The 1999–2000 season was Chelsea F.C.'s 86th competitive season, eighth consecutive season in the

FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...

and 94th year as a club.

Season summary

After a very good third-place finish last season, Chelsea qualified for the Champions League third qualifying round, and were expected to go one better and win the title.

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

captain

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been managing the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, Engl ...

was signed for £3 million from

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

to add even more quality and experience to a Chelsea midfield that already boasted

Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He spent the majority of his career at Chelsea, from 1990 to 2001. Beginning his career at Wimbledon, ...

Roberto Di Matteo Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. A midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau early in his career. After winning the Swiss league title with Aarau i ...

and

Gustavo Poyet Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer who is the manager of K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Poyet played as a midfielder and began his career with s ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

striker

Chris Sutton Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit, commentator and presenter of football coverage on television and radio. Sutton played from 1991 to 2007 for No ...

was also signed for £10 million, but he proved to be a flop with only one league goal all season, which came in a 5-0 drubbing of Man Utd at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

. His strike partner,

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football executive, Manager (association football), manager, and former Association football, footballer who played predominantly as a Forward (association football), forward. He is currently v ...

, had a poor league season by his standard, scoring just four goals, but he made up for that by again setting up many more goals for the team. Chelsea opened the season with 4–0 win over newly promoted Sunderland with Gus Poyet scoring a stunning scissors kick goal. Zola, in contrast to his average league form, made Europe sit up and notice as he led Chelsea's Champions league debut appearance in the group stage. Chelsea were drawn against

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

Hertha Berlin Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football, following relegation from t ...

and Galatasary with their first game being against AC Milan at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea topped Group H with 11 points after some standout performances, particularly an impressive 5–0 win in Turkey and two creditable draws home and away with AC Milan. Zola scored a spectacular free kick in a 3–1 win over F.C. Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea were eliminated in the second leg at the

Nou Camp Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

. On the Premier league front,

Gianluca Vialli Gianluca Vialli (; 9 July 1964 – 5 January 2023) was an Italian football player and manager who played as a striker. Vialli started his club career at his hometown club Cremonese in 1980, where he made 105 league appearances and scored 23 g ...

's side finished a solid fifth place in the final table but were too inconsistent to mount anything like a title challenge. Chelsea won their fourth cup in four seasons with a 1–0 win over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

, after David James dropped the ball from a Chelsea corner allowing Di Matteo to score. Chelsea had the last cup final triumph at the old Wembley stadium before it was rebuilt. Gus Poyet was key during Chelsea's FA cup run, scoring a hat trick against

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

Boothferry Park Boothferry Park was a Association football, football stadium in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the MKM Stadium, KC Stadium (now the MKM Stadium). In later years, ...

in a 6–1 win and netting twice against

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

at Wembley. On 26 December 1999, in their 1–2 away win over

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, Chelsea became the first team in the Football League history to field a starting eleven without an English player. The squad was made up of:

Ed de Goey Eduard Franciscus "Ed" de Goeij (; born 20 December 1966), anglicised to de Goey, is a Dutch former professional football goalkeeper. In a 20-year career, he played for Sparta Rotterdam, Feyenoord, Chelsea, Stoke City and Ilkeston Town FC. He ...

Albert Ferrer Albert Ferrer Llopis (; born 6 June 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right-back, and was also a manager. Having represented Barcelona for almost a decade, he went on to appear for England's Chelsea until his retirement. Du ...

, Franck Leboeuf,

Emerson Thome Emerson Augusto Thome (born 30 March 1972), also known as Paredão, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a central defender. Career He first came to England towards the end of the 1997–98 season when moving to Sheffield Wednesday fr ...

Celestine Babayaro Celestine Hycieth Babayaro (born 29 August 1978) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left-back or a midfielder. Babayaro spent the majority of his career playing in the Premier League, mainly for Chelsea from 1997 to 2 ...

, Deschamps,

Dan Petrescu Daniel "Dan" Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and began his career a ...

, Di Matteo, Poyet, Gabriele Ambrosetti and

Tore André Flo Tore André Flo (born 15 June 1973) is a Norwegian professional football coach and a former striker who previously was the manager of 1. divisjon club Sogndal. He was capped 76 times, scoring 23 goals for Norway, and represented his country ...

Final league table

;Results summary ;Results by round

Results

FA Premier League

UEFA Champions League

Third qualifying round

First group stage

Second group stage

Quarter-finals

Football League Cup

FA Cup

First team squad

:''Squad at end of season''

Left club during season

Statistics

Statistics taken from. Squad details and shirt numbers from and.

Transfers

In

–

, 13 June, £3,000,000 *

Mario Melchiot Mario Dino Patrick Melchiot (born 4 November 1976) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played both as a right-back and as a centre-back, and also occasionally played in midfield. He represented the Netherlands ...

–

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, 14 June, free *

–

, 5 July, £10,000,000 *

Jes Høgh Jes Høgh (; born 7 May 1966) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He played 57 matches and scored 1 goal for the Denmark national team, and Høgh represented Denmark at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, as well as the ...

– Fenerbahçe, 8 July, £300,000 * Gabriele Ambrosetti –

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, 13 August, £3,500,000 *

Stuart Reddington Stuart Reddington (born 21 February 1978) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is the chairman of Lincoln United. He played as a defender and was notably contracted to Premier League side Chelsea, but failed t ...

Lincoln United Lincoln United Football Club is a football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Ashby Avenue. Nicknamed the Whites after their home kit colours, they have played at Ashby Avenue since thei ...

, 26 August, £75,000 *

–

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, 23 December, £2,500,000 *

George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...

–

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

11 January, Loan

Out

Brian Laudrup Brian Laudrup (, born 22 February 1969) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a winger, forward or as a midfielder, and was regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation. He currently works for the various T ...

, 14 June, £2,000,000 * Dmitri Kharine –

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, 22 June, free * Eddie Newton –

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, 2 July, free * Andy Myers –

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

, 8 July, £800,000 *

Michael Duberry Michael Wayne Duberry (born 14 October 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He started his career with Premier League side Chelsea, and also played in the top flight for Leeds United and Reading, and ...

–

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

, 9 July, £4,500,000 * Steve Hampshire -

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

, 7 January, free *

Bjarne Goldbæk Bjarne Goldbæk (; born 6 October 1968) is a Danish former professional footballer and current sports pundit for Eurosport. An attacking midfielder, he played for a number of foreign clubs, including Chelsea and Fulham in England and several clu ...

–

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, 15 January, £650,000 *

Joe Sheerin Joe Sheerin (born 8 November 1977 in Hammersmith, London) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Premier League for Chelsea and in the Football League for AFC Bournemouth. Career Sheerin began his career as a trainee w ...

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

, 26 February, free * Paul Hughes -

, 23 March, free

References

External links

Chelsea FC Official Website

Chelsea FC on Soccerbase

Chelsea FC on BBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:1999-2000 Chelsea F.C. season Chelsea F.C. seasons Chelsea