Chelsea Soccer Club

Full name: Chelsea Football Club
Nickname(s): The Pensioners (until 1952), The Blues (present)
Founded: 10 March 1905; 107 years ago (1905-03-10)
Ground: Stamford Bridge, Fulham and London (Capacity: 41,837)
Owner: Roman Abramovich
Chairman: Bruce Buck
Manager: Roberto Di Matteo (caretaker)
League: Premier League
2010–11: Premier League, 2nd
Website: www.chelseafc.com.

Chelsea Soccer Club is definitely a British soccer club located in Fulham, London. Founded in 1905, they participate in the Premier League and also have spent the majority of their history within the top tier of British football. Chelsea continues to be British champions four occasions, FA Cup those who win six occasions and League Cup those who win four occasions. They also have accomplished European success, winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup two times.

Chelsea's house is the 41,837 capacity Stamford Bridge stadium, where they've performed since their establishment. The club had their initial success in 1955, once they won the league championship, and won several cup competitions throughout the sixties, seventies, the nineteen nineties and 2000s. Yesteryear decade continues to be probably the most effective period in Chelsea’s history, assigned by winning their first league and FA Cup "Double" this year. Since 2003 they've been possessed by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea's regular package shirt is royal blue t shirts and shorts with whitened socks, the mixture used because the sixties. The club crest continues to be transformed several occasions in tries to modernize or re-brand the present crest, having a ceremonial lion holding an employee, is really a modified version of 1 first adopted within the nineteen fifties. The club has sustained the 5th greatest average all-time attendance in British football. Their average home gate for those 2010-11 seasons was 41,435, the sixth greatest within the Premier League.

Chelsea were founded on 10 March 1905 in the Rising Sun pub (the Butcher's Hook), opposite the current-day primary entrance down on Fulham Road, and were chosen towards the Football League shortly later on. The club's early years saw little success the nearest they found winning a significant trophy was reaching the 1915 FA Cup Final, where they lost to Sheffield U. S.. Chelsea acquired a status for signing large-title gamers as well as for being artists, but made little effect on the British game within the inter-war years.

Former Toolbox and England center-forward Ted Drake grew to become manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernize the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, enhanced the youth set-up and training regime, reconstructed along side it, and brought Chelsea for their initial trophy success - the League championship - in 1954-55. The next season saw UEFA produce the European Champions' Cup, but after objections in the Football League and also the FA Chelsea were convinced to withdraw in the competition before it began.

They challenged for honors through the sixties, and suffered several near-misses. These were on the right course for any treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup starting the ultimate stages from the 1964-65 season, winning the League Cup but declining late on within the other two. In three seasons along side it was beaten in three major semi-finals and was FA Cup runners-up. Chelsea won the FA Cup in 1970, beating Leeds U. S. 2-one in your final replay. Chelsea required their first European honor, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the year after, with another replayed win, this time around over Real Madrid in Athens.

The late seventies right through to the eighties would be a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability from the club, star gamers were offered and also the team was consigned. Further problems were triggered with a well known hooligan element one of the support that was to plague the club through the decade. In 1982 Chelsea were, in the nadir of the fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for that nominal amount of £1, although right now the Stamford Bridge freehold have been offered to property designers, meaning the club faced losing their house. Around the pitch, they had worked out little better, coming near to relegation towards the Third Division the very first time, however in 1983 manager John Neal come up with a remarkable new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the 2nd Division title in 1983-84 and established themselves within the top division, prior to being consigned again in 1988. The club returned back immediately by winning the 2nd Division championship in 1988-89.

Following a lengthy-running legal fight, Bates reunited the stadium freehold using the club in 1992 using a cope with banks from the property designers, who was simply bankrupted with a market crash. Chelsea's form within the new Premier League was unconvincing, even though they did achieve the 1994 FA Cup Final. It wasn't before the appointment of former European Footballer of the season Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 their fortunes transformed. He added several top-class worldwide gamers aside, because the club won the FA Cup in 1997 and established themselves among England's top sides again. Gullit was changed by Gianluca Vialli, who brought them to victory within the League Cup Final and also the Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1998, the FA Cup in 2000 and also the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2000. Vialli was sacked towards another Italian, Claudio Ranieri, who led Chelsea towards the 2002 FA Cup Final and Champions League qualification in 2002-03.

In June 2003, Bates offered Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million, finishing that which was then your greatest-ever purchase of the British soccer club. Over £100 million was allocated to new gamers, but Ranieri was not able to provide any trophies, so he was changed by Portuguese coach José Mourinho. Under Mourinho, Chelsea grew to become the 5th British team to regain-to-back league titles since World War II (2004-05 and 2005-06), additionally to winning an FA Cup (2007) and 2 League Cups (2005 and 2007). In September 2007 Mourinho was changed by Avram Grant, who brought the club for their first UEFA Champions League final, that they lost on penalties to Manchester U. S.. Grant was fired days later and been successful by Luiz Felipe Scolari in This summer 2008.

Scolari spent only seven several weeks within the job prior to being ignored following a string of poor results. Russia coach Guus Hiddink was hired caretaker manager before the finish from the 2008-09 seasons, and led Chelsea to some second FA Cup triumph in 3 years. 2 days later, former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was confirmed as Chelsea's new manager. In the first season, Ancelotti brought Chelsea for their first league and FA Cup "Double" additionally; Chelsea grew to become the very first British top-flight side to attain over 100 league goals inside a season since 1963. Ancelotti separated company with Chelsea in May 2011 and was changed at that time Porto coach André Villas-Boas. In March 2012, Villas-Boas separated company with Chelsea following a poor run of results and Roberto Di Matteo was hired caretaker manager.