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When you start following a football club, you are in it for life. Manchester United have lifted the Premier League trophy a record 13 times since its inception in 1992. Chelsea are second on the list of most Premier League titles with 5 in their kitty and are followed by Arsenal and Manchester City -- who have 3 each.
Chelsea's most recent trophy came in the 2016-17 season under Antonio Conte. While most of the players who played during this season are still there with the club, the players of the 2004-05 season have either retired or are plying their trade elsewhere. The Blues first won their first title in the 2004-05 season. As a fan, anyone would want to know where the title-winning XI of that season are now -- a season which was indeed a fairytale run for the fans of The Blues and is embedded deep into their memories.
Despite being one of the 6 teams to never have been relegated in the competition, Chelsea had failed to get their hands on any silverware for 12 seasons, until they finally broke the deadlock in the 2004-05 or the 13th edition of the Premier League.
Jose Mourinho, for whom it was his first season as Chelsea manager, proved to be the lucky charm for them as the Portuguese pulled all the strings together to perfection, enabling them to win their first ever Premier League title. Chelsea went on to finish the season with 29 wins, 8 draws, and a solitary loss out of their 38 matches - amassing 95 points in the process (a record then). Such was their domination in the league that they finished 12 points clear of 2nd placed Arsenal.
Let's have a look at the title-winning XI of that season and where they are now:
#1 Petr Cech
Petr Cech had made his competitive debut for Chelsea the 2004/05 season in their very first game of the season against Manchester United.
As a result of his terrific performances, Cech was named in the PFA Team of the year. Chelsea's custodian also won the Premier League Golden Glove for keeping 24 clean sheets --10 of which were consecutive. It was indeed an incredible feat and Cech is widely regarded as one of Chelsea's best guardians between the sticks till date. Cech proved to be worth every penny of the £7.1 million the club had spent to acquire him from French club Rennes back then.
With 124 appearances, the 36-year-old is the most capped player for his national team, Czech Republic. He has the club record of keeping the most clean sheets - 220 in number. The Czech international also won a number of titles during his illustrious 11 years at Chelsea - one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Europa League, three League Cups, four FA Cups, and four Premier League titles. The 6ft 5 in goalkeeper made 35 appearances for The Blues in their title-winning 2004-05 season.
The veteran goalkeeper would move to Arsenal in the 2015-16 season after Thibaut Courtois became the first choice keeper in Chelsea and has been with The Gunners since then.
#2 Paulo Ferreira
Portuguese international Ferreira was also another player who made his debut in the Premier League with the West London side during the 2004-05 season. Mourinho ensured he got Paulo Ferreira on board at Chelsea from Porto and the decision paid off really well. The 39-year-old would go on to become a club legend after spending 9 seasons and winning 3 Premier League trophies with them. The full-back called it quits after the 2012-13 season. He was always the backbone of the Chelsea team back then and ended with 141 Premier League appearances (214 overall across all competitions) for the West London side.
Ferreira also won the FA Cup on 4 occasions, Football League Cup twice, and UEFA Champions league once with Jose Mourinho and his troops. Post-retirement, he worked with The Blues alongside Eddie Newton as an assistant loan player technical coach and ambassador for some time. He is currently completing his coaching badges and also features in friendly matches featuring the World's most iconic footballers.
#3 William Gallas
William Gallas played an important role in the centre-back position for Chelsea in the 2004-05 season. The defender played in 28 matches for the Men in Blue during the season and also scored two goals. However, the Frenchman had to adapt to playing in the left-back position after Wayne Bridge suffered a serious injury that season. The French player began his career playing for Caen and Marseille before being roped in by Chelsea in 2001. He stayed with them till 2006.
In his long tenure, Gallas scored 12 goals in 159 appearances for Chelsea and also won two Premier League titles with them along with one Football League Cup, and one FA Community Shield. He was also an important cog in the French national team during his time and part of the squad when France finished runners-up in the 2016 FIFA World Cup.
Post his time with the West Londoners, Gallas signed a 4-year-deal with Arsenal after which he spent three seasons with Tottenham Hotspur. The 41-year-old also donned the jersey of A-League side Perth Glory for a solitary season before calling it a day in 2014.
