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| Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli winning the Cup Winners' Cup |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal,
Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Everton,
Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest,
Leeds United, Leicester City.
Chelsea All-Time Team for English Players
Chelsea All-Time Team for British Isles (excluding England)
This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for Chelsea's froeign plaers. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.
Chelsea had their first major success in 1955, when they won the league championship. They then won various cup competitions between 1965 and 1996. The club's greatest period of success has come during the last two decades; winning 17 major trophies, and 21 in total, since 1997. Chelsea have won five national league titles, seven FA Cups, five League Cups and four FA Community Shields, one UEFA Champions League, two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, one UEFA Europa League and one UEFA Super Cup. Chelsea are the only London club to win the UEFA Champions League, and one of four clubs, and the only British club, to have won all three main UEFA club competitions.
Nils Middelboe (Denmark) who was born in Sweden was the first foreign player for Chelsea. From 1908 to 1922, he played for Chelsea. It was the signing of Ruud Gullit that changed the history of the club. Under manager Gianluca Vialli, Chelsea
became the first English side fielded the entire squad of foreigners.
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| Juan Mata and Ed Hazard |
GK: Petr Cech (the Czech Republic)
Cech is best remembered for being Chelsea's undisputred starting keeper from 2004 to 2014. He won almost everything in club football. He is considered among the greatest of his era. He also played for Sparta Prague, Rennes and Arsenal. For Czech Republic, he is the most capped player in the history of the Czech team, with 124 caps, and represented the country at the 2006 World Cup, as well as the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 European Championships.
GK: Ed de Goey (Netherlands)
De Goey played for both Sparta Rotterdam and Feyenoord. He later spent 6 seasons with Chelsea during the pre-Roman Abramovich days, winning the Cup Winners' cup in 1998. He had 31 caps for the Dutch national team. He went to the 1994 World Cup Finals in the 1994, starting all of Oranje's games. He was a member of the World Cup squad in 1998 and European Championship of 1996 and 2000.
GK: Carlo Cudicini (Italy)
Cudicini started in Italy, but struggled to start any game. In 1999, he joined Chelsea where he was voted Chelsea's Player of the Year for the 2001–02 season and remained first choice until Petr Čech was signed in 2004. Cudicini joined local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in 2009. In 2013, Cudicini signed for Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, where he played the final season of his career.
RB: Branislav Ivanović (Serbia)
Ivanović began his career with FK Srem. He later played with OFK Beograd and Lokomotiv Moscow. In January 2008, he joined Chelsea. He won nine major honours with Chelsea, including the Champions League and the Europa League. He is only five foreign players to appear in over 300 matches for the club. He has the most appearances for the Serbian national team in its history, having played 105 matches. He went to 2010 and 2018 World Cup.
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| Branislav Ivanović |
Dan Petrescu is famous for having played for Steaua Bucharest in the 1989 European Cup Final, and winning the Cup Winners' Cup and Super Cup with Chelsea. He also received 95 caps for Romania. He went to the World Cup team in 1994 and 1998, and European Championship in 1996 and 2000. At the 1998 World Cup Finals, Petrescu raced past his Chelsea teammate Graeme Le Saux and scored the winning goal against England, which put them in the Group standing.
SW: Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)
Gullit was the iconic captain of Netherlands1988. In 1987, he moved from PSV Eindhoven to A.C. Milan for a world record transfer fee. He was an important player for AC Milan during the 1980's where they won two straight European Cups. He was the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. He spent one season with Sampdoria winning the Italian Cup in 1994.
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| Ruud Gullit |
Frank Leboeuf was a part of the great French team that won the World Cup in 1998 and then European Championship in 2000. He was mainly a backup behind Laurent Blanc, but played at the WC Final against Brazil. For his club career, his best stint was perhaps with Chelsea. With Chelsea, he won two FA Cups, one League Cup and one Cup Winners' Cup.
CB: David Luiz (Brazil)
David Luiz started his career with Vitoria and then, joined Benfica. In 2011, he joined Chelsea, where he became a star player. Later, he played two seasons with PSG before rejoining Chelsea in 2016. With Chelsea, he won the Champions League during the 2011–12 season. From 2010, he played more than 50 times for Brazil. He played in the 2014 World Cup Finals, where he captained the Seleção in their 7–1 defeat to Germany.
CB: Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal)
Ricardo Carvalho was the hero of Porto's Champions' League winning team in 2004. He then played 6 seasons with Chelsea. He also played for Real Madrid. Jose Mourinho was his manager at the three clubs. He also played for Monaco and Shanghai SIPG. He was capped 76 times. He helped Portugal to reach the Final of Euro 2004 at home and the semifinal of the World Cup Finals in 2006. He was a part of Portugal's Euro 2016 winning team.
