You may have read our article that took a walk down memory lane to 2014/15; a season in which Chelsea won the Premier League title and also triumphed in the League Cup.
But a decade earlier, the Blues had arguably accomplished an even greater feat: winning their first title of the Premier League era, and their first top-flight championship in exactly 50 years.
So to commemorate the anniversary of one of the most important campaigns in Chelsea’s contemporary history, let’s take another stroll down memory lane… this time to the 2004/05 season.
The Special One
There were so many elements to the 2004/05 campaign that made it so special. And the first came in the summer of ’04 before the season had even got underway, with the arrival of the Special One at Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho was, back then at least, a charismatic renegade; jovial with the press, he was adored for his straight-talking interviews and bullish self-confidence – his ‘Special One’ moniker was born in his very first press conference as Blues boss.
“Please don’t call me arrogant, because what I’m saying is true. I’m European champion and I think I am a special one.”
Welcome to the Premier League, Jose.
In fairness, he had a point. With FC Porto, he won two Portuguese Liga titles, the UEFA Cup and, most impressively of all, the Champions League in 2003/04 – at the time, Mourinho was one of the most sought-after managers in world football.
It was a feather in Chelsea’s cap that they were the first club to tempt Mourinho to manage outside of his homeland, and he and his recruitment team quickly set to work reshaping the Blues’ squad. Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira followed their mentor from Porto to London, while the signings of Petr Cech, Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba were significant in 2004/05 and beyond.
| Player | Position | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Didier Drogba | Forward | Marseille | £24m |
| Ricardo Carvalho | Defender | Porto | £20m |
| Paulo Ferreira | Defender | Porto | £13.2 |
| Arjen Robben | Midfielder | PSV Eindhoven | £12m |
| Tiago | Midfielder | Benfica | £10m |
| Petr Čech | Goalkeeper | Rennes | £7 |
| Mateja Kežman | Forward | PSV Eindhoven | £5.3m |
| Jiří Jarošík | Midfielder | CSKA Moscow | £3m (January) |
| Nuno Morais | Defender | Penafiel | – |
There were outgoings too, with Marcel Desailly, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Emmanuel Petit and – finally – Winston Bogarde amongst those released or allowed to seek pastures new.
Mourinho quickly set about installing his favoured 4-3-3 system, which managed to get the best out of Frank Lampard – he notched 13 Premier League goals – and the likes of Eidur Gudjohnsen. Drogba, in and out of the starting eleven, still managed to contribute ten EPL goals.
But it was defensively where Mourinho’s tactical knowhow really thrived, culminating in Chelsea breaking all manner of records in 2004/05…
Ultimate Glory
Blues fans were understandably keen to see if the Special One could take the club to the next level, and things got off to the perfect start: three Premier League games, three wins and zero goals conceded.
Chelsea would remain unbeaten until October, finally going down 0-1 at Manchester City, before they embarked upon another hot streak: winning four in a row, scoring an outstanding 13 goals along the way.
Although there were draws with Bolton and the previous season’s ‘Invincibles’ champions in Arsenal, the Blues would rack up a mightily impressive run of W15 D4 L1 prior to the end of 2004. Mourinho’s magic had well and truly rubbed off on his new players.
As the new year dawned, it was business as usual for Chelsea. Liverpool were beaten 1-0 at Anfield with Joe Cole netting the winner, and the Blues would see out January with three more Premier League victories in as many games – again without conceding a single goal.
By the start of February, a remarkable quadruple was still possible, with Chelsea topping their Champions League group, reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup and, thanks to a two-legged defeat of Manchester United in the semi-final, booking their place in the League Cup final.
The first piece of silverware of the Mourinho era would come in that Carling Cup final late in February 2005. Liverpool took the lead in the first minute of the contest played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with the Blues having to wait until the 80th minute for the equaliser, which came via a Steven Gerrard own goal.
The final ebbed into extra time, where Chelsea’s new-found power of the Mourinho age – he was sent off for ‘inciting the crowd’, incidentally – was confirmed by goals from Drogba and Mateja Kezman.
Sadly, Liverpool would have their revenge in the Champions League, beating the Blues over two legs, while Newcastle halted Chelsea’s assault on the FA Cup in the fifth round.
But Mourinho’s men continued to prosper while on Premier League duty, with five wins in six from the start of February to the end of March.
The title was now very much in Chelsea’s hand, and their mental toughness under Mourinho revealed itself once more. They didn’t once buckle under the pressure, instead charging for the finishing line with two wins and two draws in April.
The Blues headed to Bolton on April 30 knowing that victory could secure the club’s maiden Premier League title with three games to spare. And they would be denied: a Lampard brace secured a 2-0 win and confirmed, mathematically, Chelsea as EPL champions.
| Pos. | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 38 | 29 | 8 | 1 | 72 | 15 | 95 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 87 | 36 | 83 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 38 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 58 | 26 | 77 |
| 4 | Everton | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 45 | 46 | 61 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 52 | 41 | 58 |
| 6 | Bolton | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 49 | 44 | 58 |
| 7 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 53 | 46 | 55 |
They ended the campaign with 95 points, 12 clear of Arsenal in second place, and broke a stack of Premier League records – most clean sheets in a single season (25), fewest goals conceded (15) and most away wins (15), amongst many more. Some of those landmarks still stand to this day.
The 2004/05 season is one of the greatest in Chelsea’s history, establishing the club as the best in England and laying the foundation for silverware-laden campaigns to come in the years that followed.