Gianluca Vialli Loved the Fans of Chelsea FC

Courtesy of Flickr user ca1951rr

Former Chelsea FC manager and player Gianluca Vialli spoke recently about his love for the club and especially for the fans. In an interview with the Evening Standard, Vialli was gushing with praise for the fans of Chelsea both at home and on the road. Vialli joined the Blues in 1996 from Juventus as part of manager Ruud Gullit’s plan to turn Chelsea in to a team of European stars and quickly became a fan favorite.

Gianluca Vialli on the fans at Chelsea FC:

"“I’ve been quite lucky during my career because I’ve played for only four clubs and every time I’ve managed to fall in love. With Chelsea fans, I had a fantastic relationship. We fell in love with each other. They never stopped encouraging me and when I became the manager the love and the passion went on. I think Chelsea fans were amazing every time we were playing away from home. I remember once we went to Old Trafford and we beat them 2-1. I happened to score very close to where our fans were sitting so I ran towards them and they became even louder. It was a wonderful feeling. You are basically an extension of the fans on the pitch. You are one of them wearing the shirt of the team you are playing for.”"

In 1998 Gullit was sacked and Vialli took over as player-manager. He lead the Blues to an FA Cup triumph, the European Cup Winners’ Cup, and to their highest ever finish in the Premier League. He would continue as Chelsea boss until falling out with several of Chelsea’s stars including Gianfranco Zola and Dan Petrescu in the early days of the 2000-01 season. Vialli then went on to manage Watford but for only a year until another fallout and poor league performance saw him get sacked again. Vialli was not the most dependable of managers but the things he achieved with Chelsea as both player and manager make him a club legend for life.

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