The Chelsea squad are preparing for one of the longest possible away trips in the Champions League when they take on Qarabag in their fourth group stage game.
The Blues have two wins out of three so far, and victory in Azerbaijan will put them in a very strong position when it comes to advancing to the next round.
Chelsea have beaten Qarabag in the past despite making the long-haul flight for the fixture, and Enzo Maresca will likely be looking to rotate his squad to protect his players.
As a result of being involved regularly in European competitions for the past 30 years, the Blues have taken part in some immense away trips in the past, however few will compare with their trip to Norway back in 1997.
Andy Myers
23 Oct 1997: Andy Myers of Chelsea (left) makes a slide tackle during the European Cup Winners Cup first leg match against Tromso at Tromso in Norway. Tromso won the match 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Gary M Prior/Allsport
Chelsea’s trip to Qarabag is nothing compared to 1997 away day in Norway
Chelsea faced Tromso in the 1997/98 Cup Winner’s Cup second round, and were in for a rude awakening when they landed in Northern Europe.
While the game started with snow shovelled to the side, the pitch was near enough completely covered in the second half, to the point where the players had to use an orange ball to spot it.
The Blues struggled with the conditions early on and quickly fell two goals behind, however two late goals from Gianluca Vialli kept them in the tie at only 3-2 down.
Back at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea showed their class in the second leg, winning 7-1 and advancing to the quarter-finals.
Ruud Gulllit and Graham Rix
23 Oct 1997: Ruud Gulllit (right) the Chelsea manager and Graham Rix, the Chelsea assistant manager dress warm in the snow for the second half of the European Cup Winners Cup first leg match against Tromso at Tromso in Norway. Tromso won the match 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Gary M Prior/Allsport
Ruud Gullit was furious at Tromso vs Chelsea ‘farce’
While Chelsea were able to get the job done over two legs, their manager at the time, Ruud Gullit, was not happy with the conditions his players faced in Norway.
He told BBC after the game: “That was just a farce. I love football but for football to be played you need to have conditions that make it possible.
“We just didn’t have that and there’s no way that that game should have been played to a finish. In the second-half we couldn’t see because the snow was coming into our faces. But it was clear that UEFA had decided the game had to be played even though it wasn’t fit.
“For you to be able to play football you must see some green but there was none out there, only white. They even had to stop play twice to sweep the snow off the lines, that’s how bad it was. You can not call that football.”
Thankfully, the game did not derail Chelsea’s ambitions of winning the competition. The Blues reached the final, where a Gianfranco Zola goal gave them victory against Stuttgart in Stockholm.