The 2011–12 season was Chelsea Football Club's 98th competitive season, their 23rd consecutive season in the top flight of English football (20th in the Premier League), and their 106th year in existence as a football club. While their sixth place in the league was their lowest domestic finish since 2001–02, they completed a cup double by winning their seventh FA Cup and their first UEFA Champions League.
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Key dates 22 June 2011: André Villas-Boas is appointed as the new manager on a three-year contract, with immediate effect. 7 July 2011: Villas-Boas and the rest of the first team squad have their first training of the season together. 13 July 2011: Chelsea win their first friendly match against Wycombe Wanderers. 26 July 2011: Chelsea confirm Thibaut Courtois, a Belgian goalkeeper, as Villas-Boas' first signing. He is immediately loaned out to Atlético Madrid of La Liga. 14 August 2011: Chelsea draw first match of the Premier League season away to Stoke City. It finishes 0–0 on Villas-Boas's debut as Chelsea manager. 20 August 2011: Villas-Boas wins his first competitive match as a Chelsea manager after Chelsea defeat West Bromwich Albion 2–1 at Stamford Bridge. 22 August 2011: Chelsea and Valencia agree a deal for Juan Mata, who signs for Chelsea for a fee rumoured to be £23.5 million. 27 August 2011: Juan Mata scores on his debut match in a 3–1 home victory against Norwich City. 27 August 2011: Chelsea and Guadalajara agree a deal for Ulises Dávila. He joins Chelsea on a five-year contract. 31 August 2011: The transfer deadline day sees Raul Meireles join from Liverpool, whilst Yossi Benayoun and Patrick van Aanholt depart on seasonal loan deals. France Under-20 international Gaël Kakuta joins Bolton Wanderers on loan until 1 January 2012. 18 September 2011: Chelsea suffer their first defeat of the season, losing 1–3 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Fernando Torres scored Chelsea's goal. 29 November 2011: Liverpool knock Chelsea out of the League Cup at the Quarter Final stage, winning 2–0 at Stamford Bridge. The loss is Chelsea's third in four games, and sixth of the season overall. 3 December 2011: Manager André Villas-Boas confirms that Nicolas Anelka and Alex have been transfer listed, and banned from training with the first team, after handing in transfer requests to the club. Both will be allowed to resume full training if the transfer does not happen in the January transfer window. The announcement is made after the away match against Newcastle United, which Chelsea win 3–0. 6 December 2011: Chelsea win their final Champions League group game against Valencia 3–0 to secure progress to the knockout stages. Racing Genk's 1–1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen means that Chelsea top Group E. 12 December 2011: Chelsea become the first team in the 2011–12 edition of the Premier League to defeat leaders Manchester City. Chelsea come from behind in a fiery encounter by goals from Raul Meireles and a late penalty by Frank Lampard to turn the deficit into a victory. 4 March 2012: Villas-Boas is sacked and removed of his duties by the director's board following a 0–1 defeat against West Bromwich Albion. Italian first team assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo Is officially appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the season. 14 March 2012: Chelsea win their second match in the round of 16 of the UEFA champions league against Napoli with a 5–4 aggregate victory. Branislav Ivanović scores the winner in extra time to secure a spot in the quarter-finals. Following defeat of Arsenal by Milan and defeats of the Manchester clubs in their respective Europa League ties, Chelsea becomes the only remaining English representative in all European competitions. 18 March 2012: Chelsea progress to the FA Cup semi-finals for a fifth time in seven years after beating Leicester City 5–2 at Stamford Bridge. Fernando Torres was the man of the match with two goals and two assists. 4 April 2012: Chelsea progress to the Champions League semi-finals for the sixth time in the past nine seasons after beating Benfica 3–1 on aggregate. 15 April 2012: Chelsea progress to the FA Cup final for the third time in four seasons, courtesy of a 5–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur. Controversy over Chelsea's second goal by Juan Mata adds to calls for goal-line technology. 24 April 2012: Chelsea progress to the Champions League final in spectacular fashion, drawing 2–2 with Barcelona at Camp Nou despite playing with ten men for more than two-thirds of the game. Chelsea win 3–2 on aggregate. 28 April 2012: Chelsea agree personal terms with Werder Bremen's Marko Marin. He is set to join in the summer."Chelsea agree deal to sign Marko Marin from Werder Bremen". The Guardian. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013. 5 May 2012: Chelsea win the FA Cup for the seventh time after beating Liverpool 2–1 in the Final. Didier Drogba scores in his fourth FA Cup Final – a new record. 19 May 2012: Chelsea win their first Champions League title, defeating Bayern Munich on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the Final. In doing so, Chelsea becomes the 22nd club to win the European Cup, the fifth English team and the first team from London to win the trophy.