Currently, Gallas is a pundit for a French TV company and can be seen sharing his opinions and insights on the Premier League.
#4 John Terry
John George Terry and Gallas formed a formidable partnership and shared a great understanding among each other, becoming the backbone for Chelsea. Terry won the PFA Players' Player of the year award for leading the team to their first title. He was also a part of the PFA Team of the year. Terry is the most capped Premier League player for The Blues and has featured in 492 games. The 37-year-old also scored an incredible 41 goals for them, a commendable feat for a defender.
Chelsea was his boyhood club and he was one their most loyal players and naturally became a fan-favourite. Terry was associated with the club for a phenomenal 22 years and made the captain of the team for the 2003-04 season.
The Englishman also has 78 appearances for the national team.
Terry spent a solitary season (2017-18) with Aston Villa after bidding farewell to Chelsea and has since taken up the role of an assistant coach of the aforementioned club.
5 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 3 Football League Cups, 2 FA Community Shields, 1 UEFA Champions League -- Terry won almost everything Chelsea won in the 21st century.
#5 Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Carvalho was another player who Jose got to Chelsea from his former club Porto for the 2004-05 season. Chelsea had to shell out £19.85 million to acquire the services of the central defender back then. His understanding with skipper Terry was extremely crucial for the success of the club and helped them win back to back Premier League titles.
In the 2004-05 season, the Portuguese made 25 appearances for The Blues (3 of them were as a substitute). Carvalho also had a knack of scoring important goals just as Terry and found the back of the net 11 times in the 135 games he played for Chelsea. He won 3 Premier League titles and 2 Football League Cups with The Blues.
The 40-year-old was with Chelsea for 6 seasons and left in 2010 to join Real Madrid for £6.7 million. The centre-back is currently with Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG F.C.
#6 Claude Makelele
The defensive midfield role was taken up by Claude Makelele. He was the pivot for Chelsea and the most important link between the defense and attack. Before joining Chelsea in 2003, the French player plied his trade with Marseille, Celta Vigo, and Real Madrid. However, Makelele spent a major chunk of his career, 5 seasons to be precise, with Chelsea. He played in the defensive midfield position and was considered one of the best in his job.
His presence on the pitch gave the impetus to players like Frank Lampard, Arjen Robben, Didier Drogba, and Eidur Gudjohnsen to run at oppositions' defenses to wreak havoc. Makelele also has 71 appearances for France and was a part of the FIFA World Cup team which finished runners-up in 2006 just as his club compatriot William Gallas.
The Frenchman was all about aggressive tackling, hard-work, breaking down the oppositions' plays, acceleration, discipline, and ball-winning ability. His short and effective passing helped to control the tempo of the game in the midfield.
Makelele joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2008 before hanging up his boots in 2011. He is currently the head coach of Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen, a Belgian football club.
#7 Tiago Mendes
Tiago Cardoso Mendes has vast experience as a player, playing for the top division clubs in Portugal (Braga and Benfica), England (Chelsea), France (Lyon), Italy (Juventus), and Spain (Atlético Madrid). The Portuguese international was with Chelsea only for the 2004-05 season and made 34 premier league appearances (13 as a sub) for them during this tenure, scoring 4 goals in the process.
The midfielder was a mainstay for Mourinho in the middle of the park. The arrival of Michael Essien the following season meant that Mendes would get limited playing time so he thought a move to Lyon would pay off better. Once he departed, Jose Mourinho admitted in an interview that it was "a big mistake" to let him go.
In 66 appearances for Portugal, the defensive midfielder scored 3 goals. The majority of his career was spent at Atlético Madrid, a club at which he retired in 2017. The 37-year-old currently assists Diego Simeone at the Spanish club Atletico Madrid.
#8 Frank Lampard
Lampard, who is also Chelsea's all-time leading goalscorer, was the pivot in the midfield. He was also their highest goal-scorer with 13 in the league during the 2004-05 title-winning season. Frank Lampard would also find his name in the PFA Team of the year, the only midfielder from Chelsea that year. He was also named the Premier League Player of the Season. The Englishman was also the only player to play the full 90 mins in all of the 38 matches Chelsea played during the season.