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| Ricardo Carvalho |
Marcel Desailly was considered to be one of the greatest defensive players during the 1990's. He played 116 times for France, winning the WC in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000. He was the first player to win the European Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs, when he won it with Marseille in 1993 and AC Milan the following year.
LB/RB: Cesar Azpilicueta (Spain)
A youth product of Osasuna, he spent three seasons in La Liga before switching to Marseille, winning four major honours with the French club. In the summer of 2012, he moved to Chelsea, winning the Europa League in his first season and a domestic double two years later. From 2013, he played over 25 times. he went to 2014 and 2018 World Cup Finals.
DM: N'Golo Kanté (France)
Kante played in France before. he joined Leicester City in 2015 winning the Premier League in his only season there. The following year, he joined Chelsea, winning the league again in his first season. He also won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year and became the first outfield player to win back-to-back English league titles with different clubs since Eric Cantona in 1990's. He was a key player as France won the 2018 World Cup Finals.
DM: Claude Makelele (France)
Claude Makelele played for Nantes, Marseille and Celta Vigo before making a big move to Real Madrid in 2000. Over there, he quickly established as one of the best defensive midfielder in the world. He won every single club title available. In 2003, he moved to Roman Abramovich's Chelsea. he earned 71 caps for France. He helped France to reach the Final of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
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| Claude Makelele |
Michael Essien was one of the best central midfielders in the world during his prime. He first became a star while playing for Lyon. Then, he moved to Chelsea. Over there, he won a Champions' league, two Premier League titles and four FA Cups. He also played with Real Madrid, AC Milan and Panathinaikos. Essien earned 58 caps in total. He had represented his nation at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Essien has also represented Ghana at the 2006 and 2014 World Cups.
CM: Roberto Di Matteo (Italy)
Born in Switzerland of Italian parents, Roberto Di Matteo started with Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau before joining Lazio in 1993 and Chelsea in 1996. Di Matteo's goal in the 1997 was the fastest ever scored in the FA Cup final. He also won the Cup Winners' Cup. He was capped 34 times for Italy, scoring two goals, and played in Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup.
AM/CM: Michael Ballack (Germany)
Born in East Germany, Michael Ballack was the best German player of his generation. first made his name with Bayer Leverkusen, helping them to the Final of the Champions' League in 2002. On the same summer, he helped Germany reaching the Final of Japan/Korea 2002. He moved to Bayern Munich after the WC Finals. he also played for Chelsea before his retirement.
CM/AM: Juan Mata (Spain)
Juan Mata was a youth academy player for Real Madrid, but he started with Valencia in 2007. From 2011 to 2014, he played for Chelsea, where he was a major star for the team. After a fallout with Jose Mourinho, he moved to Manchester United. Ironically, they would reunite again at Old Trafford. For Spain, he was a part of the team that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship two years later.
AM: Gianfranco Zola (Italy)
Gianfranco Zola played with Diego Maradona at Napoli as a young player. He played for Parma between 1993 and 1996, winning the 1995 UEFA Cup with Tomas Brolin, Fernando Couto, Faustino Asprilla and Stefano Fiore. He moved to Chelsea in 1996 and won the FWA Footballer of the Year. His transfer to Chelsea started a wave of foreign players heading over to England. For Italy, he only played 35 times for Italy due to overcrowding of attack midfielders during his prime.
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| Gianfranco Zola |
At the time of writing, Eden Hazard has already earned 100 caps and led Belgium to the semi-final of the World Cup in 2018. He played for Lille in France for 8 years. He signed with Chelsea in June 2012, where he won two Europa League in 2012 and 2019. He won both FWA and PFA Player of the Year for the 2014-2015 season in England. In 2019, he joined Real Madrid.
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| Eden Hazard |
Willian started his career at Corinthians, before joining Shakhtar in August 2007. He won the UEFA Cup in 2009. In 2013, he briefly signed for Anzhi Makhachkala before joining Chelsea for £30 million, winning the Premier League and League Cup in his second season in England. He made his debut for Brazil in 2011 and represented the country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2015 Copa América and the Copa América Centenario.
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| Willian |
Arjen Robben was an important player for Bayern Munich's dominance in Europe as they reached three Champions' League Finals in 4 years, winning the one in 2013. He also played with Real Madrid, Chelsea and PSV Eindhoven at the club level. For Netherlands, he had 96 caps between 2003 and 2017. He helped Netherlands to reach the Final of the 2010 World Cup Finals and then, four years later the semi-final of the World Cup in Brazil.
FW: Gianluca Vialli (Italy)
He first made his name with Sampdoria, helping them to win the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. In 1992, he made a world record breaking transfer to Juventus. In 1996, he helped Juventus to win their first ever Champions' League. He went to Euro 1988, where he was named in the team of tournament. However, at Italia 1990, he lost his starting spot. After the WC Finals, he forced him out of the national team.
