Chelsea 2006/2007 Third Shirt

CHELSEA - THIRD SHIRT 2006/2007

Chelsea Football Club were founded in 1905 at the Rising Sun pub in Fulham, west London, and have called Stamford Bridge home ever since. Affectionately known as The Blues (and, in older days, The Pensioners), they remain one of the few clubs in world football created specifically to fill a stadium that already existed, the ground having been built before the team.

The 2006/2007 season, during which this striking third shirt was worn, was José Mourinho's third in charge and another relentless title chase. Chelsea finished second in the Premier League on 83 points, six adrift of champions Manchester United. The race was effectively settled on matchday 36 when a 1-1 draw away at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium handed the trophy to United, ending Chelsea's hopes of a third straight crown.

There was silverware aplenty elsewhere. Chelsea lifted the FA Cup, beating Manchester United 1-0 after extra time in the first final staged at the new Wembley, Didier Drogba settling it late on. They also won the League Cup, seeing off Arsenal 2-1 thanks to a Drogba double. In the Champions League they reached the semi-finals, only to fall to Liverpool 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate.

Drogba was the undisputed star, finishing as top scorer with 33 goals in all competitions, 20 of them in the league to claim the Premier League Golden Boot. The summer had seen owner Roman Abramovich splash out again, with Andriy Shevchenko arriving from Milan for £30m, Michael Ballack joining on a free from Bayern Munich, and Ashley Cole crossing London from Arsenal.

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