Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League winners: Where are they now?
The 19th May 2012 will always be remembered as one of the greatest days in Chelsea’s history. After coming close on so many occasions, they finally won the Champions League with a dramatic win over Bayern Munich in the final at the Allianz Arena.
Much has changed at Stamford Bridge since they won Europe’s top club competition. They haven’t mounted a serious challenge in the tournament since, coming closest with a semi-final defeat to Atletico Madrid in the 2013/14 season.
The managerial merry-go-round has continued. Roberto Di Matteo lasted just six months after that famous night in Munich before he was sacked, and replaced by Rafael Benitez. Since then, Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Antonio Conte, and now Maurizio Sarri have all sat in the hot seat at Stamford Bridge.
It has also been all change on the pitch. Only two players who started in the Champions League final six years ago are still at Chelsea, and the rest of the squad have all left Chelsea, with many of them scattered across Europe and the world. The Blues have continued to spend big in an attempt to sign the best players in the world.
Here’s what has happened to those players who played in the Champions League final for Chelsea in the six years since.
Petr Cech
Cech was the hero for Chelsea on that night in Munich. He saved Arjen Robben’s penalty in extra time, before saving from Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the shootout. He remained at Stamford Bridge for another three seasons and was part of their title-winning team in the 2014/15 season. He was, however, the second choice to Thibaut Courtois in that season, so moved to Arsenal in summer 2015. It has been a turbulent few years for him personally, and for Arsenal, but he has started this season as Unai Emery’s number one.
Jose Bosingwa
Bosingwa took advantage of Branislav Ivanovic’s suspension for the final, and it, in fact, proved to be his final game in a Chelsea shirt. His contract ran out at the end of the season, and he moved across London to QPR, who he was subsequently relegated with. He left Loftus Road by mutual consent a couple of months later and moved on to Turkey, where he spent two spells with Trabzonspor. His time there came to an end in 2016, at which time he chose to retire from football.