In 2010, Forbes evaluated Barcelona's worth to be around €752 million (USD $1 billion), ranking them fourth after Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Arsenal, based on figures from the 2008–09 season.[107][108] According to Deloitte, Barcelona had a recorded revenue of €366 million in the same period, ranking second to Real Madrid, who generated €401 million in revenue.[109]
Along with Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Osasuna, Barcelona is organised as a registered association. Unlike a limited company, it is not possible to purchase shares in the club, but only membership.[110] The members of Barcelona, called socis, form an assembly of delegates which is the highest governing body of the club.[111] As of 2010 the club has 170,000 socis.[86]
An audit by Deloitte in July 2010 showed that Barcelona had a net debt of €442 million, currently 58% of net worth as evaluated by Forbes. The new management of Barcelona, which had ordered the audit, cited "structural problems" as the cause of the debt.[112] News had emerged that the club had recorded a loss of approximately €79 million over the course of the year, despite having defended their La Liga title.[113]
For 2011, Barcelona's gross debt stands at around €483m and the net debt is at €364m.[114] Barcelona was found to have the highest average salary per player of all professional sports teams in the world, just ahead of rival Real Madrid.[115]
Records
For more details on this topic, see List of FC Barcelona records and statistics.
Xavi presently holds the team record for number of total games played (681) and the record number of La Liga appearances (446), surpassing the previous record holder Migueli (391).[116]
FC Barcelona's all-time highest goalscorer in all competitions (including friendlies) is Paulino Alcántara with 369 goals.[116][117] The all-time highest goalscorer for Barcelona in all official competitions, excluding friendlies, is Lionel Messi with 318 goals. He is also the record goalscorer for Barcelona in European and international club competitions[118] and the record league scorer with 220 goals in La Liga. Four people have managed to score over 100 league goals at Barcelona: Lionel Messi (217), César Rodríguez (192), Ladislao Kubala (131) and Samuel Eto'o (108) .
On 2 February 2009, Barcelona reached a total of 5,000 La Liga goals. The goal was converted by Messi in a game against Racing Santander, which Barça won 2–1.[119] On 18 December 2009 Barcelona beat Estudiantes 2–1 to win their sixth title in a year and became the first ever football team to complete the sextuple.[120]
Barcelona's highest home attendance was 120,000, for a European Cup quarter-final against Juventus on 3 March 1986.[121] The modernisation of Camp Nou during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands means the record will not be broken for the foreseeable future as the current capacity of the stadium is 99,354.[122]
Crest and shirt
Since its foundation the club has played with a crest. The club's original crest was a quartered diamond-shaped crest topped by the Crown of Aragon and the bat of King James, and surrounded by two branches, one of a laurel tree and the other a palm.[123] In 1910 the club held a competition among its members to design a new crest. The winner was Carles Comamala, who at the time played for the club. Comamala's suggestion became the crest that the club wears today, with some minor variations. The crest consists of the St George Cross in the upper-left corner with the Catalan flag beside it, and the team colours at the bottom.[123]
The blue and red colours of the shirt were first worn in a match against Hispania in 1900.[124] Several competing theories have been put forth for the blue and red design of the Barcelona shirt. The son of the first president, Arthur Witty, claimed it was the idea of his father as the colours were the same as the Merchant Taylor's School team. Another explanation, according to author Toni Strubell, is that the colours are from Robespierre's First Republic. In Catalonia the common perception is that the colours were chosen by Joan Gamper and are those of his home team, FC Basel.[125]
Prior to the 2011–2012 season, Barcelona had a long history of avoiding corporate sponsorship on the playing shirts. On 14 July 2006, the club announced a five-year agreement with UNICEF, which includes having the UNICEF logo on their shirts. The agreement has the club donate €1.5 million per year to UNICEF (0.7 percent of its ordinary income, equal to the UN International Aid Target, cf. ODA) via the FC Barcelona Foundation.[126] The FC Barcelona Foundation is an entity set up in 1994 on the suggestion of then-chairman of the Economical-Statutory Committee, Jaime Gil-Aluja. The idea was to set up a foundation that could attract financial sponsorships to support a non-profit sport company.[127] In 2004, a company could become one of 25 "Honorary members" by contributing between £40,000–60,000 (£52,000–78,000)[128] per year. There are also 48 associate memberships available for an annual fee of £14,000 (£18,200)[128] and an unlimited number of "patronages" for the cost of £4,000 per year (£5,200).[128] It is unclear whether the honorary members have any formal say in club policy, but according to the author Anthony King, it is "unlikely that Honorary Membership would not involve at least some informal influence over the club".[129]
