The Pride of London
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Five most impactful Chelsea players of the Roman Abramovich era

By Olaoluwa Nwobodo

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 19: Didier Drogba (L) of Montreal Impact and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (R) are seen on the stand prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on December 19, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 19: Didier Drogba (L) of Montreal Impact and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (R) are seen on the stand prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on December 19, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea’s Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech kisses the trophy after the UEFA Champions League final football match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Chelsea FC on May 19, 2012 at the Fussball Arena stadium in Munich. Chelsea won 4-3 in the penalty phase. 2(Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)
Chelsea’s Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech kisses the trophy after the UEFA Champions League final football match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Chelsea FC on May 19, 2012 at the Fussball Arena stadium in Munich. Chelsea won 4-3 in the penalty phase. 2(Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages) /

4. Petr Cech (Goalkeeper)

Petr Cech arrived at Chelsea from Ligue 1 side Rennes in the summer of the 2004/05 season. He would go on to become a legend of the game during his time donning the badge. Cech broke a number of goalkeeping records for both the Blues and the Premier League. He maintained astronomical levels while he was at Chelsea and the numbers point more toward Cech being a myth rather than a real person.

Cech holds the record for the most clean sheets in a 38-game Premier League season (24). He also holds the record for most clean sheets in Premier League history (207). Cech pulled off the ridiculous feat of only conceding 13 league goals in his first season, where he made 35 appearances in the Premier League. At the end of Cech’s second season for the Blues, he had kept more clean sheets (42) than he had allowed goals (33).

Simply put, Cech was a world class goalkeeper at the club, as well as a leader in the squad. He was iconic in Chelsea’s first Champions League title where he saved a penalty in extra time of the final. He would go on to save a penalty in the shootout, as well, on the way to the Blues conquering Europe for the very first time. Cech left west London for north London in the summer of the 2015/16 season, having made 494 appearances for the club. He kept an unreal 228 clean sheets during that time, which comes out to 46% of all games he played. Let that one sink in for a second.

Cech also played key roles in 17 major trophies, which is a lot of trophies, to say the least. These accolades include five Premier League titles, one Champions League title, one Europa League title, four FA Cup titles, three League Cup titles and two Community Shields. Cech also helped Chelsea to the final of the 2007/08 Champions League, but lost to Manchester United on penalties. Cech was named International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) Goalkeeper of the Year in 2005. He now works for the club as a Technical and Performance Adviser, where he has helped Abramovich and Marina Granovskaia build one of Europe’s best teams once again.

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