Tommy Docherty became manager in 1961 with the club facing relegation, which he was unable to prevent. In his first full season as manager, Docherty led Chelsea to promotion again with an impressive new, youth-oriented team. The new Chelsea side, epitomised by cult hero Peter Osgood - talented, stylish and occasionally self-destructive - oozed charisma and class and soon built up a major following, but ultimately failed to match its swagger with on-field triumphs, and endured several near-misses. The League Cup was won in 1965, but in three seasons the side were beaten in three semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. They also narrowly missed out on winning the league title in 1964-65. In 1970 Chelsea ran out FA Cup winners, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a pulsating final replay. A UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph was added to the haul the following year - Chelsea's first European honour - with another replayed win, this time over Real Madrid in Athens.
Following that high, the team declined dramatically. Disciplinary issues saw key players transferred while an over-ambitious redevelopment of the stadium (which only got as far as the pioneering East Stand, which retains its place even in the modern stadium) threatened the financial stability of the club, leading to the sale of more players and later the sale of the Stamford Bridge freehold. The team were relegated and various managers came and went, all of whom were hamstrung by the club's financial woes. Further problems were caused by a fearsome reputation for violence amongst a section of the supporters (the boundary between passion and hooliganism being dangerously narrow in those days) and the club started to fall apart both on and off the field.
Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by businessman Ken Bates for the sum of £1, and Bates proved to be a real fighter as the new Chairman, although his opponents included supporters (who did not take kindly to his suggestion of electrified fences to keep them off the pitch) as well as the property developers who now owned the freehold. On the pitch, the team had fared little better, finishing 18th in the Second Division in 1982–83. But in the summer of 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for less than £500,000. The new-look Chelsea won the Second Division in 1983–84 and then secured two successive 6th place finishes. Following that, the club declined again and were relegated in 1988, before bouncing back immediately by emphatically winning the Second Division championship.
Chelsea were unconvincing in the new Premier League, but off the pitch and after a decade-long legal battle, Bates finally reunited the stadium freehold with the club by doing a deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash. Glenn Hoddle was appointed player-manager for the 1993–94 season, and led the club to the final of the FA Cup in 1994. In a move significant for the club's future, Hoddle also signed former World Player of the Year, Ruud Gullit in the summer of 1995, before leaving to take charge of the English national side in 1996.
Gullit became player–manager and added several top-class international players to the side, particularly Gianfranco Zola, as the club won the FA Cup and established itself as one of England's top sides again, earning a reputation for playing Sexy Football. Gullit was then sacked after a dispute with Bates and Gianluca Vialli was installed as player-manager. Vialli led the team to victory in the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1998, a near-miss in the Premier League title race in 1998-99 and the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2000. In 2000, Chelsea were again FA Cup winners with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa. A disappointing start to the 2000–01 season saw Vialli sacked in favour of another Italian, Claudio Ranieri. Ranieri guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.
In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £60 million, thus completing the biggest-ever sale of an English football club. Owing to Abramovich's Russian heritage, the club were soon popularly dubbed "Chelski" in the British media. Over £100 million was spent on new players. The spending saw an upturn in the club's form, but they had to settle for 2nd place in the Premiership, and reaching the Champions League semi-finals. Ranieri was sacked and replaced by successful Portuguese coach José Mourinho, who had just guided FC Porto to victory in the UEFA Champions League.
2005 was Chelsea's centenary year. Led by captain John Terry and high-scoring midfielder Frank Lampard, they celebrated it in style by becoming Premiership champions in a record-breaking season (most clean sheets, fewest goals conceded, most victories, most points earned), League Cup winners with a 3–2 win over Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium and reaching the Champions League semi-finals. The following year, they were again League Champions, equalling their own Premiership record of 29 wins set the previous season. They also became the fifth team to win back-to-back championships since the Second World War and the only London club to do so since the 1930s.
--Wikipedia
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