THE VITALS:

Team: Chelsea

Brand: Adidas

Era: 2009-10 (Used during the 2009-10 Barclays Premiership season and the 2009 FA Community Shield match)

Name/Number: Ballack #13

CONDITION: GOOD

This article would have been classified as being in very good condition, however, the damage to the name and numbering print renders that impossible sadly. Outside of that aberration however, the rest of the shirt bears minimal wear and tear.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Large

Pit to Pit Measurement: 22.0 inches

Shirt Length: 29.0 inches 

Made by Adidas in the ‘ClimaCool’ iteration which they introduced in 2009; the dimensions of this shirt suggest that it may also fit someone who wears a size extra-large (XL).

DESCRIPTION:

Chelsea’s third home shirt made by Adidas would reduce the number of white accents to just the Adidas embroidery and three stripes down the sleeves and the Samsung sponsorship and restore the Adidas logo to the right breast in what was the more of an artistic successor to their debut home shirt used between 2006-08 than the 2008-09 season home shirt. This shirt would be synonymous with Chelsea’s most successful season as they won the Community Shield, FA Cup and Premier League in Carlo Ancelotti’s debut season at the helm in 2009-10! This season would also be memorable as Didier Drogba won the Premier League Golden Boot and Frank Lampard added 22 league goals of his own as ‘The Blues’ won 12 of their first 14 league games en route to securing the title on the final day of the season and scoring 103 goals along the way! Furthermore, Chelsea would defeat Manchester United on three occasions, and also complete the double over Liverpool and Arsenal. During the league season, the team would also score 4 goals or more goals in 9 games. A fine season was capped when they became the first team since Arsenal did in 2003 to successfully defend the FA Cup. This would also be the final season at the club for the likes of: Joe Cole, Juliano Belletti, Michael Ballack, Deco and Ricardo Carvalho who all moved on in the summer of 2010.

THE SEASON:

Guus Hiddink’s fine temporary stint in charge of Chelsea from January 2009 would salvage an ailing season as they secured a 3^rd place finish in the league and came agonisingly close to making a second consecutive Champions League final appearance before winning the FA Cup for the second time in three years. Although Hiddink chose not to make his stay permanent, his successor was none other than Carlo Ancelotti who was prized from AC Milan after his eight year spell in charge that delivered two Champions League titles and a Scudetto in 2004.

Much like the summer of 2007 – arrivals were at a minimum with Ross Turnbull, Daniel Sturridge, Yuri Zhirkov and Nemanja Matic signed in the summer of 2009, meanwhile there were a series of departures that included – Ben Sahar, Claudio Pizarro and Andriy Shevchenko.

Chelsea entered the 2009-10 Premier League season having gone unbeaten in their last 8 games of the previous league season – winning their last 5 games. The Carlo Ancelotti-era in the Premier League began on 15^th August 2009 when Chelsea hosted Hull City at Stamford Bridge. The home side would come from a goal behind with Didier Drogba scoring a stoppage time winner to seal a 2-1 win. They would reel off another 5 wins to extend their cumulative winning run to 10 games. The run would by stopped in a stunning upset against Wigan Athletic on 26^th September 2009 when they were beaten 3-1 away, and fall away against Aston Villa three weeks later. This pair of aberrations only proved to ignite the 2004-05 and 2005-06 Premier League winners as they won their next five games including wins over Manchester United and Arsenal. The latter victory allowed them to move 5 points clear at the summit of the division after 14 games. A poor December 2009 would yield 3 draws, 2 wins and a defeat to Manchester City which meant that Chelsea ended the decade of the noughties in 1^st place just a point clear of Arsenal in 2^nd place.

Chelsea’s first league game of 2010 would yield a 7-2 win over Sunderland at Stamford Bridge and follow up wins over Birmingham City and Burnley completed a 100% win record in January 2010. The period from February to mid-March however would deliver a mixed bag of results; crucially, including dropped points against Hull City, Everton, Man City and Blackburn Rovers. Although Arsenal were beaten 2-0 on 10^th February 2010; by close of Match-Day 31 – Chelsea were now a point behind Man United with their meeting at Old Trafford to be played on 3^rd April 2010. Huge wins over Portsmouth and Aston Villa set the stage for Chelsea to defeat United at Old Trafford 2-1 – making it their first win their since May 2005. With Chelsea back at the summit of the table with 5 games remaining. A defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on 17^th April 2010 would mean that the destination of the title would not be decided until the last day of the season. Knowing a victory would secure their third Premier League title; Chelsea obliterated Wigan Athletic 8-0 at Stamford Bridge to prize the title away from Manchester United’s grasp!

In the domestic competitions; Chelsea avenged their defeat against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Community Shield match when they won 4-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw played after extra time.

Their quest to reach the a third League Cup Final in five years began with wins over Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers, however, Blackburn would upset them in 5^th Round when they won 4-3 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw unfolded at Ewood Park on 2^nd December 2009.

Chelsea’s FA Cup run however, would yield a third title in four seasons where they became the first team since Arsenal did in 2003 to successfully defend the FA Cup. Beginning on 3^rd January 2010 – Chelsea would begin their defence of the title by beating Watford 3-0 at home. Fellow Championship opponents – Preston North End and Cardiff City were then seen off before a 2-0 win over Stoke City in the quarter final set up a semi-final against Aston Villa on 10^th April 2010. Chelsea would win 3-0 in the Wembley showdown before they met the winner of the 2007/08 FA Cup – Portsmouth in the final on 15^th May 2010. Didier Drogba continued his incredible run of scoring in cup finals as it was his goal that proved decisive as Chelsea won 1-0 to complete the domestic double for the first time in their history!

The UEFA Champions League campaign would be a source of disappointment however as they bowed out in the Round of 16 against eventual winners – Internazionale who were managed by their former manager – Jose Mourinho no less. The Group Stage would see Chelsea placed in Group D alongside – Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and APOEL. Chelsea would enjoy a fine unbeaten Group Stage phase as finished in 1^st place after 4 wins and 2 draws.

They would unfortunately draw one of the short-straw’s in the Last 16 as they were paired against Inter and Jose Mourinho. Inter would end their recent Last 16 hoodoo against English opposition when they won both, home (2-1) and away (1-0) to inflict Chelsea’s first exit at the Round of 16 since 2006.

The notable players that season were:

Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko, Nicolas Anelka, Daniel Sturridge, Salomon Kalou, Fabio Borini, Florent Malouda, Deco, Yossi Benayoun, Frank Lampard, Mikel, Michael Essien, Nemanja Matic, Yuri Zhirkov, Alex, Paulo Ferreira, Juliano Belletti, Ricardo Carvalho, Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Jose Bosingwa, Petr Cech, Hilario