1996–97 Chelsea F.C. season

Season summary

With Glenn Hoddle leaving to become England manager, Chelsea gave the managerial role to midfielder Ruud Gullit. Gullit would use his continental connections to bring in world-class international players such as France center-back Frank Leboeuf, and Italian superstars such as midfielder Roberto Di Matteo, Parma's playmaker Gianfranco Zola and the Champions League winning striker and Juventus captain Gianluca Vialli. Gullit had a dream start to his managerial career as Chelsea won the FA Cup with a 2–0 win over Middlesbrough, ending Chelsea's 26-year trophy drought and making him the first foreign manager and first black manager to win a major trophy with an English club.

Zola was voted FWA Footballer of the Year after a brilliant first season at Stamford Bridge in which he scored 12 goals and contributed many assists, while fellow countryman and record £4.5 million signing Roberto Di Matteo scored one of Chelsea's goals in the triumphant Wembley final.

The club suffered a tragedy in late October when director Matthew Harding was killed in a helicopter crash in Cheshire when returning home from the club's League Cup exit at Bolton.

Final league table

Main article: 1996–97 FA Premier League

;Results summary

;Results by round

Results

FA Premier League

Vialli Keown Wright Vialli Wise Myers Berger Myers Barnes Di Matteo M. Hughes Vialli Ardley Gayle Ekoku Lee Di Matteo Vialli Rush Vialli Kanchelskis Ball Russell Zola M. Hughes Stefanović Bart-Williams Leboeuf P. Hughes Di Matteo Asanović Ward Leboeuf Kitson M. Hughes Sinclair Petrescu M. Hughes Di Matteo Rae Platt Bergkamp Williams Whelan Asprilla M. Hughes Di Matteo

League Cup

FA Cup

First team squad

:Squad at end of season

Left club during season

Reserve squad

Statistics

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Statistics taken from http://www.soccerbase.com/squad_season.sd?teamid=536 . Squad details and shirt numbers from https://web.archive.org/web/20130505052001/http://cfchistory.co.uk/ and https://web.archive.org/web/20091027001136/http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/8882/players.html.

Transfers

In

Out

:Transfers in: £14,450,000 :Transfers out: £4,965,000 :Total spending: £9,485,000

References

• Hockings, Ron. 100 Years of the Blues: A Statistical History of Chelsea Football Club. (2007)

References

1. (3 October 2020). "Ruud Gullit - Leading Chelsea to triumph".
2. (22 May 2015). "Gianfranco Zola says Chelsea 'team to beat' next year with Eden Hazard".
3. (19 May 1997). "Chelsea cruelly expose Boro fault lines".
4. (24 October 1996). "Football mourns a true fan". The Independent.
5. "Chelsea - 1996/97". FootballSquads.
6. Sinclair was born in [[London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth]], [[England]], but also qualified to represent [[Jamaica]] internationally.
7. Phelan was born in [[Manchester]], [[England]].