Chelsea vs Man City: Five things to look for in the Champions League final

2. Renewed winners or new-age bottlers?

Every club has a culture that binds everyone connected to it. Be it Barcelona’s tiki-taka, Real Madrid’s Galacticos or Wolves’ Portuguese heritage; club culture is the very core of a team’s existence. For Abramovich’s Chelsea, that culture has always been winning trophies.

Every player signing and every manager sacking has always been viewed as parts of the grand plan to win silverware. The moment an individual shows the slightest signs of deviating from it, they’re shown the exit door—be it a talented youngster or decorated legend.So, for a club that’s come into global relevance through this ruthless style, it is quite eerie for it to have collected more silver medals than gold since 2012. Perhaps the fact that five of those losses have come in the last five years should be a greater cause for concern.

Now, of course, there will be those that waive this off by saying “Super Cups don’t count” or “is the FA Cup even relevant anymore?” but the bottom line is each cup represents silverware. Some might be more elusive than others, but they go into the trophy cabinet all the same. To let these defeats slide by touting ‘progress’ is against the very foundation of the club. A team can have a golden generation of players, all the talent in the world, but talent doesn’t automatically convert into big game performances and trophies. For every Bayern Munich in the world, there is a Tottenham Hotspur.

In the current crop of Chelsea stars, how many players know what it takes to win a domestic league or the Champions League? Only Mateo Kovacic, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Marcos Alonso—the latter three of whom are bound to leave Chelsea in the somewhat near future. Their departures will leave the winning mentality that was once forged by Abramovich and Jose Mourinho—passed down the years by Didier Drogba, John Terry, Petr Cech, Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard—at the door.

Once that mentality is lost, it can take decades to regain it. Just look at Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. Saturday represents one of the last chances for the club to pass this mentality down to a new generation, to renew its status as serial winners. This is the chance to either be the men for the big occasion or the nearly men under the brightest lights.