Soccer: Chelsea's exotic face

Sir Alex Ferguson admits he's scared of them and Arsene Wenger is casting nervous glances at the Russian-fuelled tank parked on his doorstep.

Chelsea have got the household names of the Premiership well and truly rattled - yesterday beating Manchester United 2-1 in the second leg of their League Cup semifinal.

The West London outfit have been steadily increasing their threat to the mainstay of the Premiership and this season threaten to run away with the title.
But who the hell are Chelsea? It's been 50 years since they won the league. During the 1990s they were a favoured cup side. But it's only since the arrival of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich's millions that the Blues have been able to offer a real challenge to the old order. It's been done before. Ten years ago Sir Jack Walker gambled his millions with Blackburn Rovers and was paid out with the Premiership prize.

But the Blackburn team had a familiar, homegrown flavour - names like Sutton, Shearer and Speedie. English players for an English league.

In their pursuit of success Chelsea have scoured Europe for her finest treasures and some day soon the names on the Chelsea team sheet might be trotted off just as easily as that of Manchester United or Arsenal.

Staggeringly, they have two international rep players available in each position.

It's easy to say that money can buy success but as Real Madrid's galacticos have proven there is more to a great side than just buying the best.

It's the humour and style of manager Jose Mourinho as well as their flowing football that has been winning over many, most notably in the press.

Chelsea's press conferences have become the hottest ticket in town as Mourinho casts his sly comments with a trademark glint to his eyes.

Few here would begrudge Chelsea the title. Complaints that there are too many foreign stars in the English game do not apply when the imports are of the quality of Arjen Robben who has enriched the game and made this season all the more special.

Mourinho has been clever to combine all this foreign flair with an English heart.

In their last Premiership match Chelsea fielded four English internationals.

What's most impressive about Chelsea is how Mourinho has delivered. He came calling himself the best manager in Europe, having won the Champions League with unfancied Porto and immediately laid claim to the Premiership title. Anyone who thought it was an arrogant boast from a man with an ego so big it had its own gravitational moon, would be proved wrong. Match by match Chelsea have appeared ever stronger and won ever more fans. Mourinho, the mercurial king, has won the hearts and minds of the English game.

The secret of Chelsea's success has been their playmakers.

Unlike United's Ruud van Nistelrooy or Arsenal's Thierry Henry, Chelsea are not over-reliant on one player to get their goals. Mourinho has the fortune of two players whose footballing skills border on that of genius.

Both players have many similar properties able to slice through defences with ease. Both have a cultured left foot that has been providing Chelsea with goals and perfect passes all season.

The first and the biggest player to emerge from relative obscurity to purvey his talents on the Premiership stage has been Dutchman Robben.

Significantly, he turned down a move to Manchester United. Able to play on either flank, Robben has been a surprise player to many a defender. He's been described as "a dancer with the ball under his command". At times he looks to be playing with defenders - biding his time before laying off the perfect ball. When he's not assisting, he's more than likely calmly placing the ball past a flapping goalkeeper.

If it's not Robben then its Chelsea's other flying wingman who is tormenting opposition fullbacks. Damien Duff, a 17 million signing from Blackburn, may not have been as much of a surprise as Robben - he's been hot property since his showing the 2002 World Cup - but he is still capable of unlocking some of the league's trickiest defences.

Irishman Duff has an ungainly style - often appearing fatigued with his trademark hand on his hips stance. Yet in possession of the ball few can match his speed or dribbling ability.

The main man to benefit from the talents of Duff and Robben has been forward Didier Drogba.

Born in the Ivory Coast, the African moved to France at a young age and has since taken French nationality.

Mourinho signed Drogba after witnessing his pace and power on display at Marseille.

The former French Player of the Year spent October and November out recovering from a groin operation but seems to have come back stronger than ever. Perhaps the best known of the Chelsea stars is Frank Lampard.

The England midfielder was signed three years ago from West Ham and has proved a constant in the Chelsea side. Jose Mourinho describes Lampard as "the complete footballer".

One of the biggest changes in Chelsea's title ambitions has been the attitude of John Terry. The England defender used to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Most notably for urinating on the bar of a London hotel, but Terry's bad-boy days seem to be far behind him. Now Chelsea captain, Mourinho has impressed on him the importance of leading the club both on and off the pitch. Come May his main job in that department could be to lift the Premiership trophy for the surprise team of the season.

* David Fearnhead is an English soccer writer based in Blackburn.