5 Greatest Chelsea Players from the Premier League Era

Since 1992 and the inception of the Premier League, we have seen may world class players grace what many describe as the greatest league of them all, from your Thierry Henry’s to your Steven Gerrard’s, we have been truly blessed to see these players week in, week out. 

Out of those world class players many have graced the turf of Stamford Bridge turning out for Chelsea and along the way both entertaining us and winning title’s, particularly over the last 10 or so years, where they have been at the top table of English football.

Here at The Sports Lowdown we mark that success in the Premier League era by picking out 5 of the greatest Chelsea players to pull on the blue shirt. Do you agree with the choices we have made? Let us know by following us on Twitter @TheSportLowdown and giving us your top 5 players.

1. Gianfranco Zola – 1996-2003 – Chelsea Appearances – 312 – Goals 80

The little man from Italy was a fan favourite throughout his time at Chelsea, joining from Italian side Parma in 1996 and going on to spend 7 years at Stamford Bridge winning the FA Cup on two occasions plus scoring the winner as Chelsea won the European Cup Winners Cup in the 1997-98 season.

He was arguably just past his peak when he joined Chelsea but at a time when the Premier League was growing in influence around Europe, he along with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Alan Shearer, were playing a huge part in attracting the biggest names to England.

Despite his advancing years, Zola still had that touch of class about him with the great Sir Alex Ferguson calling him a ‘clever little so and so’ after a particular game against Manchester United. An Italian international as well, he made 35 appearances for his country including scoring the only goal of the game in a World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley in 1997.

Zola’s career at Chelsea wound down in 2003, just before the club would go on to have massive success under new owner Roman Abramovich and up and coming boss Jose Mourinho and so he he was to miss out on the title winning seasons that were to come but Chelsea fans loved him and still do today and as football fans across the country, many loved seeing what tricks Zola would get up to next.

Since the end of his career, he turned himself to management, including a stint at both West Ham United in the Premier League and Watford and can now be found managing Al-Arabi in Qatar.