Ever since he arrived at Chelsea FC from Bolton Wanderers in January 2012, England center back Gary Cahill has lived a charmed life. After a transfer fee of just £7 million, Cahill went from playing at a club where relegation was a constant concern to a club where he has won every trophy at the club level in just under four years.
In his first season, Cahill was a vital member of the Champions League winning squad leading up to and on that dramatic night in Munich. He played all 120 minutes of the final and was instrumental in keeping Bayern Munich at bay. Also under Roberto Di Matteo Cahill won the FA Cup to earn himself a domestic and European double just five months after joining the club.
He also experienced a new low as he was a part of one of the only teams to win the Champions League and then get knocked out of the group stage the next season. However even that ended up being a blessing in disguise.
Under Rafa Benitez, the Blues did not experience any domestic glory but were able to win the Europa League after elimination from the Champions League. Cahill’s last ditch tackle on Oscar Cardozo in the dying minutes of stoppage time preserved the Chelsea FC lead and secured his third trophy in a year and a half’s time.
After one trophyless season under José Mourinho, Cahill won the League Cup in March of this year and just last week helped the Blues clinch their first Premier League title in five years. That is more trophies in under four years than most players can even dream of but Gary Cahill is not resting on his laurels.
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Cahill told the Evening Standard that next season he wants to prioritize winning the Champions League above all. He said, “We were disappointed to go out of the Champions League the way we did, even though we were unbeaten in the competition. It was a mad twist and that’s what can happen at that level. But the aim is to do better in the competition next season and of course the squad is capable of doing that.”
As Cahill correctly points out, the Blues were undefeated in the Champions League but by a cruel twist of fate were knocked out on the away goals rule. To make things even worse they were knocked out by a 10-man PSG side but as we saw on that magical night in Barcelona sometimes going a man down can galvanize and motivate the rest of the squad to do great things.
Winning a Champions League with Chelsea is the only thing missing from Jose Mourinho’s resume so if the Blues do indeed make it a priority next season then the rest of the powers in Europe should be on high alert. Mourinho has cemented his legacy by winning the league in his second stint in London but winning the Champions League a third time would push him further up the list of the greatest managers of all time.
Photos by @cfcunoffical (Chelsea Debs). On Twitter and at cfcunofficial.com\
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