Frank Lampard has a total of 429 appearances for the West Londoners and is their all-time top goalscorer with 147 goals. The 40-year-old spent 14 seasons with the club and played solitary seasons with Manchester City (2014-15), and Major League Soccer side New York City FC (2015-16) after his time at Chelsea.
The Romford-born player was also a vital part of the English national team and has 29 goals in 106 appearances in national colours.
The Premier League legends' career was full of titles. Currently, Lampard is a TV pundit. He was inducted to the National Hall of Fame along with Steven Gerrard in September 2017. The 40-year-old is currently the Manager of Derby County Football Club, a second-tier English club which plays in the Championship.
#9 Damien Duff
The Irish winger was a menace for defenders. Damien Duff played 30 matches (2 as a sub) for Chelsea in the 2004-05 season and became the go-to winger for Mourinho after Robben got injured. His long and illustrious 19-year playing career included 54 goals in 392 appearances in the Premier League. The 39-year-old won a League Cup with Blackburn Rovers, one League Cup and two Premier League trophies with Chelsea.
After leaving The Blues in 2006, he was with Newcastle United from 2006–2009, with Fulham from 2009–2014. Finally, Damien decided to hang his boots on 21 December 2015 when he was playing for his native Ireland's top division club Shamrock Rovers.
He is also a legend for the national team as he has 8 goals in over 100 appearances for the Republic of Ireland. Upon retiring, Duff was a match analyst on Irish television. He became the first team coach of Shamrock Rovers to help strikers of the club improve their performance on the pitch.
2 Premier League titles, one Football League Cup, and one FA Community shield - these are the honours Duff managed to achieve with Chelsea.
#10 Eidur Gudjohnsen
Iceland-born Eidur Gudjohnsen was a key figure and helped Chelsea in getting breakthroughs at regular intervals. He appeared in 37 matches (7 as a substitute) and was the second highest goal-scorer for Chelsea as he netted 12 goals during the 2014-15 season. The career of the prolific striker lasted 22 years and he played all around the globe.
Bolton Wanderers, Barcelona, MonacoTottenham Hotspur, and Fulham are some of the other prominent clubs Eidur has played for. However, he is most remembered for his time in Chelsea as it was also the most successful, producing 78 goals for him in 263 appearances overall.
The 40-year-old is also the top scorer for his nation Iceland with 26 goals in 88 appearances. The last team the 6 ft 1 in forward played for is the Norwegian club Molde post which he announced his retirement in September 2017. The striker enjoyed two Premier League titles with Chelsea, one Football League Cup, and two Community Shields. He also won multiple titles with Barcelona.
The retired footballer has three sons, all of whom play football at different levels. Eidur Gudjohnsen is fond of blogging currently and also keeps commentating for various channels besides featuring in fun promotional videos such as the one below.
#11 Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba, another player making his debut for Chelsea in the 2004-05 season, would go on to become a club legend. The Ivorian had just come into the side from Marseille and settled in really well and fast. When Chelsea signed him for £24 million, he became the most expensive Ivorian player ever. The 40-year-old was such a prolific striker that he was named in the FIFA World XI in the year 2007.
The 6ft 2 in forward is often referred to as the "ultimate big game player" for his knack of scoring goals in the big matches. In his 254 appearances for The Blues, Drogba found the back of the net on 104 occasions and was one of their most lethal strikers ever. He left Chelsea in 2013 and played for Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua and later Turkish club Galatasaray before returning to Chelsea for the 2014-15 season.
Post this solitary season, Drogba played for one season with Canadian club Montreal Impact and is currently the player-owner of 2nd tier American soccer club Phoenix Rising. Accurate strikes, speed, ability in the air, and the ability to hold the ball are the assets Drogba is known for.
4 FA Cups, 4 Premier League titles, 3 League Cups, and 1 UEFA Champions league -- this is what the Ivorian achieved with The Blues. He is also famous for scoring 10 goals in 10 finals and lifting 10 trophies at club level.
Drogba is the former captain and all-time top goalscorer for Ivory Coast with 65 goals in 104 appearances.
Glen Johnson, Mateja Kežman, Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, Wayne Bridge, Alexey Smertin, Geremi, and Jiri Jarosik were the other important players present in the title-winning Chelsea squad of 2004-05.
