Chelsea 1997-1998 Home Jersey (UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup Final Version)

2 August 2021 1 Από giakallit

Season: 1997-1999

Player: Gianfranco Zola

Tournament: UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup

Manufacturer: Umbro

English Cup winner Chelsea participated in the 1997-1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Having Gianluca Vialli from Italy as manager-player the team from London reached the final of a European tournament for the second time. After 1971 when Chelsea had reached the final of the Cup Winners' Cup, which they won against Real Madrid, it was time to claim the same trophy again.

Chelsea initially eliminated the Slovenian Cup winner, Slovan Bratislava, with two victories 2-0 and 0-2 and the Norwegian Tromso would follow. The 3-2 defeat in Norway was virtually erased after the impressive 7-1 in London. In the quarterfinals, the Spanish Real Betis was not able to stop the Blues since with two goals from Flo, Chelsea took the victory with 1-2 away, followed by the 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge. The semifinals with the Italian Vicenza proved to be very difficult. In the first match, Vicenza won 1-0 and everything showed that they would stop the Londoners when they led 0-1 in the 32nd minute of the second match. Poyet equalized immediately, followed by a goal by Zola in the 60' and one by Hughes in the 76'. So the situation was reversed and Chelsea advanced to the final.

Chelsea and Stuttgart claim the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup at Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm. Gianfranco Zola's goal in the 71st minute was also decisive as the final 1-0 gave the trophy to the Bluesfor the second time. A few months later, Chelsea won the European Super Cup against Champions League winners Real Madrid.

This jersey is an original copy of the shirt of the Stockholm final. Chelsea also wore this Umbro design for the 1998-1999 season. On the sleeve there is the patch of the tournament and above the emblem there are match details from the final of the Cup Winners' Cup. Apart from the final goal, Zola scored 3 more times in the tournament and with a total of 4 goals in 8 games, he was in 6^th place on the list of scorers.