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Chelsea will be looking to put behind them what by their standards was a disappointing season. The FA Cup win over Everton in May glossed over the heartbreak of the last gasp Champions League semi-final loss and inconsistent Premier League form. With Guus Hiddink having left following his successful albeit temporary period in the hot seat, Carlo Ancelotti will be looking to put his stamp on the Stamford Bridge squad. As one of the most successful club managers in the world, the Italian inherits a wealth of talent than he will seek to forge into a team capable of winning not only domestically but perhaps more importantly in Europe.

Petr Cech will have some home-grown competition for his place between the sticks this year with the arrival of Ross Turnbull from Middlesbrough. The defensive line-up will be similar to last season with perhaps the biggest ’signing’ of the summer being the commitment of captain John Terry to the Blues after being linked with a big-money move to Manchester City. With Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole and Alex to name but three, Chelsea have one of the most complete defensive units in the Premiership. However, the loss of their leader could have had an adverse influence on a team still recovering from a season of uncertainty and rumoured infighting.

The addition of Russian Yuri Zhirkov to a midfield already packed with the talent of Frank Lampard, Deco, Michael Essien, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack et al further strengthens Chelsea’s claim once again to be genuine title contenders.

With Ancelotti able to call on a front line that includes Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, newcomer Daniel Sturridge and the returning Andriy Shevchenko, no-one should doubt the Blues’ ability to challenge on several fronts during the coming season.

A Brief History

Chelsea F.C. was established on March 14^th, 1905 in The Rising Sun pub (now more commonly known as The Butcher’s Hook), just across the entrance to Fulham Road. They reached the FA Cup final ten years later but lost to Sheffield United. It wasn’t until the 1954/55 season that they claimed their first major honour - the League Championship.

They went on to win the League Cup for the first time in 1965 and the FA Cup in 1970. They went on to beat Real Madrid to claim their first European trophy, the UEFA Winners’ Cup, a year later. 

During the 1970’s and 80’s Chelsea saw both success and failure with trophies won but relegation suffered also. They almost lost Stamford Bridge to property developers and it wasn’t until the mid-1990’s when Dutch legend Ruud Gullit joined the club as player-manager that Chelsea’s emergence as a force in English football really took off. Gullit signed world class players, including the likes of Gianfranco Zola, and trophies started to fill the Stamford Bridge board room. Gullit also headed a list of high-profile managers over the coming decade and a half. Gianluca Vialli replaced Gullit and also saw success in domestic and European cup competitions. When Vialli was dismissed, another Italian Claudio Ranieri took over but his arrival did not have the same impact as the arrival of new owner, Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich in 2003.

Abramovich ploughed millions into the club but ‘the Tinkerman’ as Ranieri became known was unable to deliver either the Premier League title or Champions League success and despite his popularity with the fans he was sacked. In came on of the most charismatic individuals in the world game, Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, who had just led FC Porto to a UEFA Champions League victory.

Spectacular success followed this appointment and Chelsea secured back-to-back Premiership titles in 2004-5 and 2005-6. He also delivered the FA Cup in 2007 at the first game played at the new Wembley Stadium, beating arch rivals Manchester United. After the success came controversy and Mourinho resigned after a rumoured bust up with Abramovich. Former Israeli national coach and personal friend of Abramovich, Avram Grant, was the surprise choice to replace him. Grant faired better than any of his predecessors in the Champions League and led them to the 2008 final only to lose out to Manchester United. It was Grants last match and he was replaced by former Brazil and Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. Scolari only lasted half a season and his dismissal brought the current Russian coach Guus Hiddink to Stamford Bridge until the end of the season. He guided Chelsea to the Champions league semi-final and Champions League qualification in the Premier League before signing off with an FA Cup victory.

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