Barcelona ended their refusal of corporate sponsorship prior to the commencement of the 2011–12 season, signing a five-year €150m deal with Qatar Sports Investments, that meant the Qatar Foundation[130] was on the club's shirt for the 11/12 and 12/13 seasons, then replaced by Qatar Airways for the 13/14 season, the deal allowing for a commercial sponsor logo to replace the charity logo, two years into the six-year deal.[131]
Main articles: Camp de la Indústria, Camp de Les Corts, and Camp Nou
an elevated view of the stadium at night
An elevated view of a full Camp Nou
Barcelona initially played in the Camp de la Indústria. The capacity was about 6,000, and club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club with growing membership.[132]
In 1922, the number of supporters had surpassed 20,000 and by lending money to the club, Barça was able to build the larger Camp de Les Corts, which had an initial capacity of 20,000 spectators. After the Spanish Civil War the club started attracting more members and a larger number of spectators at matches. This led to several expansion projects: the grandstand in 1944, the southern stand in 1946, and finally the northern stand in 1950. After the last expansion, Les Corts could hold 60,000 spectators.[133]
After the construction was complete there was no further room for expansion at Les Corts. Back-to-back La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949 and the signing of in June 1950 of László Kubala, who would later go on to score 196 goals in 256 matches, drew larger crowds to the games.[133][134][135] The club began to make plans for a new stadium.[133] The building of Camp Nou commenced on 28 March 1954, before a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans. The first stone of the future stadium was laid in place under the auspices of Governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of Archbishop of Barcelona Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years and ended on 24 September 1957 with a final cost of 288 million pesetas, 336% over budget.[133]
One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, "Més que un club", meaning 'More than a club'
In 1980, when the stadium was in need of redesign to meet UEFA criteria, the club raised money by offering supporters the opportunity to inscribe their name on the bricks for a small fee. The idea was popular with supporters, and thousands of people paid the fee. Later this became the centre of controversy when media in Madrid picked up reports that one of the stones was inscribed with the name of long-time Real Madrid chairman and Franco supporter Santiago Bernabéu.[136][137][138] In preparation for the 1992 Summer Games two tiers of seating were installed above the previous roofline.[139] It has a current capacity of 99,354 making it the largest stadium in Europe.
Barcelona initially played in the Camp de la Indústria. The capacity was about 6,000, and club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club with growing membership.[132]
In 1922, the number of supporters had surpassed 20,000 and by lending money to the club, Barça was able to build the larger Camp de Les Corts, which had an initial capacity of 20,000 spectators. After the Spanish Civil War the club started attracting more members and a larger number of spectators at matches. This led to several expansion projects: the grandstand in 1944, the southern stand in 1946, and finally the northern stand in 1950. After the last expansion, Les Corts could hold 60,000 spectators.[133]
After the construction was complete there was no further room for expansion at Les Corts. Back-to-back La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949 and the signing of in June 1950 of László Kubala, who would later go on to score 196 goals in 256 matches, drew larger crowds to the games.[133][134][135] The club began to make plans for a new stadium.[133] The building of Camp Nou commenced on 28 March 1954, before a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans. The first stone of the future stadium was laid in place under the auspices of Governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of Archbishop of Barcelona Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years and ended on 24 September 1957 with a final cost of 288 million pesetas, 336% over budget.[133]
One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, "Més que un club", meaning 'More than a club'
In 1980, when the stadium was in need of redesign to meet UEFA criteria, the club raised money by offering supporters the opportunity to inscribe their name on the bricks for a small fee. The idea was popular with supporters, and thousands of people paid the fee. Later this became the centre of controversy when media in Madrid picked up reports that one of the stones was inscribed with the name of long-time Real Madrid chairman and Franco supporter Santiago Bernabéu.[136][137][138] In preparation for the 1992 Summer Games two tiers of seating were installed above the previous roofline.[139] It has a current capacity of 99,354 making it the largest stadium in Europe.
