Roberto di Matteo guided Chelsea to their biggest-ever victory against Bayern Munich in the 2012 Champions League final. But where are the players who started in that historic game at the Allianz Arena?
Petr Cech
The 36 year old is still going strong in the Premier League with Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal. Cech has announced that he will retire from professional football at the end of the season and will go down as one of the best in the business.
Jose Bosingwa
After Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, Bosingwa was released by Chelsea and joined fellow Premier League side Queens Park Rangers. After a little over a season with the club, he moved to Turkish side Trabzonspor and spent 3 years with the club before retiring from professional football.
David Luiz
The Brazilian played 2 seasons for the Blues after the victory in Munich and then moved to French giants Paris Saint-Germain in 2014 for a world record fee. Luiz however returned to Chelsea in 2016 and has been regular for the club ever since.
Gary Cahill
The 33-year-old is Chelsea’s only permanent survivor from their famous win at the Allianz Arena and was a regular until the start of this season. However, Cahill has failed to get regular game time under new boss Maurizio Sarri and his contract will end in June 2019.
Ashley Cole
The 38-year-old left Chelsea in 2014 and moved to Italian side AS Roma. After a year in the Serie A, he moved to America and joined MLS side LA Galaxy and spent 2 years with a club. Cole currently plays for Championship side Derby County.
Salomon Kalou
The Ivorian was released by Chelsea at the end of the 2011/12 campaign after 6 years and 254 appearances for the club. Kalou later moved to French side Lille where he spent 2 years. Kalou joined Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin in 2014 and has been a regular for the club till date.
John Obi Mikel
Mikel stayed with the Blues till January 2017 before moving to Chinese side Tianjin TEDA. The 31-year-old spent 2 years in China before moving back to England on a free transfer in last month’s transfer window. Mikel currently plays for Championship side Middlesbrough.
Frank Lampard
Chelsea’s captain on
Lampard extended his loan till the end of the season before finally making his debut for New York in January 2015. Lampard retired from professional football in February 2017 and is now the manager of Championship side Derby County.
Ryan Bertrand
Bertrand joined Aston Villa on a 6 month loan deal in January 2014 and followed that up with a season long loan deal with Southampton. The Englishman signed a permanent deal with the south coast club and has been there since.
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Juan Mata
The Spaniard joined Manchester United in January 2014 for a then club record fee after issues with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. Mata ironically played under the Portuguese manager in his current club.
Didier Drogba
After the scoring equaliser and the winning penalty in Munich, Drogba was released by Chelsea and moved to Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua on a 2 and a half year deal.
Drogba then moved to Turkish giants Galatasaray but left the club after just 6 months to return to Chelsea. The Ivorian then moved to MLS side Montreal Impact, where stayed for 2 years before moving to USL side Phoenix Rising and became the first ever player-owner in history.
Drogba announced his retirement from professional football in November 2018 at the age of 40.
These players may all be in different places now but what they achieved together will always be monumental for the club and its fans.