Chelsea have regained the Premier League crown after finishing second to Manchester United in the last three seasons. Former manager Jose Mourinho, bankrolled by owner Roman Abramovich's millions, brought the first title to Stamford Bridge for 50 years when the Blues lifted the trophy in 2005. Chelsea became only the second team to win back-to-back Premier League titles when they clinched it a year later. Mourinho left the club by mutual consent in September 2007.
Although Chelsea reached the FA Cup final in 1994, they hardly set the world alight in their early Premier League days. Ruud Gullit became manager in 1996 and steered the Blues to an FA Cup triumph in 1997, while his successor Gianluca Vialli guided the team to victory in the League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1998.
Shortly after, he led the team to the UEFA Super Cup after a 1-0 win over Real Madrid. The FA Cup followed in 2000. Vialli was replaced by Claudio Ranieri in 2000 and he led Chelsea to another FA Cup final appearance in 2002.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the Blues for £140m. After a trophyless season, he appointed Mourinho as new Chelsea manager and there was instant success. In 2005, Chelsea won the Barclays Premiership and League Cup, along with a Champions League semi-final appearance.
And Mourinho retained the Barclays Premiership crown the year after, equalling the club's own Premier League record of 29 wins set the previous season. They were league runners-up in 2006/07 and also claimed the FA Cup and League Cup double.
They were also runners-up in the 2007/08 campaign, but by this time Mourinho had left the club. He was replaced by Avram Grant who led the Blues to the final of the Champions League and Carling Cup.
Grant left Stamford Bridge at the end of the season and was replaced by Luiz Felipe Scolari who was tasked with bringing the title back to the club. However he was sacked in February 2009 and replaced by Guus Hiddink who agreed to take charge until the end of the campaign while continuing to coach the Russian national side. He was hugely popular with fans and players and he led them to success in the FA Cup final, beating Everton 2-1.
His decision to stick with Russia saw Chelsea bring in former AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti who enjoyed a stunning first season in English football, guiding Chelsea to the Barclays Premier League title in some style. They hit 103 goals to set a new Premier League goalscoring record with Didier Drogba notching 29 to claim the Barclays Golden Boot. Just a week later, they added the FA Cup to their ever expanding trophy cabinet.
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