Chelsea FC: Heaven And Hell

Defence

With 55 defenders plying their trade for Chelsea FC in the Premier League during this 20-year period there are quite a few contenders for Heaven and Hell.

The Heaven team is a particularly hard one to choose. Amongst the candidates were Celestine Babayaro, Cesar Azpilicueta, Graeme Le Saux and Juliano Belletti out wide. Meanwhile, in the middle the likes of Frank Leboeuf, Ricardo Carvalho, Alex and Gary Cahill were all in contention. However, the four that I settled for are:

LB Ashley Cole: Probably the best left-back I have ever witnessed with great intelligence, stamina and an eye for the tackle!

RB Paulo Ferreira: Mr Dependable and Mr Chelsea all rolled into one. He hardly got a mention as having an excellent game because it was expected, and he always delivered just that.

CB Marcel Desailly: Marcel’s pace and intelligence made him almost the complete defender, and an inspirational leader on the pitch.

CB John Terry: John learnt from the best and more than made up for his lack of pace with his footballing brain. When coupled with his bravery and total commitment it made him England’s best defender in the modern generation.

The Hell team is considerably easier to pick. I won’t mention the other candidates but I’m sure you can think of a few, so here’s my defensive unit for the team from hell!

LB Winston Bogarde: Just the mention of his name sends shivers down the spine of every Chelsea FC fan throughout the world! The man who famously spent the majority of his £10,000,000 contract commuting to Heathrow from his home in Holland to train and play with the youth team at Harlington, thus ensuring Chelsea FC couldn’t sack him for breach of contract! Hired by Gianluca Vialli and ditched by Claudio Ranieri he made 10 Premier League appearances in his four years with the blues.

RB Glen Johnson: four years, 42 Premier League appearances (with a loan to eventual buyers Portsmouth) sums up Mr Johnson. He started his 1st season well and then it all went downhill for him for the remaining three years, amidst rumours of a disagreement with Jose Mourinho about guaranteeing him a starting spot.

CB Khalid Boulahrouz: Signed from Hamburg, Khalid was supposed to be the newer improved version of Bogarde, able to play anywhere along the back line. His nickname of The Cannibal due to his tackles and subsequent red cards didn’t bode well and he managed to collect two yellows and a red in his 13 games. His versatility probably didn’t help his situation and after one season he was loaned to Sevilla before being sold to Stuttgart at yet another loss.

CB David Luiz: David was loved by the fans for his antics and sense of humour but couldn’t be trusted as a central defender due to his lapses in concentration. As a manager I would imagine he was a nightmare, so brilliant yet so inconsistent!

Next: Midfield Heaven and Hell