Boudewijn ZENDEN

in the summer of 2001, Chelsea's signing of the Dutch left-winger - scorer of a magnificent

goal in the 1998 World Cup Third Place Play-Off - certainly caught the imagination of the

Blues' fans, and his tormenting of England's Ashley Cole in an international match at

White Hart Lane just prior to the start of his first season in the Premiership, did much to

further raise expectations. A goal against Newcastle on his debut - albeit courtesy of an

awful gaffe by Magpies goalkeeper Shay Given - continued his early success story and

an impressive showing in an early season clash with Arsenal, followed by a lung-busting

run and pass to create a goal for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Fulham, raised his stock ever higher.

However, his performances soon began to wane, and he found himself being left out of the team

at regular intervals. Certainly he had his moments, and a goal scored in a 5-1 victory over Bolton

at Stamford Bridge was of the highest order, but all too often he flattered to deceive, and the

frustrations of his first season were perfectly illustrated when he received a horrific wound in his

thigh as the result of a spiteful, cowardly side-on lunge from Teddy Sheringham in a League Cup

thrashing at Tottenham (incredibly, the challenge went unpunished by referee Mark Halsey,

whose performance that night was on a par with Chelsea's).

That injury kept 'Bolo' on the sidelines for two months but he returned in time to play as a substitute

in Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final triumph over Fulham. He staked his claim for a place in the starting

line-up at the Millennium Stadium with a fine strike in a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough a week before the

Cardiff showpiece but it was as a late substitute that he appeared in the Blues' defeat by Arsenal.

Bolo's second season began in similar style to his first. A crashing shot against the bar in the season's

opener at Charlton was followed by an assist for Gianfranco Zola as Chelsea fought back from 2-0 down

to win 3-2. A tremendous strike in the next game, a 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge,

raised hopes that the supporters were finally going to see the best of Boudewijn Zenden, but it wasn't to be.

In fact, that goal proved to be his last for Chelsea, and he was back amongst the substitutes before the

onset of autumn. As his wing rival, Jesper Gronkjaer, finally ran into some consistent form, Bolo continued

to disappoint, and in just eleven Premiership starts throughout 2002/03 he was substituted an incredible

nine times, only playing the full 90 minutes in the aforementioned clashes with Charlton and Manchester

United. He was allowed to join Middlesbrough on a season-long loan prior to the start of the following

campaign and was rewarded for a fine spell on Teeside, where he helped Boro to win their first-ever trophy,

with a permanent move to the Riverside on a free-transfer in July 2004. (Kelvin Barker)