Mario MELCHIOT

Dreadlocked Dutchman Mario Melchiot arrived at Chelsea with very little reputation to speak of despite having a Champions League semi-final goal for previous club Ajax under his belt. Signed on a free-transfer from the Amsterdam club in July 1999, Mario had to endure a frustrating eight-month wait before he was able to make his debut, replacing the injured Albert Ferrer at right-back in a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough. A month later he was striding out at Wembley for the FA Cup Final clash with Aston Villa, where his man-of-the-match performance was capped by a dazzling run which led to the free-kick from which the Blues scored their winning goal. Mario clearly found Wembley to his liking, and followed up his Cup Final heroics with his first goal for the club in the Charity Shield win over Manchester United the following August - his low, left-foot shot putting the seal on a 2-0 triumph for the Londoners.

Surprisingly, having barely put a foot wrong in Chelsea's colours, Mario found himself out of favour early in the campaign in order for manager Gianluca Vialli to accommodate his new loan-signing, Christian Panucci, but when Vialli was surprisingly sacked just five games into the new season, his successor, Claudio Ranieri, quickly dispensed with the temperamental Panucci and returned Melchiot to the starting line-up. Ranieri was clearly impressed by the Dutchman's tough-tackling, healthy work rate and exemplary attitude, and Mario's 31 League appearances throughout an erratic campaign for the Blues confirmed that he was now very much the man in possession of the right-back berth.

Chelsea found a little more consistency during the 2001/02 campaign, and Melchiot began the season in confident mood. A memorable piece of showboating during a 3-2 win at Tottenham showed a hitherto unseen side to his game, but a sending-off against Hapoel Tel Aviv for kicking an opponent was the turning-point of the club's controversial UEFA Cup tie in Israel, which they lost 2-0. Despite a tendency to suffer from occasional lapses in concentration, he was one quarter of a splendid Chelsea defence which at one stage in mid-season conceded just one goal in eight consecutive games.

He scored his first League goal for the Blues with a header that sent Chelsea on their way to an incredible 3-0 win at Old Trafford, and he proved that he could score against teams other than Manchester United with a long-range strike in a 3-2 win over Fulham. In January 2002 he became the envy of many a Chelsea supporter when he slapped Teddy Sheringham during a League Cup semi-final defeat to Spurs. Embarrassingly, referee Mark Halsey red-carded Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink, although he later revised his decision. That defeat was gleefully avenged in the FA Cup en-route to the Final, where Melchiot and Chelsea lost 2-0 to Arsenal. Mario's consolation was that he ended 2001/02 as Chelsea's top League appearance maker. (Kelvin Barker)

The 2002/03 season saw a striking improvement in the fortunes of both player and club. Mario largely eradicated the problems which had earned him some criticism during the previous campaign, and the club as a whole benefited with an impressive Premiership campaign which saw them qualify for the following season's Champions League. Melchiot began the season on the substitute's bench, the excellent Albert Ferrer being preferred for the season's opener at Charlton, but he was recalled for the next game, and was a regular presence, and consistent performer, throughout the campaign. All that was missing for Mario was a goal, and it so nearly came in the final game of the season, when his well-struck shot against Liverpool failed to cross the line after hitting the inside of the post. The takeover of Chelsea by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich saw the Blues embark on a flamboyant summer 2003 spending spree. First of the big-money arrivals was West Ham's young right-back, Glen Johnson, who promptly stole Mario's berth as the season began. However, Ranieri's squad rotation, allied to Johnson's injuries and occasional lack of form, meant that Melchiot was offered regular opportunities to prove his value to the team.

Given an extended run in the side in the autumn, Mario was initially a model of consistency, and was even a match-winner when he struck the only goal of the game at Southampton. The following weekend he was a member of a Chelsea defence that totally dominated the much-vaunted Manchester United strikeforce, as the Blues hit top spot with a well-deserved victory, but all too soon the old problems returned, and Chelsea were twice made to pay for Mario's lack of concentration in successive 2-1 defeats to Arsenal. Punished by a return to the bench, Melchiot bounced back with a goal in a 5-2 win over Wolves, before savouring sweet revenge against Arsenal as the Blues pulled off a memorable Champions League triumph at Highbury. Mario played in the final six matches of the season, including both legs of the Champions League semi-final defeat by AS Monaco (he was one of the players substituted in Monaco as Ranieri tinkered unnecessarily), but the season ended with no offer of a new contract to a player whose current deal was due to expire that summer. Mario left the club at the end of the season, joining Birmingham City on a free transfer in time for the 2004/05 season. (Kelvin Barker)