Last week, Chelsea winger Pulisic officially completed the deal from Stamford Bridge to San Siro for a fixed transfer fee of 20 million euros, plus a floating bonus of 2 million euros and a second transfer share, and the number of players who have played for Chelsea in Milan has now reached four: Giroud was signed for 2.85 million euros in July 2021, Tomori Tomori completed a buyout for 31.6 million euros after the expiration of loan in January of the same year, and Lofty Loftic and Pulisic were purchased in this summer window. The arrival of the first two helped Milan win the Serie A title in the 21/22 season, and the arrival of the latter two wonders if it will bring good luck to the Rossoneri in the new season? There are also many cases of stars who have played at both Milan Chelsea clubs in history, including Gulit, Shevchenko, Torres, Essien, sister-in-law, Crespo, Desaili, Aubameyang, Pato, Alex, etc., all of whom have worn the shirts of these two giants, and the following is a simple combing to review the stories of the six stars who have played for Milan Chelsea.
Braided handsome Gullet
Gulit, who has shown great football skills and physical talent since he was a child, recalled his playing experience as a teenager, "When I was a child, I played in all kinds of teams, whether it was the local team in Amsterdam or the national youth team, and then I have been passing, starting from the back of the field, the position on the pitch and finding teammates to cooperate, for me are floating clouds, anyway, I can give the opposite side all over. ”
The early 20-year-old led Haarlem to the only European qualification in the club's history, finishing fourth in the league, and scoring the best goal of his career in hindsight: "Against Utrecht, I played four in a row and finally passed the goalkeeper to complete the goal, a goal I will never forget. Such outstanding performance earned him the title of "Duncan Edwards of the Netherlands";
In 1985, another Dutch domestic giant, PSV Eindhoven, recruited Gurlit for a transfer fee of 1.2 million guilders, which became the last stop of his Eredivisie career and a platform to establish his world-class superstar status, and after helping the team complete two consecutive league titles, he himself won the honor of Dutch Footballer of the Year. In 1986, the owner had been replaced by Berlusconi's Serie A giants Milan, who was deeply attracted by the Dutch star, in order to get this rare talent, Milan successfully signed Gullit with the most expensive transfer fee in football at that time 18 million guilders, team star Donadoni once said of Gurit, "His body is so raw that he is almost everywhere on the field, the first time I saw him was in a cup match in Barcelona, when he was a free man, and he appeared on the right side a moment later." , one moment in midfield, and after a while ran to the front to become a second striker. ”
The 13 goals in 39 games in a single season does not show all of Gulit's contribution to Milan's dominance in Europe, the Dutchman who landed in Serie A completed his first season leading the team to the Serie A title, followed by the 1988-89 and 1989-90 Champions League two consecutive titles, which allowed Milan to truly complete the European Landing, especially the 1989 Champions League final 4-0 victory over Bucharest Stars, but also a classic among classics - Milan's 4 goals were all covered by two Dutch forwards. Gullit and Van Basten scored two goals each to show off at the 97,000-crowded Camp Nou;
Gullit, who scored 11 goals in 28 appearances in all competitions that season, was once again named World Footballer of the Year by the British magazine World Football after 1987, but the 1989-90 season was another slightly tragic turning point in his career, and the most fatal blow for footballers was undoubtedly injury, and like his club and national teammate Van Basten, Gullit suffered from injuries during Milan, and a serious injury to his right knee caused him to undergo surgery five times in the next few years;
With the increase of age and injuries, and the young Gullit slowly ceased to be a regular in Milan's starters, although he still helped the team win two consecutive Serie A titles in 1991-92 and 1992-93, but in Capello's team, he is no longer the absolute starter and core of the firm, in order to play more opportunities, Gullit left Milan to join the Serie A team Sampdoria, and 2 years later he decided to completely change the environment and land in the Premier League and become a member of the Blues Chelsea;
In June 2020, in an interview with British media, Gurlit recalled his past when he came to play in the Premier League, "When I joined the Premier League in 1995, the situation here was completely different from today, I was not the first foreign aid to come to England, but I was the first absolute big name to come to England, I came from a more prosperous league at that time, that is, Serie A. "After joining Chelsea, Gullit played more of a central midfielder, but whether it was as a free agent or a midfielder, after a period of adaptation, he still looked tiger-like, and after being fixed in midfield by coach Glenn Hodel in his debut season, the Dutch star once again showed the style of a world-class star, and finally finished second only to Cantona in the Premier League Best of the Year;
After Hodel left the team to coach the England national team in '96, Chelsea's top management made a bold decision to appoint Gurlit as his successor, and that summer window the Blues welcomed a number of Italian stars: Zola, Vialli and Di Mateo, etc., on 17 May 1997, Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the FA Cup final, and Gulit also became the first non-English FA Cup winner, and a year later, due to a dispute with the club's board over remuneration, he led the team to second in the league. After reaching the quarterfinals of two cups (including the European Cup Winners' Cup), Gurlit was eventually sacked, ending the most well-known period of his coaching career.
