Blue Days The Transformation Of Chelsea Under Hoddle, Gullit And Vialli

Blue Days

The Transformation Of Chelsea Under Hoddle, Gullit And Vialli

Chelsea season ticket holder Chris Wright was 10-years old when Glenn Hoddle took charge as player / manager at Stamford Bridge in June 1993. Hoddle proved to be the catalyst for change at the London club as during the following seven years the Blues were transformed from also-rans to serial silverware winners.

In Blue Days, Chris shares his experiences as a young lad growing up supporting Chelsea during what was a truly memorable era. In July 1995, Hoddle persuaded Dutch superstar Ruud Gullit to join his football revolution at the Bridge and young Chris was mesmerised by the midfield maestro’s talents.

In May 1996, Hoddle left Chelsea to become England manager and Gullit stepped up to replace him as Blues boss whilst continuing to play. Legendary Italian trio Roberto Di Matteo, Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola joined the ‘sexy football’ party and Chelsea marched on to Wembley where they won the FA Cup - a fitting tribute to much-loved director Matthew Harding, killed in a helicopter crash in October 1996.

Midway through the following season, controversial Chelsea chairman Ken Bates fired Gullit and installed Vialli as player / manager. In spite of the drama, the campaign still brought glory as the Italian steered the Blues to triumphs in the League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup finals.

Over the course of the next two years, Chelsea won the Super Cup, played in the Champions League, almost won the Premier League and in May 2000 won the FA Cup again. Vialli’s status as a Blues legend was secured, but less than four months later he was sacked by Bates.

Chris is able to reflect on what had been a whirlwind few years at the Bridge and in Blue Days his vivid memories shine through. There’s no doubt that Roman Abramovich took Chelsea to the next level when he bought the Club in 2003, but as you will read in the pages of this book the seeds for the stellar success that followed were sown by Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli.