Chelsea FC’s 50 Greatest Players Of All-Time
14. Peter Bonetti: 1960-75, 1976-79
If it wasn’t for a certain Petr Cech, Peter Bonetti would be undisputedly the greatest goalkeeper to ever pull on a Chelsea shirt. He spent 18 years at Stamford Bridge, with a one-year sejour with the St Louis Stars of the now-defunct NASL breaking it up into two stints.
Over his Blues career, he would feature 729 times, leaving him second in the all-time list while his total of 208 clean sheets leaves behind Cech in that respect as well. He was simply part of the furniture at the club, saving himself into Chelsea’s record books.
His efforts didn’t go unrewarded either. He won the League Cup and the FA Cup, while also bringing home the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971. The two decades in which his career took place were fairly tumultuous for the Blues, but Bonetti was instrumental in helping them bounceback on both occasions that they were relegated.
He efforts with Chelsea also saw Bonetti be involved in that victorious 1966 England World Cup squad. Unfortunately, Gordon Banks was around in the same era and thus the then Leicester City man was first-choice. Nevertheless, Bonetti’s contributions to the Blues will never be forgotten.
Next: #13