My Best Moment As A Chelsea Football Club Fan:

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I bet almost all Chelsea fans given birth to on/before year 2002 will have this moment as their best, but for me, it was more than just a night(the game was played at night here in Nigeria), it was far more than the trophy, and it was far more than joy I got seeing us defeat Bayern Munich at theur own homeground. The joy I got was so deep that I couldn't hide my tears that very night seeing my long awaited dream come to reality, It was a night that I got to fully know how addicted I have become to Chelsea Football Club. It was a night I got to see how much a team could achieve if they were one family(from the coach to the players, and to the technical crew). Hmm, so sweet a memory, But this memory can't be so lovely if you only watched the final and saw us claim the trophy, without following us right from the scratch.

Here' is a bit of my memory, I hope you get the picture I am painted.

UEFA Champions League 2011/2012

GROUP STAGE:
We got a fairly tough group, I must say, as we were grouped together with Bayer Leverkusen, Valencia, and Genk in Group E. You really would want to say "what's tough about this group" seeing the likes of Valencia and Leverkusen not even in the Champions League this, with the former even doing pretty poorly domestically. But I can bet that if you knew how fierce these teams were back then, Valencia in particular, you will most probably, if not directly, compare our Group E then to this year's Group H that had Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, RasenBallsport Leipzig, and Istanbul Basaksehir in it.
Fortunately for us, we came first in the group with 11 points, winning all our 3 home games, drawing 2 of our 3 away games(1 against Genk, and the other against Valencia,, and losing the last away game to Bayer Leverkusen. The last game which was a home game against Valencia was a big decider as we knew if we got anything more than a 0-0 draw, we might be eliminated as we had the same point with Valencia, fortunately for us, we got the win, an emphatic 3 nil at that.

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ROUND OF 16 FIRST LEG (NAPOLI 3:1 CHELSEA):
We started this game on a very good note, even went as far as drawing first Blood through Juan Mata in the 27th minute. But we never knew we were only inviting the devil to dinner with our early goal, because immediately we got the goal, the onslaught from Napoli began, and the trio of Edison Cavani, Marek Hamsik, and Ezekiel Lavezzi spearheading their attack became too much for us. Before the first half was over, we were already down by a goal, and at the end of the match, we were very fortunate to be down by just 2 goals as Napoli were wasteful in converting their chances. We however knew that our chances of moving into the next round was very slim considering how Napoli came at us.

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ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS OUT, ROBERTO DI MATTEO IN:
Prior to the beginning of the 2011/2012 season, Andre Villas-Boas was signed from Porto, after an awesome performance in the 2010/2011 season, to replace Carlos Ancelotti as the new manager of our club(Chelsea). What many never saw was that he would be relieved of his duties after just 257 days. Well, Chelsea was, at that time, very notorious for both hiring and firing managers as they seek to continue their dominance in England(A dominance created by Jose Mourinho during his first spell at the club), and to a larger extent, Europe. The major cause for him being relieved off his duties was due to the fact that he lost the dressing room as he was at loggerheads with key players like Lampard and Terry, ad this reflected on Chelsea's performance on the field of play. Although the loss to Napoli was so great in the heart of Chelsea faithfuls and board, Villas-Boas might have still been around to coach us for the 2nd leg, but his loss to West brom was the last straw that broke the camel's back as The Blues had now only managed 3 wins in 12 games. He was sacked on the 4th of March 2012, and soon replaced by his assistant, Roberto Di Matteo, who was to be an interim manager till the end of the season.
All these happened before our return leg against Napoli,
One thing Di Matteo made sure of immediately he was appointed as our new manager was winning the heart of everyone in the dressing room. I guess this was when the goddess of luck smiled on us.

