Roman Abramovich's Dream/Obsession Becomes a Reality



The cruel moment when John Terry slipped in the shootout.



   It’s been a very long wait for Chelsea but finally they have been crowned Champion’s of Europe but boy did they ride their luck. However despite this joy, the despair of years before this moment brought so much heartache. Moscow 2008 possibly the most heart-breaking for Chelsea fans as they saw the London team lose to Manchester United on penalties in cruel circumstances – John Terry slipping was the catalyst for Chelsea’s despair. Other heart-breaking moments for Chelsea included the “goal” by Liverpool’s Luis Garcia which dumped Chelsea out of the Champion’s League Semi-Final back in 2005. Chelsea also suffered yet again in the Champion’s League Semi-Final against Barcelona after conceding late on to an Iniesta goal which put Barcelona in the final, winning by an aggregate score of 2-1.

    Chelsea have came closer and closer to success and with Abramovich inputting nearly £1b into Chelsea since his take over in 2003 it was only a matter of time before they won the elusive trophy that is the Champion’s League.

A solemn looking AVB in Napoli

    Chelsea’s road to the Champion’s League final this season certainly has been like a roller-coaster. Chelsea made hard work with the Group Stages under Villas-Boas but managed to scrape through despite losses to Bayer Leverkusen and RKC Genk away from home. AVB then faced a tough away first leg in the Last 16 versus the Italian side Napoli. Chelsea lost the game 3-1 and all seemed lost but with the appointment of Di Matteo after AVB was sacked – due to his poor record as Chelsea boss – confidence was restored going into the second leg. Chelsea qualified for the Last 8 with an aggregate score of 5-4 and winning the game 4-1 on the night.

    Chelsea’s next game was a tough away fixture to Portuguese giants Benfica however Chelsea dug deep and Kalou stabbed home the winner with an assist by Torres. The second leg was full of tension and with Chelsea scoring making it 2-0 on aggregate a determined Benfica grabbed an away goal just to build the tension. However in the dying moments Raul Meireles smashed home the winner sending Chelsea into the Semi-Finals where they would play their old nemesis Barcelona.

Drogba's winning goal at Stamfrd Bridge vs Barca

    The first leg proved to be a tough test for Chelsea and with Barcelona full of world class players Chelsea knew a special performance had to be put on show. Barcelona pretty much dominated the game with Sanchez hitting the bar and Fabregas waiting a big chance from close range. More riding of luck from Chelsea but a swift counter attack from Ramires pushed Chelsea forward. Ramires crossed the ball to Drogba in the box who obliged with a neat finish to put Chelsea 1-0 up. The game provided even more drama as Barcelona pushed forward and if it weren’t for a couple of deflections putting the ball onto the post from a shot in the dying seconds, Barcelona would have drawn the game.

The moment Torres grabbed the crucial goal at the Nou Camp

    Going into the second leg Chelsea again knew they had to work together as a team to prevail. Chelsea showed their defensively qualities but eventually Barca scored after a neat finish from Sergio Busquets. Things turned from bad to worse as John Terry stupidly kneed Sanchez in the back. Playing Barca with 10 men is a tough challenge and soon enough it was 2-0 as Iniesta slid the ball past Cech into the bottom corner. Despite this Chelsea pushed forward and with a clever through ball from Lampard, Ramires found himself bearing down on goal and he coolly chipped the ball over Valdez. Chelsea now were going into the second half drawing the game 2-2 which meant if the game stayed as it was Chelsea would go into the final. Constant pressure from Barcelona but Chelsea held out as they ‘parked the bus’. Torres was brought on but didn’t provide much of a threat as he was forced to defend as Barca pushed forward. Going into the dying minutes Torres gave the ball away to Barcelona who pushed into Chelsea’s penalty area but a huge clearance from Ashley Cole found its way to Torres who wasn’t offside as he was in his own half and with no defenders around him he had an open field to run into as all the Barca players were in Chelsea’s half. Torres calmly rounded Valdez and slotted home the biggest goal he has ever scored in a blue shirt. Chelsea drew the game 2-2 but won 3-2 on aggregate sending them into the final where they would play Bayern Munich.

Drogba celebrating his equaliser vs Bayern in the Final

    The Champion’s League final for Chelsea is a massive achievement and after the heartbreak of Moscow they knew a win would finally give Abramovich his obsession. The game itself wasn’t really the best of finals as Chelsea played tactically well and keeping Bayern at bay. However despite this hard work Bayern broke through after Kroos’ cross was headed in from Muller at the far post. The sheer celebrations from Bayern were a bit over the top. This excessive celebration was haltered after Mr Chelsea – Didier Drogba – headed in the equaliser with a bullet header, and if you was watching this match on Sky you heard Gary Neville going “ohhhhh!!!!!!” like what he did in the Semi-Final when Torres scored the late goal.  The game ended after 90 minutes 1-1 so extra time was needed. Bayern pressed and Ribery won a penalty after Drogba clipped his heels. Chelsea’s luck was in though as Robben blasted the ball which Cech saved with no difficulty. Chelsea continued to defend as a team and with Ribery going off they knew the threat was less intense. After extra-time the game stayed at 1-1 which meant it was time for penalties.

Drogba's winning penalty in the Champions League final

    The same outcome happened in Moscow as Chelsea drew the game 1-1 to Manchester United but lost on penalties. Mata stepped up to take the first penalty but Neuer saved excellently. As we know the Germans are good at penalties and Lahm showed this by dispatching his penalty making it 1-0 to Bayern. Chelsea and Bayern scored their next two penalties making it 3-2 to Bayern in the shootout. Next up for Bayern was Olic but his penalty was brilliantly saved by Cech so if Ashley Cole scored it would be 3-3 going into the last penalties. Cole calmly obliged with a superb penalty making it 3-3 in the shootout. Next up for Bayern was Schweinsteiger but his stance wasn’t the best and his run up was stalled to try and put Cech off but it didn’t, Cech dived to his right tipping the ball onto the post meaning if Chelsea scored their next penalty the trophy was theirs. Drogba stepped up to take the last penalty and he rolled the ball into the net meaning Chelsea became not only the fifth English team to win the trophy but also the first London based team to lift the trophy.

    Despair for Munich but ecstasy for Chelsea as Abramovich finally won the Champion’s League. All the Chelsea players were emotional and the event was topped off with Lampard and Terry lifting the trophy together. It certainly was hard work for Chelsea but the way their season has been this triumph will be long lived in the memory of not only the players and the owners, but also the fans. Another club that faced the despair of Chelsea winning was Tottenham. Tottenham finished the season in fourth and they knew a Chelsea win would send them into the Europa League which they did. So it wasn;t only heartache for Bayern but also for Spurs aswell.

Chelsea's new signing - the highly rated Marko Marin

    Chelsea now automatically qualify for the group stages and will have to try and defend the Champion’s League – a feat no club has ever done – but with the benefits from winning the Champion’s League Chelsea will be able to attract big players, one of these stars is Werder Bremen’s Marko Marin who is one of Germany’s top young talents. Next season is surely going to be tough for Chelsea but they should cherish the moment and prepare for next season during pre-season.