Chelsea’s top 5 French players of all time
By George Perry
Marcel Desailly: 1998-2004
Appearances: 222
Trophies: FA Cup, Community Shield
Marcel Desailly is one of the few Chelsea players to have accomplished more with his national team than with the Blues. Desailly won the World Cup with France in 1998 and the European Champions in 2000. Prior to Chelsea, he won Serie A league titles at Milan; and consecutive Champions League titles with Marseille and Milan.
With that resume, and given Chelsea’s record and reputation at the time, little surprise that Desailly had never heard of the team from west London. When he first talked to Chelsea’s director of football in 1998, Desailly asked, “Chelsea? Which club? What are you saying? I’ve never heard about Chelsea.”
Even after he found his way to Stamford Bridge, Desailly still had a significant period of adjustment. Marcel Desailly is the prime example of a player who thrived in the Premier League despite being unprepared upon arrival for the demands of the English game.
"I suffered. My ego got smashed. I really suffered, honestly… In France and Italy I was a strong guy – I would look the strikers in the eye and show ‘there is nothing for you today’ – and the player would look down and accept that I had won. But in England, no. The guy is ready for a fight. The striker will tackle you! I was depressed for four months. – The Guardian"
Desailly settled in alongside his countryman Frank Leboeuf to form the backbone of Chelsea’s defense in the final years of the pre-John Terry era. He won the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2000, but left the club before the serious hardware started to roll in.
Next: Claude Makelele