive (2004). Kings of the King's Road: The Great Chelsea Team of the 60s and 70s. Vision Sports Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-9546428-1-3. 
• Batty, Clive (2005). A Serious Case of the Blues: Chelsea in the 80s. Vision Sports Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-905326-02-5. 
• Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7553-1466-2. 
• Hadgraft, Rob (2004). Chelsea: Champions of England 1954–55. Desert Island Books Limited. ISBN 1-874287-77-5. 
• Harris, Harry (2005). Chelsea's Century. Blake Publishing. ISBN 1-84454-110-X. 
• 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 1-84454-247-5. 
• Matthews, Tony (2005). Who's Who of Chelsea. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84596-010-6. 
• Mears, Brian (2004). Chelsea: A 100-year History. Mainstream Sport. ISBN 1-84018-823-5. 
• Mears, Brian (2002). Chelsea: Football Under the Blue Flag. Mainstream Sport. ISBN 1-84018-658-5. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chelsea F.C..

• Official website
• Official Facebook profile
• Official Twitter profile
• Chelsea F.C. FA Premier League

• Chelsea F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club statistics

v t e Chelsea Football Club Players Managers History Statistics Seasons Home stadium Stamford Bridge Chelsea Pitch Owners Cobham Training Centre Other teams Ladies Reserves & Academy Media Chelsea TV Rivalries Arsenal rivalry Leeds United rivalry West London derby Liverpool rivalry Other Current season In Europe Chelsea Headhunters Notable matches All articles Book:Chelsea F.C. Category:Chelsea F.C. Portal:Association football Commons:Chelsea F.C.

v t e Premier League Seasons Football League 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 Clubs 2013–14 Arsenal Aston Villa Cardiff City Chelsea Crystal Palace Everton Fulham Hull City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Norwich City Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Swansea City Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Former Barnsley Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bradford City Burnley Charlton Athletic Coventry City Derby County Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Middlesbrough Nottingham Forest Oldham Athletic Portsmouth Queens Park Rangers Reading Sheffield United Sheffield Wednesday Swindon Town Watford Wigan Athletic Wimbledon Wolverhampton Wanderers Competition Teams (winners) Players (foreign) (winners) Managers (current) Stadia Founding Broadcasters Referees Statistics and awards Records All-time table Average attendances Hat-tricks Highest scores Golden Boot Golden Glove Manager of the Season Player of the Season Manager of the Month Player of the Month Players with 100+ goals Top scorers by season Goalkeepers with 100+ clean sheets 10 Seasons Awards 20 Seasons Awards Finances Richest clubs: Deloitte list Forbes' list Team owners Transfer records Game 39 Premier League–Football League gulf Associated competitions Asia Trophy FA Community Shield FA Cup Football League Cup UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League Women's League Reserve League Academy League Category Commons

v t e 2013–14 UEFA Champions League Playing in the round of 16 Arsenal Atlético Madrid Barcelona Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund Chelsea Galatasaray Manchester City Manchester United Milan Olympiacos Paris Saint-Germain Real Madrid Schalke 04 Zenit St. Petersburg Eliminated in the group stage UEFA Europa League Ajax Basel Benfica Juventus Napoli Porto Shakhtar Donetsk Viktoria Plzeň Fourth place Anderlecht Austria Wien Celtic Copenhagen CSKA Moscow Marseille Real Sociedad Steaua București Eliminated in the play-off round Champions Dinamo Zagreb Legia Warsaw Ludogorets Razgrad Maribor Shakhter Karagandy Non-champions Fenerbahçe Lyon Metalist Kharkiv Paços de Ferreira PAOK PSV Eindhoven Eliminated in the third qualifying round Champions APOEL Dinamo Tbilisi Elfsborg FH Maccabi Tel Aviv Molde Nõmme Kalju Partizan Sheriff Tiraspol Skënderbeu Korçë Non-champions Grasshopper Nordsjælland Red Bull Salzburg Zulte Waregem Eliminated in the second qualifying round BATE Borisov Birkirkara Cliftonville Daugava Daugavpils EB/Streymur Ekranas Fola Esch Győr HJK Helsinki Neftchi Baku Shirak Sligo Rovers Slovan Bratislava Sutjeska Nikšić The New Saints Vardar Željezničar Eliminated in the first qualifying round Lusitanos Tre Penne Qualifying phase and play-off round Group stage Knockout phase Final

v t e 2012 FIFA Club World Cup Winners Corinthians Runners-up Chelsea Third place Monterrey Fourth place Al-Ahly Eliminated in the quarter-finals Sanfrecce Hiroshima Ulsan Hyundai Eliminated in the play-off round Auckland City

v t e European Cup and UEFA Champions League winners European Cup 1955–56: Real Madrid 1956–57: Real Madrid 1957–58: Real Madrid 1958–59: Real Madrid 1959–60: Real Madrid 1960–61: Benfica 1961–62: Benfica 1962–63: Milan 1963–64: Internazionale 1964–65: Internazionale 1965–66: Real Madrid 1966–67: Celtic 1967–68: Manchester United 1968–69: Milan 1969–70: Feyenoord 1970–71: Ajax 1971–72: Ajax 1972–73: Ajax 1973–74: Bayern Munich 1974–75: Bayern Munich 1975–76: Bayern Munich 1976–77: Liverpool 1977–78: Liverpool 1978–79: Nottingham Forest 1979–80: Nottingham Forest 1980–81: Liverpool 1981–82: Aston Villa 1982–83: Hamburg 1983–84: Liverpool 1984–85: Juventus 1985–86: Steaua București 1986–87: Porto 1987–88: PSV 1988–89: Milan 1989–90: Milan 1990–91: Red Star Belgrade 1991–92: Barcelona UEFA Champions League 1992–93: Marseille 1993–94: Milan 1994–95: Ajax 1995–96: Juventus 1996–97: Borussia Dortmund 1997–98: Real Madrid 1998–99: Manchester United 1999–2000: Real Madrid 2000–01: Bayern Munich 2001–02: Real Madrid 2002–03: Milan 2003–04: Porto 2004–05: Liverpool 2005–06: Barcelona 2006–07: Milan 2007–08: Manchester United 2008–09: Barcelona 2009–10: Internazionale 2010–11: Barcelona 2011–12: Chelsea 2012–13: Bayern Munich Managers Players Teams

