25 August 1928 - Football By Numbers

On 25 August 1928, Arsenal and Chelsea became the first teams in Europe to wear shirt numbers, though not against each other.

The two teams weren't even in the same division at the time, with Arsenal playing in the top flight and Chelsea in Division Two. But when they each opened their seasons, both had adopted the innovation of wearing shirt numbers to help identify the players.

The number were assigned by position used in the 2-3-5 formation prevalent at the time: goalkeeper (1), right full back (2), left full back (3), right center half (4), center half (5), left center half (6), outside right forward (7), inside right forward (8), center forward (9), inside left forward (10), and outside left forward (11) (though only Arsenal used all eleven, as Chelsea's keeper did not wear a number that day).

While both Arsenal and Chelsea may have been able to better identify their players, the day's results went in opposite directions, with Arsenal losing 3-2 to Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea beating Swansea 4-0.

Although this was the first use of shirt numbers in Europe, they were used in the US four years earlier by Vesper Buick, when they lost to Fall River in the US Open Cup Final (shown below).

5 August 2007 - Welcome Home, Community Shield

On 5 August 2007, Manchester United won the first Community Shield played at the new Wembley, beating Chelsea on penalties, 1-1 (3-0).

Dating back to 1908, the competition pits the previous season's league winner against the FA Cup holder, which, in 2007, were United and Chelsea, respectively. The same two teams met in the last edition of the contest to be played at the old Wembley in 2000, when it was named the Charity Shield, with Chelsea winning 2-0. Since then, Cardiff's Millenium Stadium hosted the event while the new Wembley was under construction.

For the 2007 match, United went ahead with a 35th-minute goal from Ryan Giggs, but Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda equalized right before the break. The score remained level at 1-1 through 90 minutes and stoppage time, forcing a decision by penalty kicks (there was no provision for extra time).

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar shined in the shootout, denying Chelsea's first three attempts, while United scored their first two. That brought up striker Wayne Rooney for the winning shot, which he fired past keeper Petr Cech, who guessed correctly, but could not reach the ball in time.

It was United twelfth outright Charity/Community Shield, with another four shared. They have since won it another three times, most recently in 2011, for a record of 19.

9 May 2010 - Chelsea, Champions

On 9 May 2010, a record win over Wigan lifted Chelsea to their fourth league title and sent them on the way to their first Double.

It was the last day of the Premier League season and Chelsea were at the top of the table, but they had only a one-point lead over Manchester United, who had won the league for the last three seasons. Needing a win to secure the title, they were hosting Wigan at Stamford Bridge while United were playing Stoke City at Old Trafford.

Chelsea wasted little time in staking their claim to the trophy, going up 1-0 after only six minutes with a goal from Nicolas Anelka. Wigan regained their composure and managed to right their defensive ship for a time, but lost defender Gary Caldwell about ten minutes before the break when he fouled Frank Lampard in the box and received a straight red card. Lampard converted the ensuing penalty to put the Blues up 2-0.

With Wigan down to ten men and the hosts having one hand on the trophy, the second half was all Chelsea's.    They got a goal from Salomon Kalou (54'), another from Anelka (56'), and a hat-trick from Didier Drogba (63', 68' (p), 80'), before a final strike from Ashley Cole in the 80th minute sealed the 8-0 win. It was Chelsea's biggest margin of victory in a league game (later matched against Aston Villa in 2012) and also helped set the Premier League record for most goals in a season at 103, beating the previous record of 97 set by Manchester United in 1999-2000.

Chelsea went on to complete the Double that year, beating Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final on 15 May.

6 May 2007 - The Red Devils Reclaim The Title

On 6 May 2007, Manchester United won their sixteenth league title after challengers Chelsea drew with Arsenal.

United started the season seeking their first league honors since 2003, with both Arsenal (2004) and Chelsea (2005, 2006) lifting the trophy in the interim. True to their mission, they claimed the top spot on 1 October and held on to it for the remainder of the season, with only Chelsea staying within touching distance. After beating Manchester City on 5 May, Manchester United were eight points clear of Chelsea, who had three games left to play.

The first of those three games was away at Arsenal. There, the defending champions suffered an early blow with the loss of defender Khalid Boulahrouz (pictured) to a red card in the 43rd minute. Compounding their injury, the foul led to a penalty that was converted by Arsenal's Gilberto Silva, putting them down 1-0 at the break.

Despite the man disadvantage, Chelsea fought back to earn a draw with a diving 70th-minute header from Michael Essien. It was the second 1-1 draw Essien had salvaged against Arsenal that season, but it wasn't enough to deny the title to United, who went on to win four of the next six trophies.

