5 of the best homegrown players in Chelsea’s history

Chelsea v Sunderland - Premier League
John Terry: A homegrown living legend at Chelsea.

#4 Peter Bonetti

Peter Bonetti
Peter Bonetti marshals his defence

Relegation to the second division in 1962 provided just the impetus Chelsea required to rebuild their first team with products from the youth academy, including those who helped the club to triumphs in the FA Youth Cup in 1960 and 1961.

Manager Tommy Docherty oversaw a complete overhaul of the squad and put in place the seeds for a series of strong league finishes and three cup-competition triumphs between then and the early 1970s.

Peter Bonetti was an ever-present between the sticks throughout that period. He was part of the FA-Youth-Cup winning squad of 1960 and swiftly became the first choice for the first team.

While he is somewhat unfortunately remembered by many as the flailing stand-in for Gordon Banks in England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to West Germany in 1970, at club level he is recalled as an agile goalkeeper who often made excellent saves.

With Chelsea, Bonetti won the League Cup in 1965, the FA Cup in 1970 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971, while his record of 729 first-team appearances is second only to that of Ron Harris.

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Edited by Amit Mishra