Nuclear warhead Shevchenko
From 1997 to 1999, when Dynamo Kyiv surprised the continent with its dark horse image, the young Shevchenko began to be gradually known to the giants of the major European leagues with his wonderful performance on the top stage of the Champions League, and in the group stage of the 97-98 Champions League, when visiting Camp Nou to challenge Barca, Sheva used a half-court hat-trick perfect performance to help the team give Van Gaal a 4-goal defeat;
In the 98-99 season, Dynamo Kyiv beat Premier League champion Arsenal to win the first place in the group, their first opponent in the knockout stage was the reigning champions of the Champions League Real Madrid, Shevchenko took the team's 3 goals over two legs, especially the goal with Rebrov's wonderful cooperation, so that Real Madrid completely lost hope of counterattack, and faced Bayern Munich in the semifinals, Sheva once again showed his excellent goalscorer side;
After receiving a direct pass from a teammate, he used dexterous running to form a single knife, facing the attacking Kahn to rub the far corner to score, the whole action in one go made the opponent defenseless, the home game and the opponent 3:3 handshake and peace results, but also made the second leg of the game still suspense, but Munich's away trip due to the overall disparity in strength, 1 goal defeat Dynamo Kyiv finally lost the two-legged match 3:4, but Sheva's performance won him a valuable ticket to play for Europe's top giants;
In 99, Shevchenko transferred to Milan for a sky-high price of 26 million euros, and in the first season of Serie A, Sheva won the league golden boot with 24 goals in 32 games, and in the 00-01 season, Sheva continued to highlight his performance in the league and scored 24 goals again, and the goal rate decreased in the 01-02 season due to injury, but in the Milan derby he scored twice to help AC Milan win 4:2 against the city's arch-rival Inter, and the reputation of nuclear warheads has since disappeared;
At that time, coach Carlo Ancelotti created a classic Christmas tree formation according to the characteristics of the team's excellent attackers in midfield, as the team's sudden center, the nuclear warhead with the support of outstanding midfield stars such as Pirlo, Seedorf, Rui Costa, Kaka and so on, helped the team win the Champions League in the 02-03 season;
In the 03-04 season, Sheva scored 24 goals in 32 Serie A games, helping Milan win the league title for the first time in 5 years, and before the results of the Ballon d'Or in '04 were announced, facing direct rivals Ronaldo and Deco's Barca, Sheva scored the only goal at home to defeat his opponent 1-0, and he was finally elected, and the nuclear warhead also engraved his name in the football Hall of Fame;
In 06, with the second goalscorer in the team's history, the Golden Ball, Champions League champions and other honors, Sheva left Milan to join the Blues Chelsea, but unlike the Milan period, the goals in the first few games did not continue, Shevchenko played 76 games for Chelsea in two years, scoring 22 goals, but only a measly 9 goals in the Premier League, and returned to Milan on loan in the 08-09 season, but at this time the already rusty nuclear warhead did not score in 18 league games, After leaving the mainstream league, Sheva played for another 3 seasons with Dynamo Kyiv until he retired after the European Championship on home soil.
