Chelsea FC’s 50 Greatest Players Of All-Time
12. Roberto Di Matteo: 1996-2002
Roberto di Matteo was a legend at Stamford Bridge even before he delivered us (and Roman Abramovich) the coveted Champions League title in 2012, as the manager.
The 1990s constituted Chelsea’s resurgence era and Di Matteo played a crucial hand in the club’s journey to better times, which, incidentally, later led to Chelsea becoming Abramovich’s prized asset. Arriving from Lazio in 1996, for a then record £4.9 million fee, Di Matteo quickly (pun intended, since he scored the then fastest FA Cup goal, after just 42 seconds vs Middlesbrough) established himself as a fan-favourite, scoring milestone goals for the club.
Chelsea began to finish consistently in the top half of the league and in 1998, he led the team to the League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup, our first European title in 27 years. He would win six trophies.
Injuries cut short what would otherwise have been an even more chequered career for Chelsea and probably even Italy, the national team for which he plied his trade and with whom he had a rather modest tenure.
Later, in 2012, post the debacle of the Andre Vilas Boas experiment, Di Matteo, the manager, fashioned what turned out to be a historic run for the club, leading them to the FA Cup and Champions League. Along the way, the victory over Napoli, the sweet revenge of defeating Barcelona in the semifinals & the momentous final win against Bayern Munich are truly unforgettable moments for every Chelsea fan.
Di Matteo will always occupy a pedestal in the annals of the club’s history, both as a player and a manager.
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