Chelsea History: The UK's First All-Time Club To Stand In A Pub With Stories Of Money

Chelsea win the Champions League 2021 (Instagram / @ chelseafc)

JAKARTA - Chelsea Football Club (Chelsea FC) was founded on March 10, 1905 in a pub called The Rising Sun on Fulham Road. Chelsea quickly gathered fans. The coffers accumulated, helping them slowly become a top club with a variety of first all-round labels.

One year before Chelsea was founded, a wealthy businessman named Henry Augustus Mears or better known as Gus Mears bought the Stamford Bridge athletic complex to be converted into a football field. Mears briefly offered land to Fulham FC, which was founded in 1879.

But Fulham rejected the offer. Undaunted. Mears decided to form his own football club. Had debated over whether to name the football club Stamford Bridge FC, London FC, or Kensington FC, but in the end it was decided that the club would be named Chelsea FC, a city adjacent to Fulham.

All-in-one

Chelsea was quickly idolized by locals and established itself as the biggest club in the English capital. In the late 1910s, Chelsea became the first club in England with an average attendance of over 40,000 people.

But in 1912, club founder Gus Mears died of kidney failure. The huge number of attendances made The Pensioners - Chelsea's nickname at the time - one of the richest clubs in England and was able to pay for famous players.

Chelsea is also home to the first non-English player in the Football League, Nils Middelboe, who joined Chelsea in 1913. But the first five decades of the club's existence were not very fruitful.

The team continued to move between Division 1 and Division 2. It was only in the second decade of Chelsea's existence that they made it to the FA Cup final for the first time.

Fall and get up Chelsea FC

Chelsea entered the league for the first time in 1955. But this unexpected success was not enough to change their fortunes and the club returned to a state of mediocrity.

Launching Footbal History, in the mid-60s Chelsea managed to reach the peak of popularity with many famous players being regular guests at Stamford Bridge. For the first time in history, the club was seen as the real opponent.

After securing their first League Cup in 1965, two other championships were won namely the FA Cup in 1970 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1971. But it was their last trophy for a while.

Chelsea are experiencing financial difficulties due to the rebuilding of Stamford Bridge and the increasing hooliganism of the club's fans, Chelsea is in a dangerous position. Over the next few decades, Chelsea's results were not much of a priority as club officials focused on fighting to avoid bankruptcy.

The Mears family's ownership of Chelsea FC was severed when the club was sold for £1 to new owner Ken Bates in 1982. The club did not return to the spotlight until finally in 1996, appointing Ruud Gullit as coach.

With a renowned Dutch coach and a team led by Italy internationals Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola, Chelsea are once again one of the most exciting clubs in English football.

Although the club did not make it far in the Premier League during that period, they enjoyed several successes such as two FA Cup wins in 1997 and 2000, as well as a 1998 League Cup victory. In addition, they also managed to reach their second Cup Winners' Cup in 1998 by beating Stuttgart 1 -0 in the finals.

Chelsea in this period was a team that was heavily dominated by foreign players. A game in 1999 marked a new era in Premier League football. When Chelsea played Southampton, there were no English players on the pitch. The players are Ed De Goey (Netherlands), Albert Ferrer (Spain), Frank Lebouef (France), Emerson Thome (Brazil), Dan Petrescu (Romania), Celestine Bapayo (Nigeria), Gus Poyet (Uruguay), Didier Deschamps (France). ), Roberto Di Matteo (Italy), Gabriele Ambrosetti (Italy), and Tore Andre Flo (Norway).

Abramovich era

In 2003, Chelsea changed forever, when the club was sold to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. The new owners soon led Chelsea into an era of financial stability, paying off most of the club's debt, and spending unprecedented sums of money to get a star player into the team.

Under controversial Portuguese coach José Mourinho, Chelsea won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, as well as two League Cups in 2005 and 2007 and the FA Cup in 2007.

Even after Mourinho left the club due to a falling out with Abramovich, Chelsea continued to have a dominant force in English football. The Blues - Chelsea's nickname - have won another league title, two FA Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League in six years.

Shortly after Mourinho's return in 2013, Chelsea won another League Cup which was their fifth league title. After a period of weak performance, Chelsea sacked José Mourinho in 2015. Now Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel have just won their second Champions League title.

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