There was nostalgia abound as Chelsea Legends took on their counterparts from Liverpool, with good causes the real winners at Anfield, along with the supporters offered another glimpse of their heroes in action.
A pair of second-half goals by Peter Crouch may have meant Liverpool gave the home fans a win at Anfield, as the younger squad at their disposal eventually started to show the longer the game went on.
However, the Blues pulling the famous shirt back on did themselves proud, especially when considering some of them were lacing up their boots 30 years after they had first represented the club on the pitch.
All for a good cause
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Chelsea’s involvement was raising money for the Chelsea Foundation and, in particular, the Chelsea Players’ Trust, which supports those who shaped the club’s history, and Dennis Wise summed up the Legends’ pride at helping a good cause.
‘It’s very important the Foundation supports the previous players that need that help,’ explained our captain, while making his way to Anfield on the team bus. ‘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.’
The build-up had begun at Cobham on Friday, as many of the Chelsea Legends came together for a pre-match training session, before travelling to Liverpool.
The match itself started at a relatively sedate pace, compared to some of the furious clashes seen between these two sets of players in the past, but understandable given the years which have passed in the intervening years.
Raising smiles as well as funds
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With 58,000 supporters inside Anfield, many of them locals, the biggest noise early on was reserved for every touch by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. Thankfully he had the right studs on this time, and avoided any embarrassing slips. At least for around 20 minutes, until he seemed poised to meet a cross at back post for a tap in, only to end up sprawled on a part of his anatomy often referenced in song at Stamford Bridge.
There was much amusement for those in Blue when Liverpool were denied an opening goal by Ryan Babel accidentally getting in the way of his team-mate Gregory Vignal’s powerful shot, and again when Babel attempted to catch out Carlo Cudicini from inside his own half, our Italian keeper disdainfully watching the effort bounce tamely wide of the target.
It was an interesting mix of generations in the Chelsea starting line-up fielded by manager Roberto Di Matteo, with some of his 2012 Champions League winners combined with our Nineties vintage and a few of the players who ended our 50-year wait for a second league title in 2005.
The midfield duo of Claude Makelele and John Mikel Obi, in particular, seemed to be in impressive shape after hanging up their boots, rolling back the years to protect our back line, while wingers Florent Malouda and Ramires had their moments too, as both teams began to shake off the cobwebs.
Warming up on the touchline before coming on in the second half, becoming the first female player to represent Chelsea Legends, Katie Chapman observed: 'Some of them look like they haven’t stopped playing, but then there are others who not so much!
'But it’s great for them too. They all say they can only do 10 minutes, but as soon as they get on the pitch everyone comes alive again. It’s brilliant.'
Old spice!
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The most intriguing battle on the pitch, though, came as Blues striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was marshalled by Liverpool’s Jay Spearing, the latter still active as a player-coach for the Reds’ Under-21s side. However, he is unlikely to have come up against a centre-forward with as much nous as Jimmy recently, and the Dutchman’s use of his strength to hold off the increasingly frustrated midfielder felt more like classic Chelsea against Liverpool.
As did Spearing earning an angry look from Wise for venting his frustration with a couple of heavy challenges on our skipper and Celestine Babayaro in quick succession. That was nothing compared to the impact – literally – made by Liverpool’s recently retired and clearly keen to impress substitute Natasha Dowie, who left Makelele crumpled in a heap in some pain after clattering into the back of him with her first involvement.
The first player to feel the years in those legs was Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, who went off after tweaking something while kicking long under pressure from Hasselbaink. It was safe to say he wasn’t the last.
Passion undimmed
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Hasselbaink was his usual enthusiastic and larger-than-life self, smiling and joking with team-mates and opponents alike during breaks in play, before berating them for a misplaced pass or himself for failing to bring the ball under control once it resumed. Despite his eager efforts, the first half ended goalless.
'I’m dead, it’s so hard,' admitted a slightly out-of-breath Hasselbaink on his way for a well-earned rest in the changing room at half-time.
'The mind still thinks that you can do the things that you used to do, but then when you try it, the body says no. So that is a big adjustment and I forgot that you need to be really top fitness to play this game, and I am far from that!'
A number of half-time substitutions took a little time to find their feet when the second half kicked off. There was plenty of anticipation when Malouda was dragged down off the ball cynically, while poised to shoot, and Hasselbaink began winding up for a 35-yard free-kick. We have seen him find the net from that range before, and he found the target, but Sander Westerveld took on the role of spoilsport by making the save.
Instead it was the home side who got the first goal, 10 minutes after half-time, boyhood Chelsea fan Peter Crouch using his considerable height to loop a header beyond Rob Green into the top corner.
The Blues tried to fight back, though, with a cheeky nutmeg by Frank Sinclair, instantly followed by a crunching challenge to keep possession, drawing loud applause and launching us on the attack. From the resulting corner, Malouda showed some silky skills to make room for a cross, but Robert Huth’s header went narrowly over.
Youth tells in the end
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The larger number of changes by the home side were starting to tell, though, with some tired legs in Blue, although Ramires had a chance after a wonderful bit of play down the left by Mikel and Malouda, but he was closed down before he could get the shot away.
Instead it was Crouch who got his second for Liverpool, again proving a handful in the box, turning in the rebound from his own blocked header. When the reinforcements arrived for Chelsea, the legs were fresher but not necessarily younger, with Eidur Gudjohnsen and Gianfranco Zola providing added excitement, if not pace.
Both were involved in the build-up when Jon Harley nearly got one back, played through by a clever Mikel flick. He took it around David James but sportingly declined the invitation to go down under the keeper’s challenge, instead attempting a spectacular lob which drifted wide from a difficult angle.
That meant we weren’t able to give the travelling Chelsea fans a goal to celebrate, but didn’t dampen the enjoyment too much on a brilliant day of nostalgia. For once, of course, in a Chelsea versus Liverpool match, the result was secondary, with plenty of money raised to support a great cause in the work of the Chelsea Foundation.
'We’re disappointed that we got beat 2-0, but it was on their home patch and it was all for a good cause,' reflected Frank Sinclair after the final whistle, having represented the Blues again almost exactly 34 years since his debut in 1991.
'I really enjoyed it. It’s been a great couple of days, meeting up with all the lads, some of them have flown in from all over the world for this great occasion and a brilliant cause in supporting the Foundations of both clubs.'
The teams
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**Chelsea Legends (4-3-3):** Carlo Cudicini (Rob Green h-t); William Gallas (Michael Mancienne h-t) (Eidur Gudjohnsen 63), Jose Bosingwa (Michael Mancienne 71), Robert Huth, Celestine Babayaro (Loic Remy 34) (Jimmy Smith 67) (Gianfranco Zola 71); Dennis Wise (c) (Jon Harley 38), John Mikel Obi, Claude Makelele (Frank Sinclair 56); Ramires (Jimmy Smith 87), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Katie Chapman 56), Florent Malouda
**Liverpool Legends (4-2-3-1):** Jerzy Dudek (Sander Westerveld 20) (David James 63); Igor Biscan (Fabio Aurelio h-t), Sami Hyypia (Florent Sinama-Pongolle h-t), Ragnar Klavan (Bjorn Kvarme 67), Gregory Vignal (Albert Riera h-t); Jay Spearing (Yossi Benayoun h-t), Mohamed Sissoko (Natasha Dowie 34) (Peter Crouch h-t); Martin Kelly, Steven Gerrard (c), Dirk Kuyt (Mark Gonzalez h-t); Ryan Babel (Djibril Cisse h-t)
**Scorer:** Crouch 55, 66