There are also other facilities, which include:[140]
Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper (FC Barcelona's training ground)
Masia-Centre de Formació Oriol Tort (Residence of young players)
Mini Estadi (Home of the reserve team)
Palau Blaugrana (FC Barcelona indoor sports arena)
Palau Blaugrana 2 (Secondary indoor arena of FC Barcelona)
Pista de Gel (FC Barcelona ice rink)
Honours
Chelsea Football Club /'t??lsi?/ is an English football club based in Fulham, London. Founded in 1905, they play in the English Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Their home is the 41,837-seat[2] Stamford Bridge stadium, where they have played since their establishment.
Chelsea had their first major success in 1955, when they won the league championship, and won various cup competitions during the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s and 2000s. The club has enjoyed its greatest period of success in the past two decades, winning 15 recent major trophies since 1997.[3] Domestically, Chelsea have won four league titles, seven FA Cups, four League Cups and four FA Community Shields, while in continental competitions they have won two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, one UEFA Europa League and one UEFA Champions League. Chelsea are the only London club to win the UEFA Champions League,[4] one of four clubs, and the only British club, to have won all three main UEFA club competitions, and also the first club to hold two major European titles simultaneously.[5][6]
Chelsea's regular kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club's crest has been changed several times in attempts to re-brand the club and modernise its image. The current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion rampant regardant holding a staff, is a modification of the one introduced in the early 1950s.[7] The club has sustained the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football.[8] Their average home gate for the 2012–13 season was 41,462, the sixth highest in the Premier League.[9] Since July 2003, Chelsea have been owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.[10] In April 2013 it was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the seventh most valuable football club in the world, at £588 million ($901 million), an increase of 18% from the previous year
In 1904 Gus Mears acquired the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium with the aim of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearby Fulham was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own club to use the stadium. As there was already a team named Fulham in the borough, the name of the adjacent borough of Chelsea was chosen for the new club; names like Kensington FC, Stamford Bridge FC and London FC were also considered.[13] Chelsea were founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook),[1] opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards.
The club won promotion to the First Division in their second season, and yo-yoed between the First and Second Divisions in their early years. They reached the 1915 FA Cup Final, where they lost to Sheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished 3rd in the First Division in 1920, the club's best league campaign to that point.[14] Chelsea attracted large crowds[15] and had a reputation for signing big-name players,[16] but success continued to elude the club in the inter-war years. Former Arsenal and England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side with shrewd signings from the lower divisions and amateur leagues, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions' Cup, but after objections from The Football League and the FA Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.[17] Chelsea failed to build on this success, and spent the remainder of the 1950s in mid-table. Drake was dismissed in 1961 and replaced by player-coach Tommy Docherty.
Chart showing the progress of Chelsea's league finishes from 1905 to 1906 season to 2007–08 season
Docherty built a new team around the group of talented young players emerging from the club's youth set-up and Chelsea challenged for honours throughout the 1960s, enduring several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the final stages of the 1964–65 season, winning the League Cup but faltering late on in the other two.[18] In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. Under Docherty's successor, Dave Sexton, Chelsea won the FA Cup in 1970, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a final replay. Chelsea took their first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the following year, with another replayed win, this time over Real Madrid in Athens.
The late 1970s through to the 1980s was a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club,[19] star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade.[20] In 1982, Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal sum of £1, although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home.[21] On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89.
Chelsea players celebrate their first UEFA Champions League title
After a long-running legal battle, Bates reunited the stadium freehold with the club in 1992 by doing a deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash.[22] Chelsea's form in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the 1994 FA Cup Final with Glenn Hoddle. It was not until the appointment of Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 that their fortunes changed. He added several top international players to the side, as the club won the FA Cup in 1997 and established themselves as one of England's top sides again. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, who led the team to victory in the League Cup Final, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final and the UEFA Super Cup in 1998, the FA Cup in 2000 and their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League. Vialli was sacked in favour of Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup Final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.
