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On paper, Chelsea do not have the most illustrious of histories, which the fans of other clubs have been more than delighted to point out on many occasions, but when the time comes to pick out the legends of a football club, Chelsea has many. These are players who give the fans every reason to sing their name over and over again without getting tired of it. Players who have made themselves immortal in the eyes of the Chelsea faithful and those, who even the glory hunters can remember.
These are my top 7 present legends at Chelsea. By present I mean the one’s since 2000.
7. Eidur Gudjohnsen
One of the very few players who experienced the Russian revolution taking place right in front of his eyes. He accumulated 78 goals in his 263 matches that he played for the blues before joining Barcelona in 2006. He was one of the most prominent member of our back to back Premiership winning squad and along with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink he scored 52 goals, with pundits saying that they could read each other’s mind with their movement off the ball. He scored the first goal for Jose Mourinho against Manchester United when the Portuguese had just arrived. On his day, he was one of the most prolific strikers in Europe and wanted almost everywhere but showed his true loyalty by staying at Chelsea.
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6. Claude Makelele
One of the best defensive midfielders of all time, Makelele was one of the first signings of Roman Abramovich. He revolutionized the CDM role under Jose Mourinho and changed its name to the “Makelele role”. The president of his former club Real Madrid, Florentino Perez said that “We will not miss him, his technique is average, he lacks speed and skill, his distribution goes backwards or sideways. New players will arrive to make us forget Makelele.” In the coming five years he went on to win two league titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups while Real Madrid suffered a drought. He joined Paris Saint Germain on free transfer and became their captain as he said he could not move away from Chelsea when he was still under contract. Loved very much by the fans who miss chanting “MAKA ! MAKA! MAKA!”
5. Marcel Desailly
According to John Terry, former blues captain Marcel Desailly is the reason why John today is so successful. He and Frank Leboeuf were solid at the back and formed a formidable partnership as they won the FA Cup in 2000. He scored 7 goals in 222 appearances for the club and was called up 74 times to play for his country. Marcel was a hero to the Chelsea fans back in the day and they still chant his name.
4. Didier Drogba
The man who single handedly brought Barcelona down on their knees. The man who made us all proud to be a Chelsea fan on the 19th of May. He destroyed teams till they died a slow death. Legend has it he still haunts Arsene Wenger and even though he left for China, he will always be remembered. He has scored 100 goals in 226 appearances and Gianfranco Zola sums up his Chelsea career. “In all their very important matches he has put a stamp on it.” We miss you King Drogba, come back home one day !
3. Frank Lampard
“Super Frank “, as he is called by the Chelsea faithful, is arguably one of the best central midfielders of his generation. From leading the Chelsea midfield for years, he captained the club to its first Champions League trophy and loved the fans as much as they loved him. He stood by John Terry when almost the entire world was against him and has been a fine example for a budding footballer. One wonders how long it will take for him to hang up his boots and the Chelsea fans are hoping it doesn’t come too soon !
2. John Terry
Captain, Leader, Legend for a reason ! John Terry is Chelsea Football Club’s most succesful captain and the best center back England have ever produced. He made his debut for Chelsea at the age of 17 and became our captain at the tender age of 21 by showing high levels of maturity. According to youth players he is a perfect role model [on the pitch] for them as he thinks and behaves just like them and treats all the young players with the same amount of respect he treats the senior players with. He might be the most hated man in England but the most respected and loved in Fulham ! ” There is only one England captain” the Chelsea faithful sing and that happens to turn out the bitter truth FA are not ready to accept. The man deserves a statue outside the Bridge . The only person to date to play against the best team in the world with two broken ribs.
1. Gianfranco Zola
He has been voted as the greatest Chelsea player ever by the fans and it’s not hard to figure out why. Back in his days he was regarded as one of the best dribblers on his day, with defenders struggling to contain him. According to Claudio Ranieri “Gianfranco tries everything because he is a wizard and the wizard must try.” He certainly was the Italian magician and to this day he remains the most loved player by the fans of the Stamford Bridge. He was so good and yet so humble which increased his respect in the eyes of his opposition after every game. He ended his Chelsea career on a high after confusing 4 Liverpool players and easily going past them in his last game. If there was one player I would want back from the past, then it would definitely be Gianfranco Zola !
Notable mentions: Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack, Micahel Essien, Carlos Cudicini, Andriy Shevchenko, Salomon Kalou and more if you would like to add them in the comments !Once again it’s only present legends, 2000 and onwards !