v t e UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League winners UEFA Cup 1971–72: Tottenham Hotspur 1972–73: Liverpool 1973–74: Feyenoord 1974–75: Borussia Mönchengladbach 1975–76: Liverpool 1976–77: Juventus 1977–78: PSV 1978–79: Borussia Mönchengladbach 1979–80: Eintracht Frankfurt 1980–81: Ipswich Town 1981–82: IFK Göteborg 1982–83: Anderlecht 1983–84: Tottenham Hotspur 1984–85: Real Madrid 1985–86: Real Madrid 1986–87: IFK Göteborg 1987–88: Bayer Leverkusen 1988–89: Napoli 1989–90: Juventus 1990–91: Internazionale 1991–92: Ajax 1992–93: Juventus 1993–94: Internazionale 1994–95: Parma 1995–96: Bayern Munich 1996–97: Schalke 04 1997–98: Internazionale 1998–99: Parma 1999–2000: Galatasaray 2000–01: Liverpool 2001–02: Feyenoord 2002–03: Porto 2003–04: Valencia 2004–05: CSKA Moscow 2005–06: Sevilla 2006–07: Sevilla 2007–08: Zenit St. Petersburg 2008–09: Shakhtar Donetsk UEFA Europa League 2009–10: Atlético Madrid 2010–11: Porto 2011–12: Atlético Madrid 2012–13: Chelsea

v t e UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winners Winners 1960–61: Fiorentina 1961–62: Atlético Madrid 1962–63: Tottenham Hotspur 1963–64: Sporting CP 1964–65: West Ham United 1965–66: Borussia Dortmund 1966–67: Bayern Munich 1967–68: Milan 1968–69: Slovan Bratislava 1969–70: Manchester City 1970–71: Chelsea 1971–72: Rangers 1972–73: Milan 1973–74: Magdeburg 1974–75: Dynamo Kyiv 1975–76: Anderlecht 1976–77: Hamburg 1977–78: Anderlecht 1978–79: Barcelona 1979–80: Valencia 1980–81: Dinamo Tbilisi 1981–82: Barcelona 1982–83: Aberdeen 1983–84: Juventus 1984–85: Everton 1985–86: Dynamo Kyiv 1986–87: Ajax 1987–88: Mechelen 1988–89: Barcelona 1989–90: Sampdoria 1990–91: Manchester United 1991–92: Werder Bremen 1992–93: Parma 1993–94: Arsenal 1994–95: Real Zaragoza 1995–96: Paris Saint-Germain 1996–97: Barcelona 1997–98: Chelsea 1998–99: Lazio

v t e UEFA Super Cup winners UCL vs. CWC 1973: Ajax 1975: Dynamo Kyiv 1976: Anderlecht 1977: Liverpool 1978: Anderlecht 1979: Nottingham Forest 1980: Valencia 1982: Aston Villa 1983: Aberdeen 1984: Juventus 1986: Steaua București 1987: Porto 1988: Mechelen 1989: Milan 1990: Milan 1991: Manchester United 1992: Barcelona 1993: Parma 1994: Milan 1995: Ajax 1996: Juventus 1997: Barcelona 1998: Chelsea 1999: Lazio UCL vs. UEL 2000: Galatasaray 2001: Liverpool 2002: Real Madrid 2003: Milan 2004: Valencia 2005: Liverpool 2006: Sevilla 2007: Milan 2008: Zenit St. Petersburg 2009: Barcelona 2010: Atlético Madrid 2011: Barcelona 2012: Atlético Madrid 2013: Bayern Munich

v t e Football in London League teams (tiers 1-4) 1 Arsenal Chelsea Crystal Palace Fulham Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United 2 Charlton Athletic Millwall Queens Park Rangers 3 Brentford Leyton Orient 4 AFC Wimbledon Dagenham & Redbridge Non-League teams (tiers 5-8) 5 Barnet Welling United 6 Bromley Sutton United 7 A.F.C. Hornchurch Carshalton Athletic Cray Wanderers Dulwich Hamlet Enfield Town Hampton & Richmond Borough Harrow Borough Hendon Kingstonian Thamesmead Town Wealdstone Wingate & Finchley 8 A.F.C. Hayes Barkingside Corinthian-Casuals Erith & Belvedere North Greenford United Northwood Redbridge Tooting & Mitcham United Uxbridge VCD Athletic Waltham Forest Rivalries London derbies Arsenal–Chelsea Millwall–West Ham North South East West Cup competitions London Senior Cup London Intermediate Cup London Junior Cup London Charity Cup (defunct) London Challenge Cup (defunct) See also The Football Combination London Football Association London XI London League (defunct) West London League (defunct)

v t e Founding members of the ECA Ajax Anderlecht Barcelona Bayern Munich Birkirkara Chelsea Copenhagen Dinamo Zagreb Juventus Lyon Manchester United Milan Olympiacos Porto Rangers Real Madrid