Five most impactful Chelsea players of the Roman Abramovich era
We’re entering into the final week(s) of the Roman Abramovich era. Yes, his assets have been frozen and the Premier League has declared the Russian oligarch unfit to own a club, but there is yet to be a new owner assigned to Chelsea’s name. Therefore, Abramovich is still technically the Blues’ owner. In his time as owner, there have been some truly phenomenal players to don a Chelsea shirt. As his 19 years as the leader of the Blues comes to an end, we’ll be discussing the top five Chelsea players during his reign in west London.
It is important to give some honorable mentions before getting into it though. These are some of the names who deserve to be in the discussion, but don’t quite crack the top five. It is worth noting that in this piece, the UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield honors are regarded as major trophies because the ticket into those finals is winning a major trophy. Without further ado, here are the top five most impactful players (and honorable mentions) during the Abramovich era:
Ashley Cole (Left back)
Ashley Cole arrived at Chelsea in the summer* of the 2006/07 season in a transfer that had a little bit of controversy to it. Nonetheless, Cole won more with Chelsea than he did at Arsenal. The Englishman made 338 appearances for the Blues during the Abramovich era. All in all, he played key roles in winning 10 major trophies; including two Premier League titles, four FA Cup titles and a quite iconic UEFA Champions League title. Cole will be remembered for being impactful as a phenomenal player and as a leader in the dressing room during his time in west London.
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*The summer of a season in this piece refers to the transfer window at the beginning of that season. So the summer of the 2020/21 season in the context of this piece means the window before the 2020/21 season started. The winter window is straightforward because it’s right in the middle of the season.
Mikel John Obi (Defensive midfielder)
Mikel John Obi arrived at Chelsea in the summer of the 2006/07 season from Norwegian club Lyn in a transfer that was also shrouded in controversy. He would go on to spend nine full seasons at Stamford Bridge, eventually departing in the winter of the 2016/17 season. Mikel made 372 appearances for Chelsea when it was all said and done. He played important roles in 11 major trophies; including two Premier League titles, four FA Cup titles and one Champions League title. Many will remember him for his iconic performance in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, controlling the midfield and refusing the Bayern midfielders any breathing space. His distribution in that game was superb, as well.
Branislav Ivanovic (Right back)
Branislav Ivanovic arrived at Chelsea from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow in the winter of the 2007/08 season. Ivanovic will be remembered—amongst other things—for scoring some truly important and iconic goals for the Blues in several competitions, including the Premier League and Champions League. He scored and assisted exactly 34 goals each for Chelsea, which is a lot of goals for a defender. Ivanovic made 377 appearances in total for the Blues. He also made contributions to 11 major trophies; including three Premier League titles, three FA Cup titles, one League Cup title, one Champions League title and one Europa League title.