Dennis Wise and Gianfranco Zola will be back on the pitch taking on Liverpool once more for Chelsea Legends later today, and before that match the duo have been reminiscing about their best performances for the Blues against the Reds.
Chelsea Legends will face their Liverpool counterparts at 3pm on Saturday 22 March, in a match which you can watch live on the official Chelsea website and app.
[You can purchase access to the pay-per-view live stream here](/en/news/article/watch-chelsea-legends-vs-liverpool-legends-live-and-support-chelsea), with all the proceeds going to support the important work of the Chelsea Foundation, and in particular the Chelsea Players’ Trust.
There will be a long list of true Blues legends pulling on the Chelsea shirt once more, among them long-serving captain Wise and one of the greatest players ever to represent the club in Zola.
Ahead of that game, those two players picked out their favourite memories of facing the Reds, with Wise selecting his decisive goal when we won at Anfield in 1992, our first victory there for almost 60 years.
‘We had some good times up at Liverpool,’ said Wise, ‘and we had some not so good times!
‘I remember I scored the winner once in a 2-1 win, that was a good one, but I definitely made a few mistakes up there and I think I was sent off too!’
For Zola, his favourite meeting with Liverpool came just weeks after his first, in January 1997, when he was joined on the scoresheet by Mark Hughes and a Gianluca Vialli brace in a brilliant second-half fightback at Stamford Bridge.
‘It’s always been a tough game against them, but I always say that I probably played my most memorable Chelsea game against them.
‘That was in the fourth round of the FA Cup in my first year. We were two goals down but came back to win 4-2, and then we went on to win the FA Cup.
‘That, for me, was one of the most fantastic and emotional games I have ever played.’
Turning their attention away from the past and towards today’s game between Chelsea and Liverpool’s legends, both players admit the fitness levels may not be quite as high as they once were, but the passion and desire to win remains for all those involved.
‘Once you get on the field, you want to enjoy it, but you also want to compete as well and do things right,’ continued Wise.
‘We’re going to go up against some very good players from Liverpool – and I think they’re a bit younger than us, too – but we’ll still try to do what we want to do in the game.’
Zola added: ‘The fitness might not be there, but there is the passion and pleasure to go and do our best. We didn’t train much, but we are so happy to be together again.
‘I’m very grateful for the people who are coming and will watch and support a good cause. So thank you for that.’
As the Italian mentions, this match is all in aid of a good cause, and Wise is proud to be doing his bit for those who shaped the history of Chelsea before him, but didn’t enjoy the financial rewards offered by the modern game.
‘It’s very important the Foundation supports the previous players that need that help,’ he explained. ‘It’s important we can go out there and do something for the older players who weren’t playing in our time.
‘We were lucky to do well out of football, but there were players before us who didn’t have it as well from a financial point of view. You must always look out for the players who played for this club and never forget them.’