21 March 1992 - Vinnie Jones's Cautionary Tale

On 21 March 1992, Chelsea midfielder Vinnie Jones set an English football record by getting a yellow card after only three seconds against Sheffield United.

Jones had previously established a reputation for aggressive play and a casual attitude toward the rules of the game, most notably during a three-year spell with Wimbledon's FA Cup-winning "Crazy Gang." But he left there in 1989 and spent a season with Leeds where his disciplinary record improved--he got only three yellows all season long.

In 1990, he moved to Sheffield United, then moved again a year later, joining Chelsea in 1991. While there, he continued to toe the line, but slipped up in a home match against his former club, Sheffield United, to earn the record-setting caution. To make matters worse, United went on to win, 1-2.

Jones returned to Wimbledon, playing there from 1992 to 1998, then retired in 1999 after a season with Queens Park Rangers. Afterward, he took up acting, usually in roles complemented by his playing reputation.

11 March 1978 - The Coming Of Didier

On 11 March 1978, Didier Drogba was born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. He went on to become one of the world's dominant strikers.

Growing up, he spent many years living in France and it was there he started his professional career, joining the youth program at Levallois in 1996, then moving to Le Mans in 1997. In 1998, he signed a professional contract with Le Mans and played there for three and a half years, scoring a total of only 15 goals in 75 appearances before moving to Guingamp for £80,000 in the winter transfer window.

The move sparked his career. In his first full season there, he scored 21 goals, attracting the interest of Marseille who signed him for £3.3M in the summer 2003. After only one remarkable season at Marseille, in which he scored 32 goals across all competitions and was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, he moved again, this time to Chelsea who paid £24M.

In eight seasons with Chelsea, he scored 157 goals in 341 appearances, making him the fourth-highest goalscorer in club history. He also collected a massive haul of silverware, including three league titles, four FA Cups, and one Champions League trophy.

Along the way, he also captained the Côte d'Ivoire national team and is their all-time leading scorer with 60 goals in 95 appearances.

After leaving Chelsea at the end of his contract in 2012, he spent a year with Shanghai Shenhua and currently plays for Galatasaray.

18 February 1973 - The Role Came A Little Bit Later

On 18 February 1973, Claude Makélélé, who redefined the modern defensive midfielder position, was born in Kinshasa, Zaire.

He moved to France when he was four and spent the first several years of his career there, first with Stade Brestois (1990-91), then with Nantes (1991-97) and later Marseille (1997-98). In 1998, he left for Spain, playing two seasons for Celta de Vigo and three for Real Madrid.

At Madrid, he was an integral member of the Galacticos side assembled by club president Florentino Pérez, including Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, and Roberto Carlos. Although not regarded as highly (or paid as much) as some of the others, Makélélé drove the side by operating less like a traditional defensive midfielder and more like a deep-lying playmaker.

When he left for Chelsea in 2003, a bitter Pérez tried to minimize the loss, downplaying Makélélé's contribution to the team. But after winning two league titles (and the Champions League) with him, Real Madrid did not win La Liga again until 2007.

Makélélé, meanwhile, flourished at Chelsea, winning two league titles and one FA Cup before moving back to France in 2008, joining Paris Saint-Germain. He ended his career there, retiring in 2011, and currently serves the club as an assistant coach.

23 January 2002 - Where The Special One Became Special

On 23 January 2002, José Mourinho took charge of Porto, where he would establish his reputation as the "Special One."

Just three days short of his 39th birthday at the time, Mourinho had already briefly managed Benfica (2000) and Leiria (2001-02), where his analytical approach to training and success on the pitch attracted the attention of Porto. They had been the league's most successful club throughout the 1990s with eight top-flight titles during the decade, but had fallen off a bit, finishing as runners-up in 2000 and 2001. By the time Mourinho arrived, they had slipped to fifth in the table after a loss to Boavista on 20 January.

In their first match under Mourinho, at home to Maritimo in the league on 26 January, Porto won 2-1, then followed that with  five more wins out of their next six league matches to climb into third, which is where they finished the season.

In 2002-03, Mourinho's first full season at Porto, they reclaimed the league title and won the UEFA Cup with a 3-2 win over Celtic in the final, then repeated as league champions in 2004 while winning the Champions League over Monaco, 3-0.

That performance led to his move to Chelsea, where he earned the nickname The Special One after telling the English press "Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one."

26 December 1999 - Chelsea Flows Over Southampton

On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first British team to field an all-foreign starting XI. And it worked out pretty well for them.