Club
Coaching staff PositionStaffManager Andre Villas Boas (until 4 March 2012) Caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo (from 4 March 2012) Assistant manager Steve Holland Roberto Di Matteo (until 4 March 2012) Eddie Newton (from 5 March 2012) Technical Director Michael EmenaloGoalkeeper Coach Christophe LollichonFirst Team Fitness Coach Jose Mario Rocha (until 4 March 2012) Assistant First Team Fitness Coach Chris JonesHead Opposition Scout Daniel Sousa (until 4 March 2012) Senior Opposition Scout Mick McGivenMedical Director Paco BioscaFirst team doctor Eva CarneiroReserve Team Manager Dermot DrummyYouth Team Manager Adi ViveashAcademy Manager Neil BathMatch Analyst James Melbourne
Other information
||Chief Executive|| Ron Gourlay
Squads
First team squad Name Nationality Position (s) Date of Birth (Age) Signed from Goalkeepers 1 Petr Čech GK Rennes 22 Ross Turnbull GK Middlesbrough 40 Henrique Hilário GK Nacional Defenders 2 Branislav Ivanović RB / CB Lokomotiv Moscow 3 Ashley Cole LB Arsenal 4 David Luiz CB Benfica 17 José Bosingwa RB / LB Porto 19 Paulo Ferreira RB / LB Porto 24 Gary Cahill CB Bolton Wanderers 26 John Terry (C) CB Chelsea Academy 27 Sam Hutchinson RB / CB Chelsea Academy 34 Ryan Bertrand LB / LW Chelsea Academy Midfielders 5 Michael Essien CM / DM Lyon 6 Oriol Romeu DM / CM Barcelona 7 Ramires CM / RM Benfica 8 Frank Lampard (VC) CM West Ham United 10 Juan Mata LW / RW / AM Valencia 12 Mikel John Obi DM / CM Lyn 15 Florent Malouda LW / CM Lyon 16 Raul Meireles CM / DM Liverpool 20 Josh McEachran CM Chelsea Academy Forwards 9 Fernando Torres ST Liverpool 11 Didier Drogba ST Marseille 18 Romelu Lukaku ST Anderlecht 21 Salomon Kalou RW / LW / ST Feyenoord 23 Daniel Sturridge RW / LW / ST Manchester City
Premier League squad
U21
U21 U21
HG = Home Grown Player U21 = Under 21 Player Source: 2011–12 Premier League squad
Reserve team
UEFA Champions League squad
B = List B Player HG1 = Association-trained player HG2 = Club-trained player Source: 2011–12 UEFA Champions League squad
Transfers
In
Summer PlayerTransferred FromFeeDateSource— Genk6 Barcelona18 Anderlecht10 Valencia— Guadalajara 16 Liverpool
Winter PlayerTransferred FromFeeDateSource27ComebackFree transfer— Standard Liège24 Bolton Wanderers35 São Paulo— Nottingham Forest— Genk
Out
Summer PlayerTransferred ToFeeDateSource— Chesham UnitedFree transfer45 Parma42 Hamburger SV24 Benfica60 Sheffield UnitedFree transfer— Brighton & Hove AlbionFree transfer55 Hamburger SV— Brighton & Hove AlbionFree transfer61 Baumit JablonecFree transfer63 Hamburger SV59 Yeovil TownFree transfer— Southampton18 Anzhi Makhachkala— Hamburger SV
Winter PlayerTransferred ToFeeDateSource— FulhamFree transfer"List of players under written contract registered between 01/09/2011 and 30/09/2011". The Football Association. Retrieved 16 October 2013."Mesca swaps Chelsea for Fulham". TheChels.net. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2013.39 Shanghai Shenhua— GatesheadFree transfer"Gateshead snap up ex-Chelsea defender Carl Magnay". BBC Sport. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.33 Paris Saint-Germain50 AEL LimassolFree transfer"Kaby goes south". Chelsea F.C. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.59 Milan"Milan move for Prosenik". Chelsea F.C. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.52 BarnsleyFree transfer"Jacob Mellis leaves Chelsea after smoke grenade prank". BBC Sport. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