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ROUND OF 16 SECOND LEG (CHELSEA 4:1 NAPOLI):
We knew if we could win this game by 2 nil, we would be through to the next round on "away goal" rule, and just like in the first leg, We started on a strong foot with our talismanic striker Didier Drogba on the scoresheet in the 29th minute, but unlike the previous leg, we were able to subdue them(Napoli), maintaining this scoreline into the 2nd half.
We started the 2nd leg on a more stronger foot and we were 2 nil up in the 47th minute thanks to John Terry. But things went scary when Napoli got a goal for themselves in the 55th minute which threw our chance of moving to the next round via "away goal" rule down the drain.
Frank Lampard, who was amongst our big guns(alongsde Ashley Cole and Micheal Essien) who were benched in the previous leg, restored parity for us from the penalty spot in the 75th minute, however, we couldn't finish up the game as we were also trying to avoid conceding another goal which would be very disastrous to us.
We moved on into the extra time, and I can bet that 99% of Chelsea fans had their hearts in their mouth as any team who was able to get the ball into the opponent's goal qualifies automatically(UEFA "away goal" rule then). You would never be able to fathom the joy, noise, and vibration that emanated when Brainslav Ivanovic hammered a shot past Napoli's goal keeper and into the back of their net.
Most people believed we won by luck, and we didn't dispute it, or how do you intend to explain how you defeated an awesome Napoli team by 4:1.

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QUATER FINAL (AGGREGATE SCORE BENFICA 1:3 CHELSEA):
This game was a far cry from our game against Napoli has we defeated Benfica both home and away, but before the double legged game, we had some nervy feelings which was justified as were facing a Benfica side blessed with Pablo Aimar, Javi Garcia, Oscar Cardozo, and Nicholas Gaitan. Very scary set of players.

Salomon Kalou gave us an healthy 1 nill victory at the home of Benfica in the first leg, then we had a nervy 2:1 victory over them at the bridge, with our first goal coming from Frank Lampard's penalty in the 21st minute, and a 93rd minute goal from Raul Meireles to cancel out Javi Garcia's 85th minute equalizer.
Then we moved to the semi final, where we met our nemesis, the defending champion, the best team In the world at that time, and the only team you won't want to go up against, Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.

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SEMI FINAL (AGGREGATE SCORE CHELSEA 3:2 BARCELONA):
I bet many Chelsea fans were still embittered with the result of both sides 2008/2009 semi final meeting in which Andreas Iniesta's majestic late equalizer canceled out Micheal Essien's cracker, ensuring we crashed out in a game I felt we were openly robbed by the Referee.
Well, that's was then, and facing Barca then was a great deal less difficult than facing them now. The trident of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, and Andreas Iniesta where in the form of their life at this time making Barcelona an invicincibke team. I had to skip this game as I was scared of being heartbroken, but funny as it might seem, we were able to get both a win, and a good "away goal" advantage as Didier Drogba's 45 + 2 minute header was enough to secure them. I am still in awe of how we were able to subdue Barcelona that very day.
Then the 2nd leg came. Barcelona came at us like an angry and hungry lion. They gave us no breathing space right from the start, and they were 1 goal ahead in the 35th minute thanks to Sergio Busquets. John Terry made things worse 2 minutes later by doing the unthinkable of committing a "violent misconduct" which was punishable with a red card. I was so annoyed, imagine you had equal numbers of players as the opponent, and you're already lost in the game, how then would you cope with a man down. Things only got worse from there as Barcelona increased the scoreline to 2 nil in the 43rd minute, and from a usual suspect (Andreas Iniesta). I was just so down.
Then from no whare, hope came as Ramirez got an amazing goal 3 minutes later to reduce the deficit to just a goal, giving us a lifeline. We knew if we could keep the scoreline like this, we would be through to the final, and when we returned for the 2nd half our intention was to intensify our defending(this has been Di Matteo's strategy against Barcelona from the first leg, but Barca were able to break it in the first half).
Unfortunately for us, we conceded a penalty early on into the first half, but the goddess of luck had so joined force with us that Lionel Messi's well taken penalty rattled off our crossbar, and so, it was game on. We continued like this, frustrating every effort Barcalona made to break our defence. You could see the frustration on every one of Barcelona's players face, even Pep Guardiola wasn't left out.
The frustration continued until we got another miracle. In the 90+2 minute, Fernando Torres, who had been a shadow of himself for us all season long, was left alone very close to the halfway line as Barca had all their players out on us in order to get a 3rd goal, and while maintaining his(Torres) position, ensuring to avoid being in an offside position, got a loosed ball from one of our usual goal clearance. The next thing I noticed was Torres darting forward, rounding off Victor Valdez, and slotting the ball into an empty net. The noice of jubilation was so much in my area that you would thought more than 50 gunshots where fired at the same time. That was just to show how happy we were, and the jubilation increased when we heard the final whistle few minutes later. I was so happy that I could barely sleep. My Dad and kid brother also jubilated with me, although they were staunch Manchester United Football Club supporters, the dislike they also had against Barcelona made them support us this very day.
And so, we got to the finals which was to take place on the 19th of May, 2012.
Actually, I would have wished for a "Chelsea vs Madrid" finals just to see Mourinho coach Madrid against us, however, Bayern Munich had other ideas.