Natural born shooter Crespo
Argentine goalscorer Crespo, who celebrated his 48th birthday earlier this month, has also left his own playing experience in Milan and Chelsea in his playing career, and after emerging in River Plate that year, Crespo, who landed in Serie A, quickly repaid the manager Carlo Ancelotti, who trusted him very much, with a stable performance of 14 goals in 35 games, 28 goals in 45 games, and 26 goals in 43 games, setting a proud record for 17 other teams in Serie A in one season, winning a Europa League and an Italian Super Cup. The Argentine, who joined Lazio the Blue Eagle, also left Parma a huge transfer fee of $54 million;
The 26 Serie A goals fulfilled his dream of the Golden Boot, but the chase for the title and the reality that the team was gradually shrouded in debt crisis finally allowed Crespo to change the goal again in '02, landing at the Meazza Stadium, the Argentine drove high and low, 16 goals in one season failed to win him the trust of manager Cooper, and when the team received an offer to break the record transfer fee for Chelsea FC at the time, Crespo had to embark on a new adventure again;
Regarding his sale to Chelsea by Inter, the Argentine striker bluntly said that it was Cooper's decision, "Everything comes from Cooper. At the beginning of August 2003, I bought a house in Milan and felt that my life was good, at the end of August, they called me and told me that I was sold to Chelsea, a year ago, Inter bought me for a transfer fee of 36 million euros, but sold me for 26 million euros, it was a deal that I could never understand, I remember my friend Vieri was very angry, he caused some controversy in the newspaper, but everything was no longer helpful. Cooper decided on something like this, so it had to be done. ”
Stamford Bridge Monster Drogba's days as a substitute were clearly not what the Argentine was looking forward to, and Crespo, who returned to Serie A in the 04-05 season, reunited with his mentor Carlo Ancelotti in Milan, but that year's Champions League final became the last thing he wanted to look back on in his career, "I thought I was thinking about retiring after losing that final, and I felt that this result was so unfair to me, I thought that what happened was simply impossible; ”
"My Champions League experience in Milan is always a wound... But when you see Milan returning to the Champions League with their first group stage game against Liverpool, do you know what this game reminds me of? Yes, I scored twice and at the end of the first half we were 3-0 up and then we went through a ridiculous second half and lost on penalties, a night I never forgot, so I appealed to Pioli's Milan squad to avenge me, beat Liverpool at Anfield and tell them who Milan is, I know that in 2007 the Rossoneri had already avenged Liverpool in the Champions League, but it never hurts to do it again. ”
Crespo was grateful for his mentoring relationship with Carlo Ancelotti until his retirement, "Ancelotti is like my father, he is emotional, he is one of the coaches who helped me get into the Europa League and helped me build myself, in Italy he told me the code of conduct to do on and off the field as a professional footballer, it was a vital part of my career, and when I saw him in charge of Everton, I wanted his team to win because he is a great man, a great coach. ”
Commenting on his time in the Premier League, Crespo said: "I was comfortable playing in Italy and it was my dream to play in Serie A, but when I had the opportunity to join the Premier League football, I said' Wow', and the opportunity to join Chelsea was even more excited, I remember Gullit and Vialli were there and I thought Chelsea was a good opportunity for me, when I joined Chelsea, it was an incredible experience, the way the English understand football is incredible, it's no different than Argentina, the atmosphere is great. ”
Life winner Torres
The Spanish golden boy Torres who will usher in next year will be a year from Atletico Atletico's youth academy, joined Liverpool in 07 to start his Premier League career, then moved to Chelsea, Milan, and returned to Atletico in 2014, and announced his official retirement in 2019, Atletico Torres played a total of 394 games and scored 128 goals, his personal goal efficiency during his time with Liverpool reached its peak, scoring 81 goals and 20 assists in 142 games, regrettable 3 and a half years of Anfield career, The goalscoring team failed to win any trophy with the team, leaving him with a transfer fee of €58.5 million when he moved to Chelsea in January 2011;
Recalling the process of landing at Stamford Bridge, the Spaniard bluntly said that because the Liverpool owner at the time had been lying, he had only transferred to Chelsea, "I was very happy at Liverpool, but if you remember that the club was about to be sold at that time, it was a very difficult situation, they sold all the best players, including Mascherano, Alonso and so on, they started to bring in young players, so it may take them 6 or 7 years to build a strong team again, and I don't have time, Because I left home at Atletico Madrid to win trophies, unfortunately the owners of Liverpool had a lot of lies at the time and in the end I needed to find my own way, which was Chelsea, and I thought Chelsea would give me a chance to win trophies. ”
But after becoming a member of Chelsea, the Spaniard's statistics fell off a cliff, only 45 goals in 172 games, so in order to find a better solution, he chose to leave Stamford Bridge on loan to join Milan, and Torres also admitted that he was responsible for his poor performance when scoring far less goals during his time at Chelsea, "It's probably my fault, I didn't adapt faster, I had high moments, but my performance is inconsistent, if you are not consistent in a big club like Chelsea, then someone will take your place; ”
'It's hard for me to adapt to coming to a club full of stars in the middle of the season, maybe I don't have a partner like that [at Liverpool], but I always say it's my fault, I'm strong enough to find a solution to the problem, but I didn't do it, I'm happy because I won the trophy I wanted, I played well, but I don't do that every game, in any big club in the world, if you don't put in good performance every weekend, it's not enough."
