Chelsea FC’s 50 Greatest Players Of All-Time
6. Peter Osgood: 1964-74, 1978-79
To Chelsea FC fans who started following the club in the 2000s, Didier Drogba is the King. The original, and rightful by most accounts, holder of the title of King of Stamford Bridge belongs to the one and only Peter Leslie Osgood.
Peter Osgood graduated from the Chelsea academy to the first team in 1964 and the hype surrounding the youngster was already immense. Much was expected of the skinny striker and he did all that he could to live up to those lofty standards.
In 380 appearances for the Blues, Osgood scored 150 goals in all competitions, including 105 in the league. More importantly, it was the timing of the goals and the matches in which they came. Drogba was the man for the big occasion for the current generation but in the 1960’s and 70’s it was Peter Osgood.
“The Wizard of Os” as many call him, scored in every round of the 1969/70 FA Cup, scored the equalizer in the replay of the 1970 FA Cup Final, and scored in both legs against the mighty Real Madrid in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Osgood continued to score at a fine clip for the Blues but after a series of conflicts with manager Dave Sexton he was transfer-listed and sold to Southampton.
After playing for Norwich City on loan and spending a season in the NASL with the Philadelphia Fury, Osgood returned to Chelsea FC much like his successor to the crown Drogba. Unlike Drogba however, he was unable to save Chelsea or help them win another trophy as the club was relegated at the end of the 1979 season.
Osgood was a beloved figure at Stamford Bridge and is still one of the club’s most popular icons, even nearly a decade since his passing in 2006. He was given the honor of having his ashes being buried under the penalty spot near the Shed End and a statue outside Stamford Bridge was built in 2010. Chants of “Born Is The King Of Stamford Bridge” still ring around the ground and a banner still hangs in his honor.
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