In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million.[10] Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies,[23] and was replaced by José Mourinho.[24] Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War (2004–05 and 2005–06),[25] in addition to winning an FA Cup (2007) and two League Cups (2005 and 2007). Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant,[26] who led the club to their first UEFA Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester United. In 2009, Guus Hiddink guided Chelsea to another FA Cup success,[27] and in 2009–10, his successor Carlo Ancelotti led them to their first league and FA Cup "Double", becoming the first English top-flight club to score 100 league goals in a season since 1963.[28] In 2012 caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo led Chelsea to their seventh FA Cup,[29] and their first UEFA Champions League title, beating Bayern Munich 4–3 on penalties,[30] the first London club to win the trophy.[30] A year later Chelsea won the UEFA Europa League,[31] becoming the first club to hold two major European titles simultaneously and one of four clubs, and the only British club, to have won all three of UEFA's major club competitions.[32]
Stadium
Along with Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Osasuna, Barcelona is organised as a registered association. Unlike a limited company, it is not possible to purchase shares in the club, but only membership.[110] The members of Barcelona, called socis, form an assembly of delegates which is the highest governing body of the club.[111] As of 2010 the club has 170,000 socis.[86]
An audit by Deloitte in July 2010 showed that Barcelona had a net debt of €442 million, currently 58% of net worth as evaluated by Forbes. The new management of Barcelona, which had ordered the audit, cited "structural problems" as the cause of the debt.[112] News had emerged that the club had recorded a loss of approximately €79 million over the course of the year, despite having defended their La Liga title.[113]
For 2011, Barcelona's gross debt stands at around €483m and the net debt is at €364m.[114] Barcelona was found to have the highest average salary per player of all professional sports teams in the world, just ahead of rival Real Madrid.[115]
Records
For more details on this topic, see List of FC Barcelona records and statistics.
Xavi presently holds the team record for number of total games played (681) and the record number of La Liga appearances (446), surpassing the previous record holder Migueli (391).[116]
FC Barcelona's all-time highest goalscorer in all competitions (including friendlies) is Paulino Alcántara with 369 goals.[116][117] The all-time highest goalscorer for Barcelona in all official competitions, excluding friendlies, is Lionel Messi with 318 goals. He is also the record goalscorer for Barcelona in European and international club competitions[118] and the record league scorer with 220 goals in La Liga. Four people have managed to score over 100 league goals at Barcelona: Lionel Messi (217), César Rodríguez (192), Ladislao Kubala (131) and Samuel Eto'o (108) .
On 2 February 2009, Barcelona reached a total of 5,000 La Liga goals. The goal was converted by Messi in a game against Racing Santander, which Barça won 2–1.[119] On 18 December 2009 Barcelona beat Estudiantes 2–1 to win their sixth title in a year and became the first ever football team to complete the sextuple.[120]
Barcelona's highest home attendance was 120,000, for a European Cup quarter-final against Juventus on 3 March 1986.[121] The modernisation of Camp Nou during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands means the record will not be broken for the foreseeable future as the current capacity of the stadium is 99,354.[122]
Crest and shirt
Since its foundation the club has played with a crest. The club's original crest was a quartered diamond-shaped crest topped by the Crown of Aragon and the bat of King James, and surrounded by two branches, one of a laurel tree and the other a palm.[123] In 1910 the club held a competition among its members to design a new crest. The winner was Carles Comamala, who at the time played for the club. Comamala's suggestion became the crest that the club wears today, with some minor variations. The crest consists of the St George Cross in the upper-left corner with the Catalan flag beside it, and the team colours at the bottom.[123]
The blue and red colours of the shirt were first worn in a match against Hispania in 1900.[124] Several competing theories have been put forth for the blue and red design of the Barcelona shirt. The son of the first president, Arthur Witty, claimed it was the idea of his father as the colours were the same as the Merchant Taylor's School team. Another explanation, according to author Toni Strubell, is that the colours are from Robespierre's First Republic. In Catalonia the common perception is that the colours were chosen by Joan Gamper and are those of his home team, FC Basel.[125]
Prior to the 2011–2012 season, Barcelona had a long history of avoiding corporate sponsorship on the playing shirts. On 14 July 2006, the club announced a five-year agreement with UNICEF, which includes having the UNICEF logo on their shirts. The agreement has the club donate €1.5 million per year to UNICEF (0.7 percent of its ordinary income, equal to the UN International Aid Target, cf. ODA) via the FC Barcelona Foundation.[126] The FC Barcelona Foundation is an entity set up in 1994 on the suggestion of then-chairman of the Economical-Statutory Committee, Jaime Gil-Aluja. The idea was to set up a foundation that could attract financial sponsorships to support a non-profit sport company.[127] In 2004, a company could become one of 25 "Honorary members" by contributing between £40,000–60,000 (£52,000–78,000)[128] per year. There are also 48 associate memberships available for an annual fee of £14,000 (£18,200)[128] and an unlimited number of "patronages" for the cost of £4,000 per year (£5,200).[128] It is unclear whether the honorary members have any formal say in club policy, but according to the author Anthony King, it is "unlikely that Honorary Membership would not involve at least some informal influence over the club".[129]
