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Mark Hughes was a legend of British football long before he signed for
Chelsea for £1.5 million in the summer of 1995. Having won every
domestic honour possible in a superb career with Manchester United, it
was typical of the man that he should throw himself so enthusiastically
into the challenge of resurrecting the fortunes of the club he had
supported as a boy. Quietly spoken and modest by nature, Sparky was an
altogether different character once he set foot on a football pitch,
harassing defenders and rampaging into challenges with relish.
Never a
favourite amongst the Chelsea supporters during his time with United,
Hughes immediately won over his former detractors as he brought his
experience and know-how to bear on a Chelsea attack which had been
bereft of inspiration for too long. In a first season littered with
suspensions the Welshman scored four times during Chelsea's run to the
FA Cup semi-final and capped a fine campaign with a hat-trick against
Leeds. Despite starting the following season alongside the legendary
Gianluca Vialli, it wasn't until Gianfranco Zola was recruited from
Parma that Hughes found top form again, the two men forming one of the
Premiership's great striking partnerships.
A regular starter in league
games, Gullit often preferred to start Sparky on the bench for cup games
and he proved his value in this role in the FA Cup 4th round tie with
Liverpool when he came on to help The Blues turn a 2-0 half-time deficit
into a 4-2 victory. Something of an FA Cup talisman, Hughes went on to
collect his fourth winner's medal at the end of the season as Chelsea
won their first major trophy for 26 years.
A regular starter again in
1997/98, it was ironic that he again made his most memorable impact when
coming on as a substitute, first when scoring against Arsenal as
Chelsea came from behind to reach the final of the Coca Cola Cup and
then with a stunning volley against Vicenza that sealed Chelsea's place
in the European Cup Winners Cup final. Chelsea won both trophies and in
the summer of 1998, with three more winner's medals to add to his
extensive collection and having left behind a wealth of magical memories
for the Chelsea supporters to cherish, Mark Hughes packed his bags and
headed to Southampton in a £650, 000 deal. (Kelvin Barker)
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