5: Champions League or Bust

As Chelsea started to establish themselves at the top end of English football with a flurry of major honours in the late 1990s, change was awaiting them on the horizon. The Blues had not long fielded the Premier League's first starting XI that featured overseas players only. It was symbolic of English football's transition to becoming more cosmopolitan, but the appointment of Claudio Ranieri in September 2000 saw the Italian take things back to their roots... he wanted to build his Chelsea team around a spine of homegrown talent. Step forward from the Chelsea youth ranks John Terry, a player whose career was at a crossroads. Within one match, Ranieri identified the talent that would lead Chelsea all the way to becoming European champions. And alongside him, another youngster from across London, Frank Lampard. Chelsea's journey on the road to Munich 2012 was just starting. This episode takes you behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge to understand how Ranieri and Colin Hutchinson lay the foundations for Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho to build a dynasty. It's a story played out before the threat of financial ruin and one game that changed it all against Liverpool in May 2003. In this episode you will hear from: John Terry, Ken Bates, Claudio Ranieri, Colin Hutchinson, Ruud Gullit, Glenn Hoddle, Frank Leboeuf, David Lee, Tore Andre Flo, Jody Morris, Jesper Gronkjaer, Neil Barnett (Spy), Rick Glanvill (Chelsea FC historian) and Alex Leith (Ranieri's translator). The Blueprint is written by Garry Hayes and narrated by Ceri Levy. *** You can support this podcast on Apple Podcasts by subscribing to Blueprint+ for ad-free streaming and bonus episodes. If you listen elsewhere, we have a Patreon that gives access to bonus episodes and other content. Our Patreon: https://patreon.com/ChelseaBlueprint *** This is another HWY61 production. For more podcasts like this, visit www.HWY61.media Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music. Archive used in this episode is courtesy of Chelsea TV.