One of football’s greatest cliches is that its the “balls in the back of the net that count”, but the reason that phrase has stuck around for so long is that it’s entirely true. Or, more accurately, keeping the ball out of the back of your own net is what, most often, wins you the game. Scoring 10 goals means nothing if you’ve let in 11.
Despite this need to keep a clean sheet to win games, the fame of football tends to be slanted towards the striking end of the field and goalkeepers rarely get the credit they deserve. To remedy that, here is our list of some of the Blue’s best shot-stoppers.
Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta
The current Chelsea keeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper when he moved to Chelsea after paying off his £71.6 million required release clause with Athletic Bilbao.
Arrizabalaga will be key to realizing Chelsea’s Champion’s League dreams by keeping a clean sheet. This will be put to the test in two crucial upcoming matches, one against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League, and a hotly contested home game against Liverpool in the FA Cup that, because of their recent run of inconstant form, Oddschecker is giving the best odds on them scraping a draw, 3/1.
Kepa Arrizabalaga has already proven his worth by saving two penalties during the shootout at the end of the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt. The saves were vital to Chelsea being in the final, which they won 4–1 over Arsenal.
Henrique Hilario
Spanish keeper Henrique Hilario has one of the more unusual introductions to guarding the Chelsea net.
Hilario was originally a third-string keeper behind Carlo Cudicini and Petr Cech. He was suddenly thrust into the limelight when both other keepers were injured in a terrible match against Reading that resulted in John Terry playing in goal because Chelsea didn’t have enough subs to bring Hilario on.
Hilario went on to have 39 appearances for the club, putting in some magnificent saves and eventually joining John Terry’s backroom team as a goalkeeping coach.
Dmitri Kharine
Russian born Dmitri Kharine joined the Blues in December 1992 and went to on impress during their 1994 FA Cup run, keeping a solid line in the goal that was somewhat marred by letting in four-goal in the final.
He was back on form later in the year to help Chelsea make their way through to the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, where they Blues would go on to reach their first semi-final in a European cup competition since the 1970s.
Kharine put in 146 games for Chelsea before being limited by injury problems, and has since gone on to be the goalkeeping coach at Stevenage FC, then for National League South side Hemel Hempstead Town.
Carlo Cudicini
Considered by many to be on the same level as Petr Cech in terms of goalkeeping quality, Carlo Cudicini joined the club in 1999 and went on to have over 200 appearances keeping goal for the Blues.
While his career at Stamford Bridge was blighted by consistent injuries, Cudicini was voted Chelsea’s player of the year in 2001/02 and went on to become one of the Blue’s coaching staff after his retirement.
Petr Cech
Petr Cech joined Chelsea in 2004 and went on to put in a record-breaking 494 appearances, playing an amazing 1024 minutes without conceding a goal. Cech still holds the Premier League record for the most consecutive clean sheets in the league.
The Chelsea legend and Czech Republic international is probably best known for having his skull fractured during a game with Reading, only to battle back past the injury and return to the Chelsea lineup in just a matter of months, this time with his signature padded cap to protect his head.
During his time at the club, Cech was instrumental in Chelsea winning all the most prestigious titles available in topflight football and established himself as both the Premiership’s best goalkeeper and a real Chelsea hero.
