Chelsea FC.
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. They were founded in 1905 and play at Stamford Bridge. [6] The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. They won their first major honor, the league title, in 1955. The club won the FA Cup for the first time in 1970, their first European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971 and become the third English club to win the Club World Cup in 2022.
Chelsea were one of five clubs to have won all three European club competitions before 1999, and the only club to have won all three of Europe’s top three club competitions twice. They are also the only London club to have won the UEFA Champions League and Club World Cup. [7] Domestically, the club has won 6 league titles, 8 FA Cup titles, 5 League Cup titles and 4 FA Community Shield titles. Internationally, since the establishment of the team, they have won 2 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup, and 1 Club World Cup. It is the fourth most successful club in English football in terms of total trophies won.
The club has rivalries with neighboring teams Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur and has a historic rivalry with Leeds United. In terms of club value, Chelsea is the seventh most valuable football club in the world (as of 2021), worth £2.39 billion ($3.2 billion), and the eighth most valuable football club in the world with revenues of over €493.1 million (Status May 2022). [8][9]
story
Establishment and early years
The first Chelsea team in September 1905
Main article: History of Chelsea Football Club (1905–1952)
In 1904, Gus Mears purchased Fulham’s Stamford Bridge Athletics Stadium with the intention of converting it into a football stadium. An offer to lease it to nearby Fulham Football Club was rejected, so Mills opted to establish his own club to use the stadium. The name of the neighboring Chelsea area was chosen for the new club as there was already a team named Fulham in the area. Names such as Kensington FC, Stamford Bridge FC and London FC were also considered. [10] Chelsea Football Club was formed on 10 March 1905 in the Rising Sun (now Butcher Hooker’s), facing the main entrance to the stadium on Fulham Road, and was promoted to the Football League shortly thereafter.
Chelsea were promoted to the First Division in his second season, alternating between the First Division and the Second Division in the early years. They reached the FA Cup final in 1915, losing to Sheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished third in the First Division in 1920, the club’s best league at the time. Chelsea are known for signing star players[13] and attracting huge crowds. The club had the highest average attendance in English football in 10 different seasons, including 1907–08,[15] 1909–10,[16] 1911–12,[17] 1912–13,[18] 1913–14[19] and 1919–20.[20][21] They reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1920 and 1932 and remained in the First Division throughout the 1930s, but in the interwar years the club failed to can succeed.
Modernization and first champions
Main article: History of Chelsea Football Club (1952–1983)
Chart showing the progression of Chelsea’s league results from 1906 to the present
Former Arsenal and England center Ted Drake was appointed manager in 1952 and modernized the club. He removed the club’s Chelsea pensioner badge, revamped the youth squad and training regime, rebuilt the squad with clever signings from the lower leagues and amateur leagues, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy – League champions in the 1954/55 season. The following season, UEFA created the UEFA Champions Clubs Cup, but Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw before the competition, following opposition from the Football Federation. Unable to build on this success, Chelsea spent the remainder of the 1950s in midfield. Drake was fired in 1961 and replaced by player-manager Tommy Doherty.
With Doherty building a new team around a group of talented young players who had emerged from the club’s youth years, Chelsea had a few near-misses in their struggle for glory in the 1960s. In the closing stages of the 1964/65 season, they won the League Cup on their way to a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup, but fell short in the other two seasons. [24] In three seasons, the team was defeated in three important semi-finals and won the runner-up in the FA Cup. Under Docherty’s successor, Dave Sexton, Chelsea won the 1970 FA Cup, beating Leeds United 2-1 in a final replay. The following year, Chelsea won their first European honor, the Cup Winners’ Cup, this time again in a replay against Real Madrid in Athens.
Recovery and Financial Crisis
Main article: History of Chelsea Football Club (1983–2003)
The late 1970s and 1980s were turbulent times for Chelsea. Stamford Bridge’s ambitious rebuild threatened the club’s financial stability,[25] star players were sold and the team was relegated. Further problems were caused by the notorious hooliganism among the fans which would haunt the club throughout the decade. [26] In 1982, at the nadir of their fortunes, Chelsea were bought by Ken Bates for a nominal £1 and Mills’ great-nephew Brian Mills for £1. Listed on the AIM stock exchange in March 1996, although ownership of Stamford Bridge has been sold to a developer, meaning the club is in danger of losing their home. The team improved slightly on the pitch and were on the brink of relegation to the third tier for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal had no trouble putting together an impressive new squad. Chelsea won the Second Division in 1983/84 and established themselves in the top flight with two top-six finishes before being relegated again in 1988. The club rebounded immediately after winning the Second Division title in 1988-89.