ST: Eidur Gudjohnsen (Iceland)
Eidur Gudjohnsen is probably the best known footballer from Iceland. He made his national debut as a 17 years old when he came in as a substitute for his father against Estonia in 1996. The pair is the only father and son to have played in the same international match. He was probably known for his career with Chelsea and Barcelona. He won a Champions League title with Barcelona. He played 88 times for Iceland. He played for Iceland at Euro 2016 as a veteran player.
ST: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Netherlands)
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was late bloomer where he played with smaller clubs until he moved to Portugal in 1995. His best stint was probably in England with Leeds United and Chelsea. He was the Premier League Golden Boot winner in both 1998-1999. 2000-2001. He only played 23 times because of Netherlands loaded with forwards during the peak of his career.
ST: Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Didier Drogba was voted African Footballer of the Year twice; 2006 and 2009. He is probably Ivory Coast's greatest ever player. The best part of his career was spent with Chelsea. He won the Champions' League for 20011-12. He also finished the top scorer in the Premiership twice. He also played in France, MLS and China. For his country, he led Ivory Coast to the World Cup Finals in 2006, 2010 and 2014. He was also their all-time leading scorer.
Honorable Mention |
| Didier Drogba |
Nils Middelboe (Denmark), Florent Malouda (France), Tore Andre Flo (Norway), Nicolas Anelka (France), Diego Costa (Brazil/Spain), Fernando Torres (Spain), Albert Ferrer (Spain), Paulo Ferreira (Portugal), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Gustavo Poyet (Uruguay), William Gallas (France), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Nemanja Matić (Serbia), Ramires (Brazil), Petar Borota (Yugoslavia), Ken Monkou (Netherlands), Frank Sinclair (Jamaica), Celestine Babayaro (Nigeria), John Obi Mikel (Nigeria), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Pedro (Spain), Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast).
Squad Explanation
-- Petr Cech, Ed de Goey, Gianfranco Zola, Didier Drogba, Claude Makelele, Ricardo Carvalho and Marcel Desailly made my All-Time Team for Chelsea.
-- I took Carlo Cudicini (Italy) over Thibaut Courtois (Belgium) who is a much more famous player. Cudicini has a longer career with Chelsea.
-- The signing of Ruud Gullit in 1995 changed the history of Chelsea. He opened the door for foreign players at the club. He was best known for playing as a libero for Chelsea, a position where he actually started in his career.
-- Vialli was the hero of the FA Cup in 1997. It was Chelsea's first trophy over 25 years. It was a big moment in the history of the club.
-- Nils Middelboe (Denmark) who was born in Sweden was the first foreign player for Chelsea. From 1908 to 1922, he played for Chelsea.
-- Petar Borota was an early foreign player for Chelsea. He played as a goalkeeper in the 1980's.
-- Derek Smethurst was the first South African to win a European championship when Chelsea won the 1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup. However, his time with the club was short.
-- Frank Sinclair was actually from England. He was not a foreign player, but he represented Jamaica, which made him cap-tied to Jamaica. He made honorable mention here.
-- On the other hand, Ken Armstrong was capped by England before he played for New Zealand. I used the first cap-tied rule for dual national player in this type of blog tea,. He was considered "English".
-- I selected David Luiz over William Gallas for the last spot.
-- Paulo Ferreira and Albert Ferrer was left off because of Dan Petrescu and Branislav Ivanović.
-- The leftback option is more difficult since Ashley Cole and Graeme Le Saux held the position during the influx of foreigners into the English league. Celestine Babayaro is the only regular foreign leftback. Jose Mourinho used rightback Cesar Azpilicueta on the left side and he held onto his own. He kept Felipe Luis out of the lineup. Marcos Alonso also did not hold the position. I took the rightback Azpilicueta as my only leftback because he is becoming a club legend. It might be a mistake not to take Babayaro.
-- The team is overloaded with midfielders.
-- N'Golo Kante won the FWA and PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2016–17. Eden Hazard also won both award. Zola won the FWA award only.
-- I have too many strikers. So I dropped Gustavo Poyet and Tore Andre Flo. They were last two players dropped. Their stats with Chelsea were very similar. Instead, I went for a pair of wide players, Willian and Arjen Robben.
-- Arjen Robben was injury prone during his era with Chelsea. However, he was among Chelsea's best players when they won the back-to-back Premiership. It was Chelsea's first ever league title since the 1950's. The team probably needs a left wing in Florent Malouda (France), but Robben could also play on the left.
-- Didier Deschamps, George Weah and Andriy Shevchenko came at the end of their careers.
Formation
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