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Chelsea’s all-time loan army hall of fame, shame, honour and infamy

By The Pride of London Staff

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: Joshua McEachran (C) of Chelsea in action against Paul Pogba of Manchester United during the FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.on semi final first leg match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on April 10, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: Joshua McEachran (C) of Chelsea in action against Paul Pogba of Manchester United during the FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.on semi final first leg match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on April 10, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /
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LONDON – FEBRUARY 05: Hernan Crespo of Chelsea celebrates scoring the second goal of the game during the Barclays Premiership match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on February 5, 2006 in London, England. (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)
LONDON – FEBRUARY 05: Hernan Crespo of Chelsea celebrates scoring the second goal of the game during the Barclays Premiership match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on February 5, 2006 in London, England. (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images) /

2. Hernan Crespo – Abhishek Pancholi

Although it might look like we’re playing fast and loose with the rules: Hernan Crespo. Yeah, that’s right. A personal favorite, the Argentina striker arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2003 and left a lot of people giddy with excitement.

His exploits at Parma and Lazio were stuff of legend, and his incredible power and technique would have been ideal for the Premier League. Or so we thought.

His first season in England was, by no means, a failure of Fernando Torres-ian proportions. Crespo managed to score a perfectly respectable 12 goals and did not look out of place amongst the newly assembled star cast at Chelsea. And this was despite his well-documented difficulties in adapting to his new home.

However, Chelsea’s modern era truly started with the arrival of one Jose Mourinho in 2004, who brought in his own talismanic striker, Chelsea legend Didier Drogba. This allowed Crespo to return to Italy on loan, with AC Milan, where he scored twice in that ridiculous Champions League final against Liverpool.

With loans, there’s always the hope that a player will come back stronger and become an important part of his parent club. Crespo spent the entire 2005/06 season with Chelsea, but it was abundantly clear his personal issues were taking a toll on him. In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Crespo says:

"I had some very difficult personal problems during my time at Chelsea. My family lost two children. Emotionally, it was very, very hard to go through all of that on a personal level. Professionally, it was great. The fans were unbelievable."

And so, at the end of the 2005-06 season, Crespo got his wish and returned to Italy once more, this time with Inter Milan. The loan would last another two years, at the end of which Crespo’s Chelsea contract would come to an end.

One of the greatest strikers of the modern era, it was a shame the Chelsea faithful never really had the opportunity to see him in his element. But we’ll always welcome him back, with his song – Hello, hello! Hernan Crespo, Hernan Crespo!

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