Another week, another 5 of Chelsea’s greatest players for your delectation. We continue our countdown with numbers 40-36 which include 4 former Blues and one of the current crop.
40. Cesar Azpilicueta
Mr. Consistent since he signed from Marseille in 2012, Cesar Azpilicueta has played in 3 different positions during his Chelsea career and has excelled in each one of them. Arriving as a fairly unknown right back, he adapted his game to the left side of defence and dislodged Chelsea legend Ashley Cole in Jose Mourinho’s team. Since Antonio Conte took charge in the summer of 2016, Azpilicueta has played on the right of the back 3, becoming one of the best defenders in the Premier League in the process. Dave, as he’s known at Stamford Bridge because of the complexity of his name, has 2 Premier League titles to his name as well as a Chelsea Players’ Player of the Year trophy – showing how much he’s valued by his teammates. A possible future captain for the Blues if he sticks around long enough.
39. David Webb
Another defender on this list is David Webb, a stalwart of the Chelsea sides of the 1960s and 70s. He was the hero as Chelsea won their first ever FA Cup as he headed in the winner against Leeds in the final replay at Old Trafford. Like Azpilicueta, Webb was versatile in defence and could be either on the right or in the centre and it was from the centre that he made his best performances in a Chelsea shirt. But he wasn’t only known for his defending. Webb was also useful as a centre forward and even bagged a hat-trick as a striker against Ipswich in 1968. Ipswich suffered at the hands of Webb, quite literally, 3 years later as he kept a clean sheet against them. The only difference was that he played the whole game in goal. You wouldn’t see that nowadays.
38. Frank Lebouf
A defender ahead of his time. Frank Lebouf’s brilliant passing ability from centre-half made him a true asset to the Chelsea sides of the late 1990s. The Frenchman played over 200 times for the Blues and helped the side to 2 FA Cups, a Cup Winners’ Cup and a League Cup, scoring his fair share of goals in the process. Lebouf was a regular penalty and free kick taker and these were the main source of his goals. At just £2.5m, Lebouf really was a snip for Chelsea and his success didn’t stop outside his club. He won a World Cup and a European Championship with France during his time under contract at Chelsea, showing that he really was a born winner.
37. Steve Clarke
When you think of Steve Clarke, you can be forgiven for seeing him as a decent coach and manager but his playing career was one to sit up and take note of. Clarke made a whopping 421 appearances in Chelsea blue, that’s more than Didier Drogba. He was inducted into the Chelsea XI of the 20th century in 2006 as the right back so he’s clearly viewed as one of the best players the club has ever had on its books. Although that spot would probably be taken by Branislav Ivanovic now, his 11-year spell at SW6 will go down in Chelsea history. His final appearance for the club came in the 1998 Cup Winners’ Cup final against Stuttgart in 1998 where he guided the Blues to their second continental trophy and left the club on a high. He returned to the club 6 years later as one of Jose Mourinho’s assistants as he was involved in more success as the Blues won two Premier League titles before Clarke left in 2006 to pursue his managerial career.
36. George Hilsdon
One of the very first players on the payroll at Chelsea Football Club was George HIlsdon who joined the club way back in 1906, a year after the club was formed. Hilsdon was signed as a centre-forward but settled into a place on the wing but his goal scoring ability is still one of the best in the club’s history. He is still the only Chelsea player ever to have scored 6 goals in one game, that came against Worksop Town in the FA Cup. But that wasn’t before his struck 5 on his debut for the club against Glossop North End in a stunning 9-2 victory. His goals helped Chelsea to the First Division of English football before he left for West Ham in 1912 with 108 goals to his name, that figure stands at 9th in the list of all-time record goal scorers for the Blues.