The journey of Chelsea's number nine shirt has had a lot of highs and lows through the years. Its owners stretch from club legends to players that the fans may just want to forget.
Bentley fired Chelsea to historic title
Roy Bentley’s tally of 150 goals in in 367 games for the Blues from 1948 to 1956 cemented him as one of Chelsea’s best ever players. Bentley is fourth in Chelsea’s all-time goalscorers list and captained Chelsea to their first league title during the 1954-55 campaign. With his 150 goals in royal blue, Roy Bentley’s tally would be matched 18 years later by another man loved dearly by Chelsea fans.
The statue outside Stamford Bridge pays tribute to “The King of Stamford Bridge”, Peter Osgood. Coming through Chelsea’s academy, Osgood donned the number nine for the Blues while scoring 150 goals in 380 appearances from 1964-1974 and 1978-1979. Whilst at Chelsea, Osgood won the League Cup, FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup, the latter a first for the club. To this day, Osgood remains the greatest Chelsea player to ever wear the number nine.
From Dixon to Hasselbaink - the number was treasured by the Blues' support
Osgood’s retirement in 1979 meant Chelsea needed a new man to fill his boots. Four years passed before finding his replacement, step forward Kerry Dixon. Signing in 1983, Dixon would score 193 goals in 335 games over nine seasons. Third on the all-time goalscorers list and eighth on the club’s all-time appearances list, Dixon is one of the most adored Chelsea players ever. His only honours with the club were two Second Division titles.
In 1996, Italian forward Gianluca Vialli joined the club from Champions League winners Juventus and instantly took the number nine. While his goal-scoring tally was nowhere near that of those who previously wore the number, 21 goals in 58 games, Vialli became a cult-hero with Chelsea fans. Vialli eventually went on to manage the team from 1998 to 2000, winning the League Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup and the European Super Cup.
The turn of the century saw a new man take the shirt number from Vialli, former Leeds United striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The Dutchman recorded 70 goals in 136 appearances for Chelsea, including 23 in his first season to win the Premier League Golden Boot. A constant fan favourite, Hasselbaink departed Stamford Bridge in 2004 but remains a legend for his fantastic record with Chelsea.
Hasselbaink’s departure in 2004 began the decline of Chelsea’s number nine. Mateja Kezman was brought in and was handed the shirt but in his one season at the club, the Serbian netted just eight times in 41 games but did score the winner in the League Cup final. Hernán Crespo’s tally of 13 in 42 wasn’t much better, despite his Chelsea career being somewhat of a success.
Some less traditional occupants of the number
Three different players held the number from 2006-2009, lasting a combined three seasons. Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz took the number and started well but eventually failed to make any sort of impact and his 20-game Chelsea career eventually headed downhill.
The following campaign, Steve Sidwell took over the shirt from Boulahrouz and made 25 appearances, but without much to note. Youngster Franco Di Santo claimed the number nine for the 2008-09 season but with just 16 appearances and no goals, he was loaned and sold.
In January of 2010, Fernando Torres joined Chelsea for a then British transfer record of 50 million. He was handed the number nine and it’s safe to say, he was an expensive failure. After being dubbed the best striker in the world at Liverpool, his switch to Stamford Bridge saw him score 45 times in 172 games.
Torres’ Chelsea career was littered with long goal droughts but he still managed to win the hearts of the fans with a last minute equalizer against Barcelona in the Champions League Semi-Finals. The Blues would go on to lift the Champions League that season and reached the Europa League Final the following year, with Torres scoring the opener in a 2-1 triumph for the Blues.
Can Falcao bring back the goalscoring touch to the famous jersey?
The Spaniard’s time in London came to an end in 2014 and the number nine shirt has recently been given to on-loan striker Radamel Falcao. With many people expecting Falcao to continue his poor form from his spell with Man United, the Stamford Bridge faithful will be hoping the recent curse of the number nine finally ends.
