Intriguing Facts About Chelsea You Never Knew

We all claim to know so much about the football clubs we support and we often brag with their "facts" to the fans of other clubs in a bid to show-off and tell them why our team is better than theirs. But how many of these facts are actually correct? How many of them are not made up just to stroke our egos and seem right in the middle of a hot argument? How much do we really know about our clubs? Yes, how much do you know about your club, Chelsea FC? Well this is what I know.





The Club

1. Chelsea is the first - and so far the only - London club to have won the UEFA Champions League. This was a feat it achieved by beating Bayern Munich on their home turf in May, 2012. The match ended 4-3 on penalties in favour of the Blues after 120 minutes of exhilarating attacking football proved indecisive.

Chelsea Celebrates the Champions League Victory on a Bus Tour

2. Chelsea is one of only four clubs in European football history to have won all 3 major trophies in the continent: the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 and 1998, the UEFA Champions League in 2012, and the Europa League in 2013. The only other clubs to have achieved this feat are Juventus, Ajax and Bayern Munich.

3. The Blues are the only club in the history of European football to hold its two major trophies at the same time: the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League. We achieved this by beating Benfica 2-1 at the Amsterdam Arena (home to Ajax FC) courtesy of a last-minute goal by defender, Branislav Ivanovic. This record, though, lasted for just 10 days, from 15 May, 2013 to 25 May, 2013.

4. We hold the record for the highest number of goals scored in an English Premier League season with 103 goals in the 2009/2010 season.

5. Chelsea is the club that has accumulated the most number of points in an English Premier League season with 95 points in the 2004-2005 season.

6. We are also the club that ended up with the highest goals difference in the English topflight. That was + 71 in the 2009-2010 season; the season we also won our first English double (the EPL and the FA Cup) under the guidance of current Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti.

7. In the 2004-2005 season - Jose Mourinho's debut season - we also ended up with the meanest defence in Premier League history, shipping in just 15 goals over the course of a 38-game season.

8. When Chelsea walloped Aston Villa 8-0 at Stamford Bridge on 23 December, 2012, we became the first club in the EPL with seven different scorers in a single match.

9. Chelsea's 8-0 triumph over Aston Villa and the unforgettable 8-0 thrashing of Wigan Athletic on the final day of the 2009-2010 season are the second highest goal scoring margins in the EPL, tied with Tottenham Hotspur's 9-1 demolition of the same Wigan Athletic earlier on in the same season and Newcastle United's 8-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on September 19, 1999 (19, 9, 1999). However, Ipswich Town's 9-0 capitulation at the hands of Manchester United in 1995 remains a record in this category.

10. Chelsea has had the highest number of wins in an EPL season - 29.

11. Chelsea have recorded the most home wins in an EPL season with 18 wins out of a possible 19 in the record-breaking 2004-2005 season. But we are currently tied with Manchester United and Manchester City who have achieved the same feat. By so doing we also have the fewest home losses in a league season, this time shared with the two Manchester clubs, along with Arsenal and Liverpool (but the latter clubs did not record as much wins as the former 3).

12. Fifteen away wins in the Premier League recorded by Chelsea in the same 2004-2005 season is an unequaled record.

13. Chelsea is the club with the fewest draws in an EPL season with three.

14. In the 2004-2005 EPL season, Petr Cech and co kept 25 clean sheets in 38 matches for the Blues - an unrivaled record.

15. The Blues can also boast of being the club in the English topflight with the highest number of consecutive clean sheets from the start of a league season. In the 2005-2006 season, Chelsea were able to keep 6 of such clean sheets.

16. Eighty-six (86) is the highest number of consecutive home games any club has played in in any of Europe's major leagues (in recent times at least) without losing. This amazing record stretched from 20 March, 2004 to 26 October, 2008 when Liverpool shattered it and left many Chelsea fans in great disbelief and even reduced some to tears. The fact that Chelsea didn't lose a single home game in 3 consecutive seasons is another record worthy of mention.

17. Chelsea was the last team to win the FA Cup at the old Wembley stadium.

18. Also, in May, 2007, a Didier Drogba-inspired Chelsea became the first team to win the FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium.