The occasion was a Premier League match against Southampton at the Dell. The line-up decision was not entirely in the hands of manager Gianluca Vialli, as a breakout of the flu deprived him of several regular selections, including striker Chris Sutton and midfielder Dennis Wise, both of whom were English internationals (Wise was the club's player of the year in 1998).

To fill in the gaps, Vialli fielded a starting eleven that consisted of Ed De Goey (Netherlands), Albert Ferrer (Spain), Frank Leboeuf (France), Emerson Thome (Brazil), Dan Petrescu (Romania), Celestine Babyaro (Nigeria), Gus Poyet (Uruguay), Didier Deschamps (France), Roberto Di Matteo (Italy), Gabriele Ambrosetti (Italy), and Tore André Flo (Norway). It was the the first time in the history of British football that a team put out a starting line-up without a single British player.

Chelsea went on to win 1-2, with Flo (pictured) scoring both of their goals (18', 43'), while Southampton's goal was an 80th-minute consolation strike from Kevin Davies.

The all-international eleven ended in the 74th minute, when Vialli brought Englishman Jon Harley on for Ambrosetti (and then Jody Morris, another Englishman, came on for Petrescu in the 87th minute).

24 October 1966 - He Came, He Saw, He Conquered

On 24 October 1966, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was born in the city of Saratov in southern Russia. Currently one of the richest men in the world, he has spurred Chelsea to a massive haul of silverware including multiple league titles and the Champions League trophy.

Abramovich accumulated his wealth quickly, though he has been accused of using methods of questionable legality. For example, while still serving in the Soviet Army, he made money by selling allegedly stolen gasoline. By 1995, however, he, along with a partner, had acquired a controlling interest in a large Russsian oil company, paying $100 million.

In 2003, he bought Chelsea from then-owner Ken Bates. He paid £140 million for the club, who at the time were saddled with debt, and quickly steered them to back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006--their first league titles since 1955.

Chelsea have had nine different (non-caretaker) managers under Abramovich, including Claudio Ranieri, José Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, and current boss Roberto Di Matteo. Throughout, Chelsea have won three league titles (2005, 2006, and 2010), four FA Cups (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012), and the Champions League (2012).

14 October 2006 - Terry Takes A Turn In Goal

On 14 October 2006, Chelsea needed three goalkeepers to get through their match against Reading, with captain John Terry pulling on the gloves for a bit.

Playing in a league game at Reading's Madjeski Stadium, Chelsea lost starting goalkeeper Petr Cech after just 20 seconds. Diving to make a save at the feet of Reading's Stephen Hunt, Cech took a blow to the head that fractured his skull. He left the pitch on a stretcher and was replaced by substitute keeper Carlo Cudicini.

Reading tested Cuducini, but it was Chelsea who took the lead after Reading defender Ivar Ingemarsson put the ball in his net off a Frank Lampard free kick in the 45th minute.

In the second half, both teams went down to 10 men as Chelsea's John Obi Mikel (in the 62nd minute) and Reading substitute André Bikey (in the 83rd) both received second yellow cards and were sent off. Then, shortly before the final whistle, Cuducini collided with Reading defender Ibrahima Sonko and lost consciousness. Having already used all three substitutes, manager José Mourinho sent John Terry into goal.

With only moments left, Terry had little to do to see out the 0-1 win.

29 September 1971 - Chelsea Cooks Up A Baker's Dozen

On 29 September 1971, Chelsea recorded their widest margin of victory, beating Jeunesse Hautcharage 13-0 in the second leg of their first-round meeting in the Cup Winners' Cup.

The tie was effectively over after the first leg, with Chelsea beating Hautcharage, an amateur side, 0-8 in Luxembourg. But the 27,621 people who turned up at Stamford Bridge for the second leg were treated to a match of historic proportions.

Striker Peter Osgood (pictured) started the scoring deluge, providing the opening goal in the fourth minute, then adding another two minutes later. By halftime, the Blues were leading 6-0 with additional goals from Alan Hudson (11'), John Hollins (13', pen.), David Webb (23'), and Ron Harris (44').

In the second half, Hautcharage successfully defended their goal until the 61st minute, when Tommy Baldwin increased the lead to 7-0. More goals soon followed, including two more from Baldwin (68', 90'), a second-half hat-trick from Osgood (63', 80', 88'), and one from Peter Houseman (77').

The final score of 13-0 set a single-game Chelsea record and, with a combined score of 21, also beat the previous European aggregate record of eighteen.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, their scoring fortune ended in the next round, where they lost to Swedish side Atvidaberg on away goals, 1-1.