Barcelona ended their refusal of corporate sponsorship prior to the commencement of the 2011–12 season, signing a five-year €150m deal with Qatar Sports Investments, that meant the Qatar Foundation[130] was on the club's shirt for the 11/12 and 12/13 seasons, then replaced by Qatar Airways for the 13/14 season, the deal allowing for a commercial sponsor logo to replace the charity logo, two years into the six-year deal.[131]
Main articles: Camp de la Indústria, Camp de Les Corts, and Camp Nou
an elevated view of the stadium at night
An elevated view of a full Camp Nou
Barcelona initially played in the Camp de la Indústria. The capacity was about 6,000, and club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club with growing membership.[132]
In 1922, the number of supporters had surpassed 20,000 and by lending money to the club, Barça was able to build the larger Camp de Les Corts, which had an initial capacity of 20,000 spectators. After the Spanish Civil War the club started attracting more members and a larger number of spectators at matches. This led to several expansion projects: the grandstand in 1944, the southern stand in 1946, and finally the northern stand in 1950. After the last expansion, Les Corts could hold 60,000 spectators.[133]
After the construction was complete there was no further room for expansion at Les Corts. Back-to-back La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949 and the signing of in June 1950 of László Kubala, who would later go on to score 196 goals in 256 matches, drew larger crowds to the games.[133][134][135] The club began to make plans for a new stadium.[133] The building of Camp Nou commenced on 28 March 1954, before a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans. The first stone of the future stadium was laid in place under the auspices of Governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of Archbishop of Barcelona Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years and ended on 24 September 1957 with a final cost of 288 million pesetas, 336% over budget.[133]
One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, "Més que un club", meaning 'More than a club'
In 1980, when the stadium was in need of redesign to meet UEFA criteria, the club raised money by offering supporters the opportunity to inscribe their name on the bricks for a small fee. The idea was popular with supporters, and thousands of people paid the fee. Later this became the centre of controversy when media in Madrid picked up reports that one of the stones was inscribed with the name of long-time Real Madrid chairman and Franco supporter Santiago Bernabéu.[136][137][138] In preparation for the 1992 Summer Games two tiers of seating were installed above the previous roofline.[139] It has a current capacity of 99,354 making it the largest stadium in Europe.
Barcelona initially played in the Camp de la Indústria. The capacity was about 6,000, and club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club with growing membership.[132]
In 1922, the number of supporters had surpassed 20,000 and by lending money to the club, Barça was able to build the larger Camp de Les Corts, which had an initial capacity of 20,000 spectators. After the Spanish Civil War the club started attracting more members and a larger number of spectators at matches. This led to several expansion projects: the grandstand in 1944, the southern stand in 1946, and finally the northern stand in 1950. After the last expansion, Les Corts could hold 60,000 spectators.[133]
After the construction was complete there was no further room for expansion at Les Corts. Back-to-back La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949 and the signing of in June 1950 of László Kubala, who would later go on to score 196 goals in 256 matches, drew larger crowds to the games.[133][134][135] The club began to make plans for a new stadium.[133] The building of Camp Nou commenced on 28 March 1954, before a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans. The first stone of the future stadium was laid in place under the auspices of Governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of Archbishop of Barcelona Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years and ended on 24 September 1957 with a final cost of 288 million pesetas, 336% over budget.[133]
One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, "Més que un club", meaning 'More than a club'
In 1980, when the stadium was in need of redesign to meet UEFA criteria, the club raised money by offering supporters the opportunity to inscribe their name on the bricks for a small fee. The idea was popular with supporters, and thousands of people paid the fee. Later this became the centre of controversy when media in Madrid picked up reports that one of the stones was inscribed with the name of long-time Real Madrid chairman and Franco supporter Santiago Bernabéu.[136][137][138] In preparation for the 1992 Summer Games two tiers of seating were installed above the previous roofline.[139] It has a current capacity of 99,354 making it the largest stadium in Europe.
There are also other facilities, which include:[140]
Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper (FC Barcelona's training ground)
Masia-Centre de Formació Oriol Tort (Residence of young players)
Mini Estadi (Home of the reserve team)
Palau Blaugrana (FC Barcelona indoor sports arena)
Palau Blaugrana 2 (Secondary indoor arena of FC Barcelona)
Pista de Gel (FC Barcelona ice rink)
Honours
Chelsea Football Club /'t??lsi?/ is an English football club based in Fulham, London. Founded in 1905, they play in the English Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Their home is the 41,837-seat[2] Stamford Bridge stadium, where they have played since their establishment.