19. The Blues are the only team in England to have played the most number of FA Cup games without recording a loss, excluding penalties. This was from January 2009 to April, 2013.

20. Chelsea's 21-0 aggregate victory over Luxembourgian club Jeunesse Hautcharage (now UN Käerjéng 97) in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup of 1971 is a record in any European competition. Our 13 goals in the 13-0 victory over the same club in the same competition is the highest we have ever scored in a single match.

21. A streak of 11 consecutive away league wins, set between 5 April 2008 and 6 December 2008 is a record in topflight English football.

22. On 26 December, 1999, Chelsea became the first club in Britain to field a starting eleven that had neither a British nor an Irish citizen.

23. Chelsea's flight for an away match with Newcastle United on April 19, 1957 is the first time an English club has ever boarded a flight to a domestic fixture.

24. Chelsea became the first club to play with shirt numbers on 25 August, 1928, in a match with Swansea Town (the Swansea City you know). Arsenal also shares this record with us.

25. Chelsea is the first First Division side to play a match on a Sunday, when we played with Stoke City on 27 January, 1974.

26. Chelsea is currently the most successful English club in European competitions since the turn of the century. We have been in the semi finals of the UEFA Champions League more times than any other club in England during that period and we have competed in 4 European finals over the course of 6 years (two UEFA Champions League finals, one Europa League final and one UEFA Super Cup final), with three of these finals coming in the past 15 months!


Stamford Bridge

Arial View of Stamford Bridge

27. Stamford Bridge is the oldest stadium currently in use in the English Premier League. It was opened on 28 April in the year, 1877, though Chelsea started making use of it in 1905 when the club was formed.

28. Stamford Bridge was once the biggest stadium in Europe when it had a seating capacity of close to 100,000. But it went through a series of renovations and modernization which reduced the figure to its present capacity of just below 42,000.

29. Stamford Bridge is the only stadium the Blues (known as the Pensioners until the 1960s) have ever had as their home ground.

The Players

Lampard and Ashley Cole Celebrate his 203rd Chelsea Goal

 30. Chelsea legend and all-time record goalscorer, Frank Lampard, is the only midfielder to have netted 160 goals or more in the English Premier League. He is also the player with the highest number of goals in the EPL that is currently active in the league (he is fourth on the all-time list). In addition to that, he has scored more goals in his career than any other player that is currently plying his trade in the English Premier League!

31. The 50 million pounds splashed on Fernando Torres by Roman Abramovich in 2011 is the highest any player has ever been bought for as far as England is concerned, making him the most expensive player in the Premier League.

32. From 15 May, 2013 to 25 May, 2013, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata became the only players in history to be World, European, UEFA Champions League and Europa League champions at the same time!

33. Chelsea left-back, Ashley Cole, holds the record for the most number of FA Cup medals in a player's trophy cabinet with 7, yes 7! The same number that Chelsea has won. He won 3 with Arsenal and four win Chelsea.

Didier Drogba Displays the 20111/2012 Champions League Trophy

34. Iconic striker, Didier Drogba, is the first and only player in FA Cup history to score in four consecutive final appearances: 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012. He helped Chelsea to secure the title in each of those occasions.

John George Terry

35. The Blues' long-time captain, John Terry, is the longest serving club captain in the Barclays Premier League, having held the position since 2003 at the age of 23 (substantively since 2004). He has been Chelsea's skipper for 10 years.

36. Chelsea legend, Jimmy Greaves, is the most prolific goal scorer the English national team has ever had (though he's not the Three Lions' highest goalscorer, that honour goes to Bobby Charlton). He netted 44 goals in just 57 appearances for England, while Charlton netted 49 in 106 caps. While Charlton's goal rate is 0.54 goals per match (or 2 goals in four matches), Greaves' rate is an astounding 0.77 (or 3 goals in four matches)!

Bonus: John Terry, is not only the captain of the Blues, he is also the President of the Chelsea Ladies Football Club!

So there you have it! These are 36 and half of the mind-blowing facts about Chelsea you never knew about the club. I hope you had fun reading it. See you in the next post. Adiós!