Eidur Gudjohnsen was a central figure in Chelsea vs Leeds fixtures at the start of this century, and in the build-up to this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final we spoke to our former striker about his memories of two very special goals in particular…
It was more in hope than expectation that Frank Lampard dug out a cross in front of the Matthew Harding Stand. He was a little off balance, spinning 360 degrees after the ball left his foot.
Lampard’s delivery arced away from the six-yard box towards the penalty spot, where Eidur Gudjohnsen had cleverly taken a couple of steps back to meet it. Still, the ball was behind the Icelandic striker. Gudjohnsen didn’t just have a lot to do; he had it all to do.
What followed was one of _the_ great Chelsea goals. Under the watchful eye of four yellow-shirted Leeds defenders, Gudjohnsen executed a textbook bicycle kick. He could scarcely have connected with the ball any sweeter, directing it past Paul Robinson in the Leeds goal before the England international could even react.
‘It was just a moment that was a pure emotional high,’ says Gudjohnsen, speaking to us ahead of this weekend’s meeting between the same sides at Wembley.
‘When I see people now and they realise who I am, they say, “You scored that overhead kick against Leeds!” A goal like that is something you visualise as a kid.
‘The fact we were losing 1-0, we needed something, and that got us back into the game and we went on to win was special.’
Claudio Ranieri’s Blues eventually triumphed 3-2 in one of the all-time classic Chelsea vs Leeds matches. By the season’s end, those points proved pivotal in helping us qualify for the Champions League for the second time in our history.
Almost exactly a year earlier, in January 2002, Gudjohnsen provided yet another indelible moment of genius against one of our oldest rivals.
It was again scored in front of the Matthew Harding, although this time to put the Blues ahead, and from an attack that stemmed down our left flank. Similarly to the bicycle kick, the ball was played behind him. Gudjohnsen adjusted just as smoothly before firing a first-time, left-footed rocket into the top corner.
With the passing of time it has been overshadowed by his acrobatic effort 12 months later, but make no mistake: this was another goal of the very highest quality.
‘I loved those games – and we obviously had good wins back-to-back and I scored in both,’ says Gudjohnsen.
‘It’s funny, my dad had flown over from Iceland for the game in 2003, the one I scored the overhead kick in, and unfortunately, he got stuck in traffic and missed it!
‘The year before, when I scored after two minutes, he missed it as well as he walking up the stairs to his seat as I scored!’
When Gudjohnsen joined Chelsea from Bolton in the summer of 2000, both us and Leeds held aspirations of toppling Manchester United and Arsenal as the Premier League’s leading lights.
That fact, coupled with the longstanding rivalry between the clubs, made for some fierce and frenzied contests around the turn of the century. One, a league meeting in December 1997, became known as the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ (long before Tottenham’s visit nearly two decades later) after Leeds had two players sent off before half-time and grittily dug in for a goalless draw.
‘The rivalry was something you learned about after you arrived at Chelsea,’ Gudjohnsen explains.
‘You start understanding the history of the club and there are players, in my case it was Dennis Wise, who talk about what it means when you're playing Leeds.
‘Everyone knows about the Tottenham rivalry when they join, but Leeds is something else. You had to be told, but when I heard how passionate people in the club were about the rivalry, then Leeds became the enemy in a football sense.’
When the hostilities resume at Wembley this weekend in what is arguably the biggest one-off fixture between the sides since the 1970 FA Cup final replay, Gudjohnsen will be an interested spectator. The Blues, meanwhile, will hope to sprinkle some stardust on the game, just as Gudjohnsen did in 2003.