Chelsea proved to be the most successful period of Torres' career, winning the FA Cup, Champions League and European Cup, but he said it was his least happy period, and at the release of his personal documentary, Torres also said in an interview that the Liverpool period was the peak of my career The time there was full of joy;
'Being at Liverpool was the pinnacle of my career, when I came to a brand new city and didn't speak any English yet, but everyone liked me from day one, I spent three and a half years at Anfield, it was full of joy, scoring goals, winning the European Championship with Spain, my relationship with the Liverpool fans and the players was similar to Atletico, the players and the fans were very close, and that was what I wanted;"
'Liverpool are a big club, but inside they are like a small family, from the staff to the weeders to the chefs, you meet them every day, Chelsea are bigger and more 'cold', they have a lot of things to build and many of the roles are new to the club."
African buffalo Essien
Nicknamed African Buffalo Essien, he was one of the kings who won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles, helping the team win the league title as the main back in the 03/04 and 04/05 seasons, "Physique speaking, Essien is my most impressive teammate and no one seems to be able to take advantage of him in physical confrontation. "Former Lyon teammate Govu was extremely impressed by Essien's strong physical fitness, after having more game training, Essien, who was in the period of rapid career development, was like a heavy tank, crushing all opponents in Ligue 1, after the end of the 04/05 season, Essien has overtaken teammates Mohamed Diarra and Edmilson to occupy the position of Lyon's main back, and he was also named the French Professional Footballers' League Player of the Season. Since then, he has also envisioned that he can achieve more on a broader stage;
In the summer window of '05, Jose Mourinho's iron-blooded Blues ushered in another tough guy, the £24.4 million African Buffalo officially landed at Stamford Bridge, and in the 05/06 season, Essien played 41 games for Chelsea, averaging an astonishing 3.2 interceptions per game, and he also became an insurmountable barrier in front of the Blues' defense, and in the closing stages of that season, as Joe Cole tore through the entire Manchester United defence and finally scored the decisive goal, Chelsea successfully defended the Premier League title. Essien also won his first Premier League trophy;
Consecutive Premier League trophies are not only the best reward for boss Abou, but also let Essien gradually enter the peak of his career, and the healthy competition and complementary positions between him and Makelele and Frank Lampard have also become a talking point for Blues fans, Chelsea suddenly suffered a wave of injuries in the 06/07 season, defensive stalwart Carvalho and John Terry have hung up the waiver card, and Essien was ordered to form an alternative two-centre-back combination with right-back Paul Ferreira in an emergency, and helped the team slowly overcome the crisis of the central defender shortage;
But Essien's Blues career suffered a major blow in the 11/12 season, with serious cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries that put the African Buffalo off for nearly half a year, firefighting coach Di Matteo's tactical system did not leave enough playing space for Essien, and although the Ghanaian also won the Champions League with the Cherry team, his playing time plummeted: "Injuries allow us to grow, both physically and mentally, when I play for Chelsea, every injury I get stronger when I recover. Essien, who did not choose to give up on regaining Chelsea's main position, was still hopeful about his Stamford Bridge career;
On September 1, 2012, in order to get more opportunities to play, Essien joined La Liga giants Real Madrid on loan to join his mentor Jose Mourinho, and when he returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2013, Essien, who was already standing in the face of the super high pace of the Premier League, seemed to have some more than enough and lacked strength, rather than continue to look clutched, it is better to get rid of each other as soon as possible, and in the winter of 2014, Essien joined Serie A giants Milan freely. However, the African buffalo wearing a red and black stripe did not leave many highlights in Serie A, but left a classic meme on the Internet because he was shown a red card by the referee in the match against Udinese, and the ridicule of "African Joey Yung" also became his deepest impression on fans in Milan.
