# 1998–99 Chelsea F.C. season

The 1998–99 season was Chelsea F.C.'s 85th competitive season, seventh consecutive season in the Premier League and 93rd year as a club.

## Season summary

After a solid fourth-place finish coupled with European and League Cup success the previous season, Chelsea really felt that they could challenge for the title this season. Chelsea made more big name signings, including French World Cup winning defender Marcel Desailly from A.C. Milan, Spanish international full-back Albert Ferrer from Barcelona and, in a club-record £5.4 million move, Italian international striker Pierluigi Casiraghi from Lazio. Casiraghi's season and career was cut short by a knee injury, but his compatriot Gianfranco Zola had arguably the best season of his career, leading Chelsea to a serious title challenge, scoring 15 goals in all competitions and setting up many other goals for his teammates.
Ultimately, the European Super Cup, won by beating Europeans champions Real Madrid, was the only trophy that Chelsea had to show for their excellence. Their defence of the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup ended in the semi-finals, while their title challenge was ended in early May when they just couldn't get the better of Manchester United or Arsenal. Nonetheless, a final third-place finish booked them their first ever UEFA Champions League campaign and was another triumph for their excellent young manager Gianluca Vialli, who, at 35, announced his retirement as a player to concentrate on his managerial duties.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Manchester United (C) | 38 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 80 | 37 | +43 | 79 | Qualification for the Champions League first group stage |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 59 | 17 | +42 | 78 | Qualification for the Champions League first group stage |
| 3 | Chelsea | 38 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 57 | 30 | +27 | 75 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Leeds United | 38 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 62 | 34 | +28 | 67 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | West Ham United | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 53 | −7 | 57 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: 1998-99 FA Premier League table

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | L | D | D | W | W | W | D | W | D | D | W | W | D | D | W | D | D | W | W | D | W | W | L | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | W | D | D | D | W | W | D | W |
| Position | 18 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | NED | Ed de Goey |
| 2 | DF | ROU | Dan Petrescu |
| 3 | DF | NGA | Celestine Babayaro |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Frank Leboeuf |
| 6 | DF | FRA | Marcel Desailly |
| 7 | MF | DEN | Bjarne Goldbæk |
| 8 | MF | URU | Gustavo Poyet |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Gianluca Vialli |
| 10 | FW | ITA | Pierluigi Casiraghi |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Dennis Wise (captain) |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Michael Duberry |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Kevin Hitchcock |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Graeme Le Saux |
| 15 | MF | ITA | Samuele Dalla Bona |
| 16 | MF | ITA | Roberto Di Matteo |
| 17 | DF | ESP | Albert Ferrer |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Andy Myers |
| 19 | FW | NOR | Tore André Flo |
| 20 | DF | WAL | Danny Slatter |
| 21 | DF | FRA | Bernard Lambourde |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Mark Nicholls |
| 23 | GK | RUS | Dmitri Kharine |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Eddie Newton |
| 25 | FW | ITA | Gianfranco Zola |
| 26 | DF | ENG | John Terry |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Jon Harley |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Jody Morris |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Neil Clement |
| 30 | DF | ITA | Luca Percassi |
| 32 | FW | FIN | Mikael Forssell |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Nick Crittenden |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 4 | DF | SCO | Steve Clarke (retired) |
| 7 | MF | DEN | Brian Laudrup (to Copenhagen) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | ENG | David Lee (to Bristol Rovers) |
| 20 | DF | JAM | Frank Sinclair (to Leicester City) |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | GK | ENG | Rhys Evans |
| - | DF | ENG | Darren Baxter |
| - | DF | ENG | Stephen Broad |
| - | MF | ITA | Samuele Dalla Bona |
| - | MF | ENG | Paul Hughes |
| - | MF | ENG | Courtney Pitt |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | MF | ENG | Jay Richardson |
| - | FW | SCO | Steven Hampshire |
| - | FW | ENG | Sam Parkin |
| - | FW | ENG | Joe Sheerin |
| - | FW | ENG | Rob Wolleaston |

## Statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | FA Premier League | FA Premier League | Cup Winners Cup | Cup Winners Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | Football League Cup | Football League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | NED | Ed de Goey | 48 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ROU | Dan Petrescu | 45 | 3 | 23+9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NGA | Celestine Babayaro | 43 | 4 | 26+2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Frank Leboeuf | 45 | 7 | 33 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | FRA | Marcel Desailly | 44 | 1 | 30+1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | DEN | Brian Laudrup | 10 | 1 | 5+2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | DEN | Bjarne Goldbæk | 31 | 5 | 13+10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | URU | Gustavo Poyet | 37 | 13 | 21+7 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Gianluca Vialli | 20 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 | FW | ITA | Pierluigi Casiraghi | 14 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Dennis Wise | 36 | 2 | 21+1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Michael Duberry | 32 | 0 | 18+7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Kevin Hitchcock | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Graeme Le Saux | 45 | 0 | 30+1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Andy Myers | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ITA | Roberto Di Matteo | 45 | 3 | 26+4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4+2 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | ESP | Albert Ferrer | 40 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | NOR | Tore Andre Flo | 44 | 13 | 18+12 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 21 | DF | FRA | Bernard Lambourde | 25 | 1 | 12+5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Mark Nicholls | 16 | 0 | 0+9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | RUS | Dmitri Kharine | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Eddie Newton | 9 | 0 | 1+6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | ITA | Gianfranco Zola | 48 | 15 | 35+2 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | John Terry | 7 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Jon Harley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Jody Morris | 27 | 1 | 14+4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Neil Clement | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ITA | Luca Percassi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | FIN | Mikael Forssell | 13 | 3 | 4+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Statistics taken from Archived 20 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Squad details and shirt numbers from Archived 3 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine and .

## Results
### Premier League
#### Goalscorers

* Gianfranco Zola 13
* Gustavo Poyet 11
* Tore Andre Flo 10
* Bjarne Goldbaek 5
* Frank Leboeuf 4
* Celestine Babayaro 3
* Dan Petrescu 3
* Roberto Di Matteo 2
* Pierluigi Casiraghi 1
* Jody Morris 1
* Mikael Forssell 1
* Gianluca Vialli 1

### UEFA Super Cup

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 28 August 1998 | Real Madrid | N | 1–0 | 10,000 | Poyet |

#### Goalscorers

* Gustavo Poyet 1

### UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 September 1998 | R1 | Helsingborg | H | 1–0 | 17,714 | Leboeuf |
| 1 October 1998 | R1 | Helsingborg | A | 0–0 | 12,348 | |
| 22 October 1998 | R2 | Copenhagen | H | 1–1 | 21,207 | Desailly |
| 5 November 1998 | R2 | Copenhagen | A | 1–0 | 24,188 | Laudrup |
| 4 March 1999 | QF | Vålerenga | H | 3–0 | 34,177 | Babayaro, Zola, Wise |
| 18 March 1999 | QF | Vålerenga | A | 3–2 | 17,936 | Vialli, Lambourde, Flo |
| 8 April 1999 | SF | Mallorca | H | 1–1 | 35,524 | Flo |
| 22 April 1999 | SF | Mallorca | A | 0–1 | 18,848 | |

#### Goalscorers

* Tore Andre Flo 2
* Frank Leboeuf 1
* Marcel Desailly 1
* Brian Laudrup 1
* Celestine Babayaro 1
* Gianfranco Zola 1
* Dennis Wise 1
* Gianluca Vialli 1
* Bernard Lambourde 1

### League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 28 October 1998 | R3 | Aston Villa | H | 4–1 | 26,790 | Vialli (3), Flo |
| 11 November 1998 | R4 | Arsenal | A | 5–0 | 37,562 | Leboeuf, Vialli (2), Poyet (2) |
| 1 December 1998 | QF | Wimbledon | A | 1–2 | 19,286 | Vialli |

#### Goalscorers

* Gianluca Vialli 6
* Gustavo Poyet 2
* Tore Andre Flo 1
* Frank Leboeuf 1

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 2 January 1999 | R3 | Oldham Athletic | A | 2–0 | 12,770 | Vialli (2) |
| 25 January 1999 | R4 | Oxford United | A | 1–1 | 9,059 | Leboeuf (pen.) |
| 3 February 1999 | R4 (R) | Oxford United | H | 4–2 | 32,106 | Wise, Zola, Forssell (2) |
| 13 February 1999 | R5 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–0 | 29,410 | Di Matteo |
| 7 March 1999 | R6 | Manchester United | A | 0–0 | 54,587 | |
| 10 March 1999 | R6 (R) | Manchester United | H | 0–2 | 33,075 | |

#### Goalscorers

* Gianluca Vialli 2
* Mikael Forssell 2
* Frank Leboeuf 1
* Dennis Wise 1
* Gianfranco Zola 1
* Roberto Di Matteo 1