In 1992, after a protracted legal battle, Betts struck a deal with the developer’s bank, which had been bankrupted by the market crash, giving the club back ownership of the stadium. In the mid-1990s, Chelsea fan and businessman Matthew Harding became a director and lent the club £26m to build a new North Stand and invest in new players. Despite reaching the 1994 FA Cup final, Chelsea’s performance in the new Premier League was unconvincing. The appointment of Ruud Gullit as player-coach in 1996 marked a rising period in the team’s history. He brought in several top international players and led the club to their first major honor since 1971 – the FA Cup. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli and under his tenure Chelsea won the 1998 League Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup as well as the 2000 FA Cup. They also faced a strong title challenge in 1998/99, four points behind champions Manchester United, and made their Champions League debut. Vialli was sacked, as was Claudio Ranieri, who led Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup final and 2002/03 Champions
Betts unexpectedly sold Chelsea FC for £60m in June 2003 as the club faced apparent financial difficulties. In doing so, he reportedly made a £17m personal profit from the club he bought for £1 in 1982 (his stake was diluted to just under 30% over the years). The club’s new owner, Russian oligarch and billionaire Roman Abramovich, has also assumed the club’s £80m debt and promptly paid some of it down. Sergei Pugachev has claimed Chelsea were bought on Putin’s orders, a claim Abramovich has denied. [34] Betts mentions that Abramovich was in talks to buy Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, before finalizing a deal for Chelsea within a day. [35] Chelsea players celebrate their first UEFA Champions League title (2012) against Bayern Munich.
Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri failed to deliver any trophies[36] and was replaced by Jose Mourinho[37]. Under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team since World War II to win back-to-back league titles (2004-05 and 2005-06),[38] in addition to winning once FA Cup winner (2007) and two League Cup winners (2005 and 2007). After a poor start to the 2007-08 season, Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant[39] who led the The club reached the Champions League final for the first time, but lost to Manchester United on penalties. The club was unprofitable during Abramovich’s first nine years in charge, posting a record £140m loss in June 2005.
Chelsea won the FA Cup again in 2009 under caretaker manager Guus Hiddink. [42] In the 2009/10 season, his successor Carlo Ancelotti led the team to win the Premier League and FA Cup double crown for the first time, and also became the first single season since 1963 to score 100 goals. The English giants who scored in the league. [43] In 2012, Roberto Di Matteo defeated Bayern Munich 4-3 in a penalty shootout, leading Chelsea to their seventh FA Cup title and first UEFA Champions League title, becoming the first London club lifting the trophy. [45] The following year, the club won the UEFA Cup, becoming the first club to simultaneously win two major European titles and one of five clubs to win three of UEFA’s major trophies. Mourinho returned as head coach in 2013 and led Chelsea to the League Cup in March 2015. [48] And the Premier League title two months later. [49] Mourinho was sacked after a poor start to the following season after four months. [50]
In November 2012, Chelsea announced a profit of £1.4m for the year ended 30 June 2012, the club’s first profit under Roman Abramovich’s leadership. This was followed by a loss in 2013 and then their highest profit of £18.4m for the year to June 2014. [52] In 2018, Chelsea announced a record after-tax profit of £62 million. [53]
Under new manager Antonio Conte, Chelsea won their sixth English title in 2017 and their eighth FA Cup the following season. [54] In 2018, Conte was sacked after finishing 5th and replaced by Maurizio Sarri[55][56], under whose leadership Chelsea reached the Carabao Cup final in a penalty shoot-out lost to Manchester City[57] and won the Europa League. The second time it was against Arsenal 4-1 in the final. Sarri then left the club to become Juventus manager, before being replaced by former Chelsea player Frank Lampard.
In Lampard’s first season in charge, he led Chelsea to fourth in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final, where they lost 1-2 to Arsenal. Lampard was sacked in January 2021 and replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea players celebrate their first FIFA Club World Cup (2021) title after beating Brazilian Palmeiras in the final
Under Tuchel, Chelsea reached the FA Cup final, losing 1-0 to Leicester City, and won their second Champions League title with a 1-0 win over Manchester City in Porto. [62] The club won the 2021 UEFA Super Cup for the second time, beating Villarreal 6-5 on penalties after extra time in Belfast 1-1 and winning at Abramovich. In the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup (the club’s first match), Zabi beat Palmeiras, Brazil 2-1.
