Bjarne GOLDBAEK

Bjarne Goldbaek's first introduction to Chelsea Football Club came in a European Cup Winners Cup tie in October 1998 when his well-struck shot for FC Copenhagen came within a minute of ending the Blues' then-unbeaten home record in European competitions. Suitably impressed, manager Gianluca Vialli paid £300,000 to capture the Dane's signature two weeks later and the bustling midfielder made a solid contribution to the Stamford Bridge club's concerted title challenge in 1998/99. His debut came in an extraordinary 5-0 rout of Arsenal at Highbury in a League Cup match when both managers fielded weakened sides, and he made his Premiership bow ten days later in a 4-2 win at Leicester. A virtual unknown amongst the superstars of Vialli's team, Bjarne became an increasingly important component in the side as the season reached its climax.

His first goals for Chelsea came with a brace in a 3-1 victory at Nottingham Forest and his first at the Bridge came a week later when he capped a man-of-the-match performance with the winning goal in a 2-1 triumph over Liverpool. A further goal followed in an impressive 3-0 mauling of Aston Villa at Villa Park as the Blues continued their title quest but the moment for which Goldbaek will always be remembered by the Chelsea faithful came in the season's penultimate game. Needing a win to maintain the slenderest of hopes of winning the Premiership, Chelsea trailed 2-1 at Tottenham when Bjarne struck a late 30-yard exocet into the top right-hand corner of Ian Walker's goal. It wasn't enough to keep the title challenge alive but it did at least preserve the Blues' amazing unbeaten run against their London rivals. With five goals from 14 starts and a string of tenacious performances behind him, the Dane appeared to have sealed his place in the Chelsea squad for the following season's campaign.

However, Vialli had other ideas and in the summer of 1999 the Italian tried to offload Bjarne to Birmingham City or Nottingham Forest in order to accommodate his 'Italian Ryan Giggs', Gabriele Ambrosetti. In the event, Goldbaek remained at Stamford Bridge for a further six months, making nine more appearances for the Blues before Fulham granted his wish to stay in London by capturing his signature for £800, 000 in January 2000. (Kelvin Barker)