Loan out PlayerLoaned ToStartEndLoan FeeSource43 Hamburger SV54 Northampton TownFree— Atlético MadridFree— Peterborough UnitedFree64 Doncaster RoversFree— VitesseFree— VitesseFree30 ArsenalFree44 Bolton WanderersFree38 Wigan AthleticFree— České BudějoviceFree48 Yeovil TownFree60 Rotherham UnitedFree — ADO Den HaagFree— KilmarnockFree44 DijonFree20 Swansea CityFree"Swansea City reach Josh McEachran loan deal with Chelsea". BBC Sport. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.38 VitesseFree"Vitesse grab Van Aanholt". Sky Sports. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013— Yeovil TownFree"Yeovil sign Chelsea's Sam Walker". BBC Sport. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.— GenkFree64 ADO Den HaagFree
Overall transfer activity
Spending Summer: £60 million
Winter: £21.2+ million
Total: £81.2 million
Income Summer: £20.65 million
Winter: £4.2+ million
Total: £24.85 million
Expenditure Summer: £39.35 million
Winter: £17 million
Total: £56.35 million
Competitions
Overview
Pre-season and friendlies
Barclays Asia Trophy
Premier League
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Knockout phase
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
League Cup
FA Cup
Statistics
Appearances and goals As of end of season
|colspan="14"|Players who spent the season/part of the season out on loan, or left the club in January transfer window
Goalscorers As of end of season. PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupChampions LeagueTotal18MF Lampard1120316211FW Drogba52061323FW Sturridge111101347MF Ramires54031210MF Mata64021269FW Torres620311726DF Terry60017816MF Meireles22—2692DF Ivanović3002521FW Kalou11125114DF David Luiz2001315MF Malouda210031324DF Cahill11—021417DF Bosingwa1000139FW Anelka1—001Own Goals20002TOTALS6520225112
Clean sheets As of end of season. PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupChampions LeagueTotal11GK Čech1031519222GK Turnbull000+101TOTALS1031520
Disciplinary record As of end of season. PlayerFA CupLeague CupTotal (FA Total)1DF3 Ashley Cole71010000030011 (8)1 (1)02MF16 Raul Meireles800100—50014 (9)003DF26 John Terry8001000000019 (9)01 (0)4DF4 David Luiz50010010030010 (7)005DF2 Branislav Ivanović6000000003009 (6)00MF12 Mikel John Obi4002001002009 (7)007FW9 Fernando Torres4011000002007 (5)01 (1)8MF7 Ramires4000001003008 (5)00MF8 Frank Lampard5000001002008 (6)0010DF17 José Bosingwa5010000000005 (5)01 (1)11MF15 Florent Malouda3001001001006 (5)0012FW11 Didier Drogba1011000002004 (2)01 (1)13MF6 Oriol Romeu2001000001004 (3)00DF24 Gary Cahill200100—1004 (3)0015DF33 Alex0000002010002 (2)01 (1)16MF5 Michael Essien3000000000003 (3)00MF10 Juan Mata2000000001003 (2)00FW23 Daniel Sturridge3000000000003 (3)0019GK22 Ross Turnbull000000001000001 (1)20GK1 Petr Čech0000000001001 (0)00FW18 Romelu Lukaku0000001000001 (1)00DF19 Paulo Ferreira1000000000001 (1)00FW21 Salomon Kalou0000000001001 (0)00DF34 Ryan Bertrand1000000000001 (1)00TOTALS74131100802310112416
Overall As of end of season.