Even though the overwhelming majority of the club’s major successes have come in just the past couple decades, Chelsea is not without a long list of legendary players in its history.
Though they may not have the longest list of accolades or pieces of hardware to their name (although that certainly doesn’t hurt), there are a number of players whose status as folk heroes is no less important to the club’s history.
In no order, here are six of the most legendary Chelsea players of all-time that have or will have larger than-life status long after their playing days are over.
Jimmy Greaves
Joining a club at the age of 16 then scoring nearly 100 goals in your first four seasons with the senior team is usually a recipe for legend status. Such is the case with Jimmy Greaves, the Essex-born striker who scored 114 goals for the youth team in 18 months with the youth team upon his arrival in west London.
In the 1960-61 season alone, Greaves scored hat tricks in three matches, four goals in two matches, and scored five goals in a match against West Brom. Sadly, Greaves’ magic touch wasn’t enough to make Chelsea a legitimate challenger in the league, and he was sold to AC Milan that offseason for £80,000.
John Terry
One way to figure out if a player will go on to achieve legend status after retiring or moving on is to ask yourself if you can picture the club taking the pitch without that player in the line-up. For Chelsea supporters, that answer is undoubtedly no. A Chelsea youth academy product and the club’s longest running captain, John Terry will always be emblematic of an era at the club that precedes the arrival and departure of Lampard, Drogba, and the other superstars of the new century that have come and gone.
After he made his 500th appearance with the club, the aggressive defender will retire sooner or later with four league titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, two European titles, and a slew of individual honours to his name.
Charlie Cooke
In 1966, Chelsea signed for a then-record of £72,000 a Scottish winger by the name of Charlie Cooke, a price that paid dividends almost immediately. In his league debut, the flamboyant Cooke scooted past captain World Cup-winning England captain Bobby Moore to score the game winner.
From there, Cooke would become one of the stars on a star-studded roster in the 1970s that would win an FA Cup (thanks to a brilliant assist on the game-winning goal from Cooke himself) and the 1971 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup over Real Madrid. After a brief stint at Crystal Palace, Cooke would return to fledgling Chelsea and be an integral part in helping them gain promotion back to the Premiership in 1977.
Gianfranco Zola
In November of 1996, Italian Gianfranco Zola was one of a number of continental European players brought to the club by player-manager Ruud Gullit. Less than a year later, he was awarded FWA Player of the Year, despite yet having to play a full season in England yet.
His seven seasons in West London were bedazzled with impossibly beautiful goals and plenty of hardware, including two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. After leaving the club in 2003, Zola was voted the best player ever in club history by supporters. Zola’s rise at the club coincided with the rise in popularity of betting on football at online sportsbooks that have become tremendously popular in the last decade along with classic casino games including online pokies and roulette. The trend of online betting has only grown after Zola’s playing days ended.
Didier Drogba
Scoring a goal that wins your club a major trophy makes you a legend at most clubs, but doing it three times makes you immortal. The all-time leading scorer among foreign players at Chelsea, Didier Drogba is the man responsible for scoring the winning goals in 2012 Champions League Final and twice in FA Cup Finals (2007 and 2012).
Along with the rest of his all-star squad, Didier helped usher in an era of unprecedented success at Stamford Bridge, helping the club win their first league title in 50 years along with 13 trophies. Few player in a Blues shirt have performed more consistently in big games, and to date he is the only African player to score 100 goals in the Premiership.
Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard’s move to the Blues from West Ham in 2001 was the catalyst for the golden era of Chelsea football. From then until his release in 2014, he was the rock of the line-up and ended up taking the pitch for the club nearly 650 times in 13 seasons, good enough for third all-time.
Considered to be a once-in-generation midfield talent, Lampard’s passing was sublime and he could transition seamlessly into whatever mid (and sometimes even attacking) role that was asked of him. The large thumbprint he left on the club’s history includes three league titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, two European titles, and countless individual accolades.