Chelsea love the cups

With FA Cup fever in full flow, there is one club looking for an incredible fifth victory in seven years.

That club is of course Chelsea, who, since being injected with Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s cash, have gone on to win all sorts of silverware.  Whilst other teams haven’t won a trophy for years, the Blues seem to find themselves in a cup final almost every season.  What’s more, Chelsea have finished every year as at least runners up in one of four major competitions since Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

After finishing second in 2004, the club finally won the Premier League the following season, as well as that year’s League Cup.  They retained the title in 2006, but would finish just behind a tenacious Manchester United the next two seasons.  Whilst 2007 was lifted by winning both domestic cup competitions, 2008 was the stuff of nightmares; they were defeated by Tottenham in the League Cup final, as well as losing out to United yet again, with penalties in Moscow seeing their Champions League dream end in heartbreak.  2009 saw them regain their grip on the FA Cup, winning it again in the next season along with their last Premier League title to date.  2011 was arguably the quietest year for Chelsea during this period, as they ultimately finished runners up to Sir Alex Ferguson’s side for the third time.  Despite what was considered a terrible league campaign by their high standards, last season saw the Blues overshadow their own FA Cup victory by finally grasping Roman Abramovich’s Holy Grail, as they won the Champions League after an incredible journey was completed by Didier Droba’s last kick for the club.

Having just defeated Southampton to get their name in the hat for the fourth round of the world’s oldest football competition, Chelsea face a midweek game at home to Swansea in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final.

Can Rafael Benitez ensure the club keep their impressive record intact?

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