Gullit was appointed player-manager for the 1996-97 season, and added several top-class players to the side, including European Cup-winning Juventus striker Gianluca Vialli, cultured French defender Frank Leboeuf and Italian internationals Gianfranco Zola (whose skill would make him a firm favourite with the crowd and see him become one of Chelsea's greatest ever players) and Roberto Di Matteo (the latter for a club record £4,900,000). They were later joined by the powerful and prolific Uruguayan midfielder Gustavo Poyet and Norwegian "super-sub" Tore André Flo. With such players, it was under Gullit and his successor that Chelsea emerged as one of England's top sides again and gained a reputation for playing a neat, entertaining and attractive passing game performed by technically gifted players, which was informally dubbed "sexy football", though the club's inconsistency against supposed "smaller" teams remained. Gullit capped an impressive first season in management by leading Chelsea to their highest league placing since 1990 (6th) and ending their 26-year wait for a major trophy by winning the FA Cup. Perhaps the most memorable match of the run was a remarkable 4th round comeback against Liverpool. Trailing 2-0 at half-time, Hughes was brought on and immediately ruffled Liverpool, scoring within minutes and then setting up Zola for a curler from 25 yards. The comeback was completed after two late goals by Vialli. The 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough in the final at Wembley got off to a frantic start with Di Matteo scoring the fastest ever Cup final goal after 43 seconds; Eddie Newton's late goal clinched it. The win was a happy end to a season which had looked to be dominated by sadness after the death in October of popular director and financial benefactor Matthew Harding in a helicopter crash following a League Cup match against Bolton Wanderers.
Gullit was suddenly sacked in February 1998, ostensibly after a contract dispute, with the team 2nd in the Premiership, and in the semi-finals of two cup competitions. Another player-manager was appointed - the 33-year-old Vialli. Vialli began his management career in style by winning two trophies in two months. The League Cup was secured with another 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at Wembley (with Di Matteo again on the scoresheet). Chelsea reached the Cup Winners' Cup final following a dramatic semi-final win against Vicenza. Having lost the away leg 1-0 and then conceded an away goal, Chelsea bounced back to win 3-1 on the night and go through, with Hughes again the catalyst. They won their second Cup Winners' Cup title with a 1-0 victory against VfB Stuttgart at the Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm, with Zola scoring with his first touch having been on the pitch for just 17 seconds. Following that, Vialli led the club to a 1-0 win over European champions Real Madrid in the Super Cup at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.
During the 1998-99 Premiership campaign, Chelsea made their first sustained challenge for the title for years. Despite an opening day loss against Coventry City, the side were not beaten in the League again until January and topped the table at Christmas. Their title chances eventually disappeared after a home loss to West Ham United and consecutive draws against Middlesbrough, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday in April, which saw the Blues finish 3rd, four points behind winners Manchester United. A season which promised much ultimately ended trophyless, with Chelsea's defence of their Cup Winners' Cup title ending in a semi-final loss against RCD Mallorca while they were knocked out of both the other cups in the quarter-finals. Third place in the league was nevertheless high enough for a first-ever appearance in the Champions League.
44 years after being denied entry to the inaugural championship, Chelsea made their debut in Europe's premier competition in August 1999 and they put in a series of impressive performances en route to a quarter-final tie against FC Barcelona. It included memorable draws at the San Siro and the Stadio Olimpico against AC Milan and SS Lazio respectively, as well as a thumping 5-0 win against Turkish side Galatasaray at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium. During the first leg of the quarter-final against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea took a 3-0 lead, only to concede a late Luís Figo away goal. Trailing 2-1 during the second leg at the Camp Nou, the team were just seven minutes away from the semi-finals, but conceded a third and were eventually beaten 5-1 after extra time, losing 6-4 on aggregate.
By now, Chelsea had a top-notch multi-national squad which included Zola, Di Matteo, Poyet, Dutch goalkeeper Ed de Goey, and French World Cup-winning trio Frank Leboeuf, Marcel Desailly and Didier Deschamps. Under Vialli, Chelsea would become the first side in English football to field a starting 11 composed entirely of foreign players, highlighting the increasing internationalization of the game. The 1999-2000 season saw inconsistency return to Chelsea's league form as the side struggled to juggle Premier League and Champions League commitments, ultimately finishing a disappointing 5th. Vialli did lead the team to a second FA Cup win in four years that season - this time against Aston Villa, with Di Matteo again scoring the winner - in the last final to be played at Wembley before its redevelopment. The Charity Shield was added in August with a 2-0 win against Manchester United, to make Vialli Chelsea's then most successful manager.
The 2010–11 season is Chelsea Football Club's 96th competitive season, 19th consecutive season in the Premier League, and 105th year in existence as a football club. They went into the Premier League as the defending champions, but failed to retain it. Chelsea Premier League Tickets are available at FootballTicketExchangeOnline.com at affordable price. Football fans can buy or sell Football Tickets especially Chelsea Premiership Football Tickets at FootballTicketExchangeOnline.com conveniently.
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