Chelsea and the UEFA Champions League: Bad Luck
Why is that Chelsea have not yet won the UEFA Champions League? The Blues have proved themselves to be one of the top sides in the English Premier League in recent years but they have still not managed to claim the coveted European Cup.
Since the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over the club in 2003, the Blues have been securing regular qualifications for the European competition. Many a times Chelsea have reached the latter stages of the competition, but their attempts have always
ended in disappointment.
It’s not because the Blues do not have a squad that is unable to compete on the European stage. Since the beginning of the Abramovich era, Chelsea have had a host of top players, many of whom are still in the existing squad.
The likes of skipper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Didier-Drogba-c11044 form the backbone of the Chelsea squad. Almost all of them have been available for the Blues in their European conquest over the years but to no avail.
There is no lack of ambition at the London club either; it is common knowledge that Abramovich is desperate for the Champions League trophy. In fact, it is believed that he does not care too much for the domestic trophies.
However, those are the only trophies Chelsea have won so far. From back to back Premier League trophies, to the Premier League and FA Cup double and the lesser trophies such as the Carling Cup and the Community Shield, the Blues have won them all.
The Champions League remains out of reach, a myth. Earning a qualification for the European competition season after season just does not seem good enough. Making it past the group stages of the Champions League doesn’t seem good enough either.
Having made it to the final in 2008 has raised the expectations of the owner and the supporters, but unfortunately the Blues have not been able to recreate their success. Not that their stop at the 2008 final was a memorable one.
It ended like all their other Champions League campaigns, in disappointment. Which was not necessarily brought on by any fault of theirs. Chelsea are good enough to win the Champions League, they are just extremely unlucky.
More unlucky than probably any other club when it comes to the Champions League. Their bad luck in the European competition has cost many managers their http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684, which is why the Blues have had 7 managers in their last eight years.
Below is a brief summary of their Champions League history since when Roman Abramovich took over the club:
2003 – 2004 Chelsea eased past the qualifying round and the group stages, progressing to the quarter-final where they defeated London rivals http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 3-2 on aggregate. Having successfully made it to the semi-final against Monaco, the Blues
lose 3-5 to the Ligue 1 outfit.
2004 – 2005 This year was not any better for the Blues as they lost to English Premier League rivals Liverpool in the semi-finals. They reached the final stages of the competition after making it past the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
2005 – 2006 The La Liga giants had their revenge as they defeated the Blues in the first knock-out round with a 3-2 win on aggregate.
2006 – 2007 Chelsea made it past http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863, only to lose out to Liverpool once again in the semi-final.
2007 – 2008 The Blues made it to final and face Premier League rivals Manchester United. They made it past Olympiacos, Fenerbahce and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 to reach the final where they suffered a highly disappointing and unlucky loss to the Red Devils.
2008 – 2009 http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 in the semi-final of the European competition in a highly controversial fixture.
2009 – 2010 Jose Mourinho’s http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan did not let Chelsea make it past the first knock-out round, defeating the Blues 3-1 on aggregate.
2010 – 2011 Last season it was Manchester United once again who shattered Chelsea’s hopes of lifting the European trophy as they defeated the Blues 3-1 on aggregate.
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