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FINAL (BAYERN MUNICH 1(3):(4)1 CHELSEA):
Playing against Bayern Munich in the final without the suspended Ivanovic and Terry was bad enough , playing them at home was even worse(Allianz Arena which was the homeground of Bayern had been choosing as the location for the final of the Champions league at the beginning of the competition, surprisingly, they(Bayern) got to the final, giving them an advantage of playing at home). It looked as though everything in the universe was against us.
The game started, and the boys stuck to Di Matteo's game plan of defending deep whilst you wait for a counter attack opportunity. Bayern were also frustrated that very night as every fire they threw at us met an equal amount of ice. Then in the 83rd minute, our defense was breached as Thomas Muller headed home Arjen Robben's cross(a formal Chelsea player). I caught a sorrowful face once again, but the goddess of luck smiled on us yet again, and in the 88th minute, against the run of play, we equalized from a corner kick which was bulleted past Neuer, and into the back of the net, by Didier Drogba. This goal pushed the game further into extra time as The UEFA Champions League final is a one legged game.
Drogba however turned from hero to villian as he conceded a penalty in extra time, however, the goddess of luck once again smiled on us as Petr Cech parried Robben's shot and the rebound was cleared immediately.
The game pushed on into penalties, with everyone on the edge of their seats. I bet many of we Chelsea fans hadn't forgotten our penalty shootout loss to Manchester United 4 years ago, and we were scared that this loss shouldn't repeat itself. I was 90% sure I thought we had lost the final when Juan Mata missed our first penalty, but goals from. David Luiz, Frank Lampard, and Ashley Cole brought us back to level terms after Olic had lost his penalty. Didier Drogba who had turned villian turned hero once more slotting home the final penalty of the night ensuring we secured the trophy after Basten Schweinsteiger had lsot his earlier.
It was really a remarkable night for the players, the coach, the technical team, Roman Abrahamamovic(this was the trophy he so much coveted at that time), and we the fans.
It could be said that Roberto Di Matteo's closeness with every member of the team was a huge factor that lead to our success, and it was so obvious when the players showed loadz of appreciation to him after the game.

ADD ONS:
In a space of less than 4 months, Roberto Di Matteo and Chelsea did what seemed impossible a day before their victory over Napoli. They did not only win the UEFA Champions League, but they also lifted the English FA Cup, defeating Liverpool in the final just a week before their win over Bayern Munich. What a year it was for Chelsea.

THE FOLLOWING SEASON:
Although Chelsea won the Europa League the following season, it wasn't easy for them at the beginning as they lost scandalously to Athletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, and also lost the World Club Cup by a slim 1nill to Corinthians.
Roberto Di Matteo was also fired when the season had not even gotten half way.

We never knew we were entering into the Era of Eden Hazard and his armies.

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Here are the players who made us proud in 2011/2012:
Cech, Turnbull, A Cole, Terry, Ivanovic, Ferreira, Luiz, Cahill, Bosingwa, Bertrand, Romeu, Lampard, Essien, Mikel Obi(our own), Ramirez, Meireles,Mata, Sturridge, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba, and Torres. They will forever remain legends in our hearts.

To be continued...

Feel free to drop your opinions and comments, they will be greatly appreciated.