As part of Chelsea’s 120th anniversary celebration, the club asked fans all over the world to vote for their all-time best XI. After tallying what was likely millions of votes given the club’s global status, they revealed the winners of the survey and there were a couple of surprises among the usual suspects.
Starting in goal is the best Chelsea keeper of the modern era in Petr Cech. The shot stopper is the best keeper in Premier League history and he has all the trophies in his cabinet to prove it, including the clean sheet record with 202 combined with Chelsea and Arsenal. His only real competition may have been Thibaut Courtois but fans have not forgiven him for the way he left for Real Madrid.
At fullback, we have two expected names in Cesar Azpilicueta and Ashley Cole who held down the wings for the Blues for nearly 20 years combined. They may have had some competition from Branislav Ivanovic but they were pretty clear cut winners in our opinion.
The first surprise is at center back as the fans selected Thiago Silva to line up alongside John Terry. Terry is a no-brainer but Silva may be a bit of recency bias considering he only made 113 appearances with the club.
Silva did help win the Champions League for the second time but many fans thought Marcel Desailly or Ricardo Carvahlo should have been named there instead. Older fans called for Ron Harris but he played too long ago for many of the current fans to recall.
At defensive midfield, we have two of the best to ever do it in Claude Makelele and Ngolo Kante. Fans joked that you could line up four blokes off the street in defense and be fine because of how good Makelele and Kante are at their jobs. They might not win every aerial duel but no one is dribbling past these two monsters.
On the wings we have two little magicians in Eden Hazard and Gianfranco Zola who brought magic and verve to Stamford Bridge. Both players were incredible technicians who could dribble past anyone and still bang in goals with the best of them.
In attacking midfield we have perhaps the best player to ever wear Chelsea blue in Frank Lampard. He is the all-time leading goalscorer for the Blues and that record will likely be in place for a very long time.
At striker, we have what I considered an obvious choice in Didier Drogba. The big man for the big occasion was incredibly prolific at Chelsea once he got settled and he always scored in the big matches for the Blues. Fans will never forget his equalizing header and winning penalty in the Champions League Final in 2012.
Peter Osgood, Kerry Dixon, and Bobby Tambling deserve a shout at center forward but they played too long ago for most fans to remember. Those of us with a more historic mindset won’t forget their greatness though.
We would put this Chelsea XI against any club’s all-time best and feel confident about coming away with a victory. Obviously this lineup is heavily skewed towards the last 25 years or so but that has coincided with the club’s best era so it is understandable. Let us know on social media what you think of the best XI and if you would make any changes!