Chelsea had their first major success in 1955, when they won the league championship, and won various cup competitions during the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s and 2000s. The club has enjoyed its greatest period of success in the past two decades, winning 15 recent major trophies since 1997.[3] Domestically, Chelsea have won four league titles, seven FA Cups, four League Cups and four FA Community Shields, while in continental competitions they have won two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, one UEFA Europa League and one UEFA Champions League. Chelsea are the only London club to win the UEFA Champions League,[4] one of four clubs, and the only British club, to have won all three main UEFA club competitions, and also the first club to hold two major European titles simultaneously.[5][6]
Chelsea's regular kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club's crest has been changed several times in attempts to re-brand the club and modernise its image. The current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion rampant regardant holding a staff, is a modification of the one introduced in the early 1950s.[7] The club has sustained the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football.[8] Their average home gate for the 2012–13 season was 41,462, the sixth highest in the Premier League.[9] Since July 2003, Chelsea have been owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.[10] In April 2013 it was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the seventh most valuable football club in the world, at £588 million ($901 million), an increase of 18% from the previous year
In 1904 Gus Mears acquired the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium with the aim of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearby Fulham was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own club to use the stadium. As there was already a team named Fulham in the borough, the name of the adjacent borough of Chelsea was chosen for the new club; names like Kensington FC, Stamford Bridge FC and London FC were also considered.[13] Chelsea were founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook),[1] opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards.
The club won promotion to the First Division in their second season, and yo-yoed between the First and Second Divisions in their early years. They reached the 1915 FA Cup Final, where they lost to Sheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished 3rd in the First Division in 1920, the club's best league campaign to that point.[14] Chelsea attracted large crowds[15] and had a reputation for signing big-name players,[16] but success continued to elude the club in the inter-war years. Former Arsenal and England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side with shrewd signings from the lower divisions and amateur leagues, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions' Cup, but after objections from The Football League and the FA Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.[17] Chelsea failed to build on this success, and spent the remainder of the 1950s in mid-table. Drake was dismissed in 1961 and replaced by player-coach Tommy Docherty.
Chart showing the progress of Chelsea's league finishes from 1905 to 1906 season to 2007–08 season
Docherty built a new team around the group of talented young players emerging from the club's youth set-up and Chelsea challenged for honours throughout the 1960s, enduring several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the final stages of the 1964–65 season, winning the League Cup but faltering late on in the other two.[18] In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. Under Docherty's successor, Dave Sexton, Chelsea won the FA Cup in 1970, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a final replay. Chelsea took their first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the following year, with another replayed win, this time over Real Madrid in Athens.
The late 1970s through to the 1980s was a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club,[19] star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade.[20] In 1982, Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal sum of £1, although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home.[21] On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89.
Chelsea players celebrate their first UEFA Champions League title
After a long-running legal battle, Bates reunited the stadium freehold with the club in 1992 by doing a deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash.[22] Chelsea's form in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the 1994 FA Cup Final with Glenn Hoddle. It was not until the appointment of Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 that their fortunes changed. He added several top international players to the side, as the club won the FA Cup in 1997 and established themselves as one of England's top sides again. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, who led the team to victory in the League Cup Final, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final and the UEFA Super Cup in 1998, the FA Cup in 2000 and their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League. Vialli was sacked in favour of Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup Final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.
In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million.[10] Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies,[23] and was replaced by José Mourinho.[24] Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War (2004–05 and 2005–06),[25] in addition to winning an FA Cup (2007) and two League Cups (2005 and 2007). Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant,[26] who led the club to their first UEFA Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester United. In 2009, Guus Hiddink guided Chelsea to another FA Cup success,[27] and in 2009–10, his successor Carlo Ancelotti led them to their first league and FA Cup "Double", becoming the first English top-flight club to score 100 league goals in a season since 1963.[28] In 2012 caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo led Chelsea to their seventh FA Cup,[29] and their first UEFA Champions League title, beating Bayern Munich 4–3 on penalties,[30] the first London club to win the trophy.[30] A year later Chelsea won the UEFA Europa League,[31] becoming the first club to hold two major European titles simultaneously and one of four clubs, and the only British club, to have won all three of UEFA's major club competitions.[32]
Stadium
