FIRST LEG
SECOND LEG
In the UEFA Champions League 1999-00 season,
Chelsea and Barcelona were drawn in the quarter-finals.
This was Chelsea's debut season in the Champions League,
and by most accounts most people connected with the London
club were delighted simply to have made it this far. Barcelona,
in contrast, were seasoned campaigners in the Champions
League, had won its predecessor competition, the European
Cup in 1992, and were hot favourites to win the competition.
Barcelona, coached by 1995 Champions League-winning
coach Louis Van Gaal, boasted the talents of future European
and World Footballers of the Year Luís Figo and Rivaldo,
Spanish internationals Luis Enrique, Sergi Barjuan, and
Josep Guardiola, and Dutch internationals Patrick Kluivert,
Philip Cocu, Ruud Hesp, and the De Boer brothers Frank and
Ronald. Chelsea, coached by player-manager Gianluca Vialli
(a Champions League winner with Juventus F.C. in 1996),
had Italians Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo, French
World Cup 1998 winners Didier Deschamps, Marcel Desailly
and Franck Leboeuf, Norwegian international Tore Andre Flo,
Dutchman Ed de Goey, and Romanian international Dan Petrescu.
Chelsea created a sensational upset by winning
the first leg 3-1 at their home stadium Stamford Bridge.
However, in the second leg at the Camp Nou, the game had
finished 3-1 to Barcelona in normal time. This made it 4-4
on aggregate with no away goals rule advantage to either
team and meant that an additional 30 minutes of extra time
was necessary.
Barcelona were awarded two controversial penalties
late in the second leg, and Chelsea's hopes were all but
dashed when Swedish referee Anders Frisk sent off Chelsea's
Nigerian left-back Celestine Babayaro. Rivaldo missed the
first, but scored the second, making the score 4-1 and putting
Barça in the lead on aggregate. Patrick Kluivert
scored a fifth goal in the second period of extra time,
making the final score 5-1 on the night and 6-4 over the
two legs to Barcelona.
The only participants from this tie still
playing for either side are Barcelona midfielder Xavi, who
played in both legs of the tie, current Barcelona captain
and centre-back Carles Puyol, who was an unused substitute
for the second leg at the Nou Camp, and current Chelsea
and England captain and centre-back John Terry, who was
then a youngster in the Chelsea Reserves.
