Chelsea's Team of the Decade: 2010-2019
By 90min
Bookended by domestic and European success, it has been a stellar ten years for Chelsea Football Club - and they will end it with a trophy for each year of the decade.
While the arrival of Roman Abramovich saw the Blues become a force to be reckoned with in the noughties, the next ten years have seen them consolidate that early success and grow into one of the biggest clubs in the world under the tutelage of some of football's great managers.
The decade started pretty well, with Carlo Ancelotti's iteration of Chelsea edging a hard-fought title race to win the league by a single point at Manchester United's expense, before adding the FA Cup to make it a double.
Further Premier League titles would follow in 2015 and 2017 under messers Mourinho and Conte respectively, but the crowning moment arrived in 2012; having already claimed the FA Cup, Roberto Di Matteo led his rag-tag Chelsea squad to Champions League glory, fulfilling Abramovich's seven-year ambition.
The west London club end the decade with an average of one trophy per year - not bad going. Here is 90min's pick of the players who made it happen.
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Petr Cech (GK) - A crucial member of the double-winning side of 2010 and the run to Champions League glory in 2012, Cech is the obvious choice between the sticks. His fingertip save from Bastian Schweinsteiger's penalty in Munich was as important as Didier Drogba's swing of his right boot moments later.
Branislav Ivanovic (RB) - Picked at right back in the PFA Team of the Year in 2010 and 2015, beastly defender Ivanovic was a key cog in the Chelsea squad until 2016. Effective both defensively and going forward, he takes the right-back berth with a huge haul of trophies in his cabinet.
John Terry (CB) - Captain, leader, legend - to some. JT epitomised the fighting, underdog spirit of the club as he captained them through years of success in the 2010s until his eventual departure in 2017.
Gary Cahill (CB) - Partnering Terry at the back is his loyal companion Cahill. At his peak, the former Bolton man was among the best in the world in his position, gaining invaluable experience playing alongside the club captain. He left the club in 2019 with eight trophies in the bag.
Cesar Azpilicueta (LB) - The man who has succeeded Terry as captain, Azpilicueta has been a loyal and surprisingly impressive servant for the Blues having joined the club in 2012 for just £7m. The Spaniard has six trophies in the bag already and will be hoping for more in the immediate future with Frank Lampard's Chelsea side.
Midfielders
N'Golo Kanté (DM) - There are barely enough superlatives to describe Kanté - arguably the nicest man in football. Despite only having been at Chelsea for a relatively short time, the midfielder has excelled, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League to make it three trophies in as many years since his arrival in the summer of 2016.
Cesc Fabrégas (RCM) - One of José Mourinho's greatest strokes of genius was bringing Cesc Fabrégas back to England from Barcelona - for just £30m. He racked up an astounding 18 assists in his first season with the club as the Blues claimed a first Premier League title for five years and he would continue to be the metronome in Antonio Conte's victorious 2017 side.
Frank Lampard (LCM) - Another essential part of Chelsea's core during the first decade of the Abramovich era, Lampard was synonymous with the Blues' desperate ambition to land Europe's greatest crown. He rattled in 22 goals and laid on 14 more in a FRANKly ridiculous 2009/10 campaign. While that would represent his last Premier League title, Lampard would achieve his career-long dream of winning the Champions League. Who knows what he's up to now, though.
Eden Hazard (AM) - Chelsea supporters will always be eternally grateful that Eden Hazard opted to join the west Londoners after thoroughly assessing all his options in 2012. The brilliant Belgian illuminated Stamford Bridge with his technique, guile and dazzling dribbling on innumerable occasions as he grew into one of the world's best attacking players, often carrying the side in the latter days with the Blues before inevitably departing for Real Madrid. Merci Eden.
Forwards
Didier Drogba (ST) - Although Drogba only spent three years of the decade at Stamford Bridge, he still takes his place in this XI - partly because those years were still trophy-laden and partly because Chelsea had a dearth of quality strikers in this era. The Ivorian banged 29 goals as Chelsea won the league in 2010, and returned to win the league in 2015 as the back-up striker. Although the goals dried up somewhat, his Champions League heroics in 2012 and the realisation of that dream justify his inclusion here.
Diego Costa (ST) - After the failure of Fernando Torres - among others - it seems there was a realisation in 2014 that Chelsea thrive on having a brutish striker. Diego Costa was the epitome of that. Love him or hate him, the Spain international was unplayable on his day and would enjoy three successful years with the Blues, winning two league titles and scoring 52 goals, before falling out with fellow volatile character, Antonio Conte.
Honourable Mentions: Juan Mata, Willian, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, John Obi Mikel, Nemanja Matic, Thibaut Courtois, Ramires, Marcos Alonso.