THE Roman Abramovich reign as Chelsea owner reaches 1,000 games when his team take on bitter rivals Tottenham today.
Rewinding 17 years, nobody could have predicted the dominance of Chelsea in the years the come.
Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea in 2003 in a deal worth £140millionCredit: Getty Images
Abramovich’s first game as Chelsea owner came against Slovakian side MSK Zilina in the Champions League qualifying round.
Eidur Gudjohnsen opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, followed by an own goal to get Chelsea off to a winning start.
It took just two years for Chelsea to win their first top-flight league title under Abramovich, their first in 55 years.
In the same season, Chelsea would also win the League Cup .
Chelsea, with the financial backing of Abramovich, have been the most successful English team since his arrival.
The Blues have won 16 major trophies in the Abramovich era, with rivals Manchester United nearest to them in the trophy department with 14.
The 16 major trophies includes five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, two Europa Leagues, and the biggest prize in world football, the Champions League.
Chelsea’s win percentage is equally as impressive as the silverware they’ve picked up along the way.
Boasting an impressive 60.9 per cent win percentage, that’s 608 wins out of the 999 games played under the ownership of Abramovich.
SunSport takes a look back at the team which started the first game of the Abramovich era, managed by Claudio Ranieri, and what they get up to now.
Carlo Cudicini
Carlo Cudicini started in between the sticks, he joined the Blues in 1999 on-loan from Italian outfit Lazio.
Cudicini was a first team regular up until the arrival of Jose Mourinho and Petr Cech in 2004.
The Italian made 216 appearances for Chelsea, winning two FA Cups, two League Cups and two Community Shields.
Cudicini would return to Chelsea in July 2016 to become club ambassador and assistant to then head coach Antonio Conte , and he remains at the club now under Frank Lampard, where he has been appointed loan player technical coach.
Glen Johnson
Glen Johnson made his Chelsea debut in the Champions League qualifying game against Zilina.
He joined in the summer from relegated West Ham for £6million.
Johnson was part of the team which ended Chelsea’s 55 year top-flight league title drought, and he also won the League Cup in the same season.
The right-back left Chelsea having made just 71 appearances in five years, and he went on to play for Portsmouth and Liverpool, before ending his career at Stoke City in 2018.
Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly, nicknamed “The Rock”, captained the side up until his exit at the end of the 2003/04 season.
Desailly only won one major trophy for Chelsea, and it wasn’t in the Abramovich era.
He won the FA Cup with Chelsea back in 2000, three years before the Russian’s arrival at the club.
Since retirement, Desailly has moved into punditry working for the BBC and later on ITV.
John Terry with the 2016-17 Premier League trophy, alongside owner Roman AbramovicCredit: Getty Images
John Terry
John Terry partnered Desailly in the heart of defence against Zilina.
And following Desailly’s exit in 2004, then boss Jose Mourinho named Terry the captain.
Terry would go on to be one of Chelsea’s most successful players, winning 17 major trophies at the club.
Following his Chelsea exit in 2017, Terry joined Aston Villa for one season to continue his playing career.
Once his contract expired, he moved into coaching and he remains at Aston Villa as Dean Smith’s No2.
Wayne Bridge
Wayne Bridge joined Chelsea the same season Abramovich took over, leaving Southampton where he spent five years of his career.
Bridge would go onto make 142 appearances for the Blues before leaving in 2008 for Manchester City.
The left-back was part of the 2004/05 team which won the Premier League, and he also won the FA Cup and League Cup at the club in 2006/07.
Since retiring, you don’t hear much about Bridge. His latest major TV appearance was in 2016 when he was a contestant on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Current Chelsea boss Frank Lampard enjoyed a successful career winning multiple league titles and domestic trophiesCredit: Getty Images
Frank Lampard
Current Chelsea boss Frank Lampard was in the starting XI for Abramovich’s first game as Chelsea owner.
Much like John Terry, Lampard was present for many of Chelsea’s successes in the previous 17 years.
Lampard made 648 appearances for the Blues, and scoring 211 making him the all-time top scorer for the club.
He won 12 major trophies during his time at the club and is loved by the fans.
Lampard transitioned into managment after retiring, taking charge of Championship side Derby for one season before making the big step back to his old Club.
Lampard guided Chelsea to a top four finish and an FA Cup final in his first season as manager.
Geremi
Geremi was a versatile player and went on to make 109 appearances for Chelsea during his four year stay.
He went on to win two Premier Leagues and a Community Shield with the Blues.
Since retiring, you don’t hear much from Geremi.
Juan Veron
Juan Veron joined Chelsea from rivals Manchester United in 2003 and went on to make 14 appearances for the club.
He left the club after one season joining Italian outfit Inter Milan.
Veron retired back in 2014 at his boyhood club Estudiantes, but would come out of retirement in 2017 to play in the 2017 Copa Libertadores.
Damien Duff
Damien Duff joined Chelsea from Blackburn in 2003, and went on to make 125 appearances for the club.
Duff won four major trohpies during his time at the club, including two league titles, one League Cup and one Community Shield.
After leaving the Blues, Duff went on to play for Newcastle, Fulham and Melbourne, before ending his career at Shamrock Rovers.
Duff after retirement moved into coaching where he has enjoyed success at Celtic under Neil Lennon.
Eidur Gudjohnsen
Eidur Gudjohnsen enjoyed his best playing years in Spain and England, and he joined Chelsea back in 2000.
Gudjohnsen made 263 appearances for Chelsea over his six year stay, scoring an impressive 78 goals and also scored the first goal of the Abramovich era against Zilina.
He won five major trophies at the club, including two league titles and a League Cup.
After retiring, Gudjohnsen moved into coaching where he is currently the head coach of the Finnish mens national team.
Mikael Forssell
Mikael Forssell joined Chelsea in 1998 where he would go onto spend the next seven years of his career.
Forssell only made 50 appearances for the Blues and spent two seasons on loan at Crystal Palace during his time at the club.
He didn’t pick up any medals during his time at the club and after retiring at his boyhood club Helsinki, he transitioned into management where he currently manages the Helsinki U-19s.
Substitutes
The bench consisted of the likes of Joe Cole and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Hasselbaink made 177 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 87 during his four year stay. Impressive.
He would transition into management after retiring, where he managed the likes of QPR and Northampton Town.
Hasselbaink is also a pundit on Sky Sports.
Joe Cole went on to make 281 appearances, winning three league titles, two FA Cups, one League cup and one Community Shield.
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Since retiring, Joe Cole has transitioned into punditry and can be seen on BT Sport
Cole went on to to play for the likes of Liverpool and Lille before returning to boyhood club West Ham for two seasons.
He then went on to play for Aston Villa, before retiring at Coventry.
You see Cole a lot on the television nowadays, working as a pundit for BT Sport.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