The king of heaven looks at me Grand Giroud
In March 2020, Benzema said of the national team teammate in a live broadcast of the national team teammate, "Don't confuse F1 with go-karting, I'm fine now... I know I'm that F1 car and he plays his part because of where he is and that's the only reason. Benzema added after the controversy that sparked: "I'm telling the truth, and you [the media] ignore me saying that he contributed to the French team, and if the fans compare me to Da Luo, then I'm a go-kart, he's an F1 car, that's also true." Not to be outdone, Giroud responded, "I'm a go-kart? That's also a go-kart with a World Cup title. ”
As two people of similar age, when Benzema joined Galaxy Battleship Real Madrid at the age of 21, 22-year-old Giroud was still mixed with the Tours team in the French Second Division, and one year later, 22-year-old Benzema has scored 51 goals in 139 appearances in the five major leagues, and the 23-year-old Giroud joined Montpellier for a transfer fee of 2 million euros, which was also the first time in his career to play in the top flight, each player has his own trajectory of success, and the young Benzema is a growth trajectory that everyone envies. But Giroud's late bloomer is also grounded;
2012 is of great significance to Giroud, he not only participated in the World Series for the first time, but also joined the Premier League Arsenal for a transfer fee of 12 million euros, Giroud who landed in the Premier League was used by Wenger to replace Van Persie, but in terms of finishing ability, Giroud at that time could not match the peak General Fan, and the data of 17 goals and 12 assists in 47 games in his debut season was passing;
However, in Arsenal's tactical system later, fans quickly saw the role of Giroud, as the fulcrum of the front court, Giroud's ability to do the ball is very good, a kick is super strong, he often has an exceptionally imaginative assist or into the field when he plays, which also makes him a "king of heaven and tiger, look at me big Giroud" reputation;
In January 2018, Giroud left Arsenal with 253 games with 105 goals and 41 assists, joined Chelsea, and won his fourth FA Cup with the team, but throughout the season, Giroud scored only 12 goals in 44 appearances, in today's football tactical concept, the center is no longer the same as before, only to be an absolute weapon to destroy the city, in many times a pure big center for many teams that break through dense defense, is a very scarce resource, for French coach Deschamps, Giroud's presence is undoubtedly the basis for enriching his tactical play, like Giroud, in fact, takes on more of a tactical role, his involvement with opposing defenders, his running, his scramble, his ball, are creating space for teammates, "Giroud is a space maker, Mbappe and Griezmann are space users. ”
After the World Cup, Giroud's goal efficiency is still not high (only 2 goals in 27 Premier League games), but he played 14 games with 11 goals and 5 assists in the Europa League, becoming a cup killer, the old chief gunner in the final of 19 years, Giroud headed the opening goal, Giroud knelt down after the goal, did not celebrate, this final he shot 1 shot 1 pass 1 point, helped Chelsea win the title 4-1;
In the 21-22 season, Giroud left Chelsea to join Milan, and he scored 14 goals for Milan throughout the season to help the team win the Serie A title, especially in the Milan derby, the Frenchman scored twice, scored the winning goal against Napoli, and scored again in the final game, Giroud in the key game can be described as a veritable Mr. Big Scene, in Giroud's era, he was never a super-first-class striker, but since the 07-08 season, he has scored doubles for 15 consecutive seasons. At the age of 23, he played in the top flight, at the age of 36, he can still establish himself in the giants, and he is also a very inspirational player, and Giroud won the most important World Cup and Champions League at the end of his career.
Write at the end
"Since ancient times, the sages have been lonely, only the drinker has his name", Tomori, who was interviewed by the media when renewing the front line with his two former teammates Cheek and Pulisic in Milan City, said meaningfully, believing that Maldini will watch us from afar, "We are happy and excited, this will be my third season, my position on the field requires me to be a leader, to be a person who can talk a lot on and off the field, I came here three and a half years ago, almost a veteran." I feel the same responsibility as everyone because we want to win; ”
'When you think of Milan, you think of Maldini, when I came to Milan I saw him every day at Milanello, he gave me advice on how to get stronger, there is no one like him, but the club has decided to change, we are focused on the pitch as players, although there is no Maldini as a symbol for us, but I am sure he will watch us from afar.