‘Blue’ tide towards Wembley

Only two years have passed since the last title won by Chelsea, in the Arab Emirates. Although it seems more distant from memory, it was not a particularly long time, although it was full of negative changes for the charming ‘blues’ of south-west London.

The arrival and departure of coaches and players, dragged by an investment of more than one billion, marked this intense and turbulent period to revitalize the team. That’s why Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, at Wembleyin front of Liverpoolwill be very special, because its always visceral fans, now without European football, long to recover the pride lost to the continental elite.

February 12, 2022 when Chelsea conquer the top of the football world at the stadium Mohammed Bin Zayed from Abu Dhabi, a high point in the history of a club enriched by money and foreign investment. At the starting line of that champion, only the captain survived, the Brazilian Thiago Silva (39 years old) and four other players in the squad, Reece James, Colwill, Chilwell and Chalobah. The use of memory helps to understand the magnitude of the revolution carried out after the arrival of the American investor Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, to relieve the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Resting in the past is one of the most difficult tasks entrusted Mauricio Pochettino, the architect of the ‘blues’ returns to play another final on Sunday. It will be very useful for the Argentine to win it, to strengthen his new project, with many young signings, and thus relieve the pressure of results. His bad luck in the finals was against him. He lost two against Tottenham Hotspur, a decisive one against Chelsea (2015), as well as the Carabao Cup. The coach, obviously, asked for more time to strengthen the performance of this completely changed and very irregular Chelsea. He’s dragged through two seasons of bad sports decisions and troubling stumbles.

‘The pride of London’

Singing their famous song ‘Blue is the color’, the followers of Chelsea -more than 35,000– will parade to Wembley, north-west of the city, to support their team, and be noticed. They are proud to be the most ‘chic’ and well-known London club, the only winners of the Champions League (2012 and 2021), and that is why they are also happy to call themselves ‘the pride of London’ (the pride of London), although the most popular and with the most followers from all social strata continues to be Arsenal. Its bitter rival from the north has a large colony of supporters all over the planet and especially in the United States. Because of those roots, they compete and compete.

It was a difficult and unsettling period for Chelsea. As you think Pochettino, relieved in the final and with the team already showing signs of being lively, the improvement in results does not mean a big change in the atmosphere surrounding the fans and the games at Stamford Bridge. The Santa Fe coach attributed this “to 18 months of discontent,” which stemmed from the era of Graham Potter as a coach and in the interim period of Frank Lampard. The Argentine believes that in the six months he has been at the club “we are now paying the impact of the last year and a half.”

Less than a month, Chelsea Pochettino They were clearly defeated at Anfield by their rival on Sunday, Liverpool (4-1). In the Premier, 25 points separate them. That distance, marked by the recent defeat, would speak of clear favoritism on the part of the ‘reds’ of Jurgen Klopp, but they have accumulated injuries and now there are signs of a reaction to the ‘blues’ of London which are encouraging that this will not happen. Among them, the draw against Manchester City, at the Etihad (1-1), in a match that was close to winning and where Pochettino He knows how to fight Guardiola hard for the first time.

The Conference League

The lesser evil of the Carabao Cup title at Wembley is European qualification for the Conference League, which will make up for the absence of two poor years of Chelsea. Pochettino knows the value of this title for a season that has not met expectations, after strengthening the lead in Nkunku, Jackson, Mudryk and Sterling. The Blues, who are tenth in the Premier League, will at least have the consolation of returning to a European tournament, thereby easing the climate of disappointment. This final also represents a possible revenge against the ‘reds’, for double defeats on penalties in the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, both in 2022.

The new visit to Wembley It also has some premonitions. This could be their stadium for some time in the future, their ‘second home’, if they manage to move forward and carry out the remodeling and construction project of a new stadium. Stamford Bridge is no longer in use and Chelsea need billions to unlock a transformation project that has now been stalled by disagreements with partners and the London city council. The option to play for two years Wembley It’s on the table and the co-owners are reading it Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbalialthough this is a major problem due to the club’s origins in the heart of the Chelsea neighbourhood, an emblematic place for its followers due to the beauty of its surroundings, including the fashionable shops, businesses and restaurants of King’s Road and South. Kensington.

‘Keep the blue flag flying high’ is commonly sung by supporters of Chelsea in Stamford Bridge, or wherever they go. Although the mighty Liverpool appeared before them again, they still had one day to sing it and enjoy it again, two years later.