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The No. 9 garment has been a coveted prize for shot players passim the years.
In the days of players wearing numbers corresponding to their position, strikers were fixed the No. 9 to signify their spot astatine the caput of a team's attack. While the signifier of wearing positionally applicable numbers mostly faded from the modern game, the No. 9 garment remains 1 of the fewer to beryllium connected to its aged designation.
Thus, strikers proudly deterioration the jersey garment knowing they are the look of their team's attack, and often their main goal-scoring threat. With the enactment of putting the shot successful the nett an indispensable and glamorous task, the No. 9 garment is often an honour to receive.
However, astatine Stamford Bridge, the fig has a analyzable caller past. Over the past 20 years, the No. 9 garment successful Chelsea bluish has travel with much infamy than glory.
Now, with caller signing Liam Delap the latest to instrumentality up the challenge, the speech has re-emerged astir Chelsea's struggles successful securing a prolific No. 9.
The Sporting News details the communicative astir Chelsea's "cursed" fig and who has struggled portion wearing the garment successful the past 2 decades.
MORE: Liam Delap hopes to interruption 'curse' of No. 9 garment astatine Chelsea
Is the No. 9 garment astatine Chelsea cursed?
There has been plentifulness of speech successful the aftermath of Delap's signing astir Chelsea having a curse astir their No. 9 shirt.
Since the 2004 summer, 11 players person worn the No. 9 jersey and each person struggled to immoderate degree. Many of them person been outright flops.
It caused erstwhile manager Thomas Tuchel to sermon the conception that the fig is someway haunted. "It's cursed, it's cursed," Tuchel said during preseason up of the 2022/23 season. "People archer maine it's cursed. It's not the lawsuit that we permission it unfastened for tactical reasons, for immoderate players successful the pipeline that travel successful and people instrumentality it.
"There was not a large request for No 9. Players sometimes privation to alteration numbers but, surprisingly, cipher wants to interaction it.
"Everybody who is longer than maine successful the nine tells me: 'Ah, you know, similar helium had the 9 and helium did not people and helium had the 9 and did besides not score.' So, present we person a infinitesimal wherever cipher wants to interaction the No. 9."
While the conception of a "curse" is evidently utmost — we're not earnestly suggesting supernatural power — the grounds is hard to ignore. Chelsea person spent hundreds of millions of pounds successful the hopes of uncovering their talisman up front, to small return.
It's been atrocious capable that connected 3 occasions successful the past 20 years, nary subordinate wore the fig passim a afloat play astatine the club. In 2016/17, 2023/24, and 2024/25, cipher was brave capable to deterioration No. 9.
Can Delap interruption that acold streak? Here's a rundown of what he's up against.
Who has worn No. 9 for Chelsea?
Since the departure of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink up of the 2004/05 season, Chelsea players wearing No. 9 person struggled passim their clip astatine Stamford Bridge. While determination are immoderate high-profile individuals who transportation overmuch of the value successful this statement astir a "curse," determination are others who capable retired the communicative rather nicely.
Mateja Kezman (2004/05)
The archetypal idiosyncratic connected this database is Jose Mourinho signing Mateja Kezman, who arrived astatine Stamford Bridge successful the summertime of 2004 successful a determination from Dutch broadside PSV. He spent 1 play astatine the club, scoring conscionable 7 goals successful 41 appearances crossed each competitions.
After leaving Chelsea, helium logged 3 consecutive double-digit seasons for some Atletico Madrid and Fenerbahce, making the struggles helium experienced successful London consciousness each the much maddening.
Hernan Crespo (2005/06)
Hernán Crespo's clip astatine Chelsea is surely curious. Signed from Inter Milan for large wealth successful the summertime of 2003, Crespo was a deed astatine first, scoring 10 goals successful 19 league games, playing the super-sub relation portion wearing the No. 21 shirt.
After Kezman's accomplishment the pursuing summer, Crespo went connected indebtedness to AC Milan, wherever helium again scored treble figures, and his instrumentality to London brought promise. Unfortunately, erstwhile helium earned the starting occupation and donned the No. 9 shirt, helium was little prolific. He got 13 goals successful total, bagging 10 successful 30 Premier League matches.
Chelsea won the Premier League rubric that season, but Crespo mislaid his starting spot down the stretch, with Didier Drogba and Eidur Gudjohnsen moving up of him successful the pecking order. A instrumentality to Italy beckoned, and helium rejoined Inter archetypal connected indebtedness and past connected a escaped transfer.
Khalid Boulahrouz (2006/07)
Chelsea's hunt for a No. 9 talisman continued, and past underwent a bizarre pivot. Hamburg defender Khalid Boulahrouz decided to deterioration the garment — an unusual prime for a centre-back — and helium struggled successful his clip successful London, making conscionable 13 appearances successful league play earlier leaving the pursuing summertime for La Liga broadside Sevilla.
Steve Sidwell (2007/08)
Continuing the inclination started by Boulahrouz, midfielder Steve Sidwell assumed the No. 9 shirt. A escaped transportation from Reading successful the summertime of 2007 brought with it promise, but helium stayed conscionable 1 play earlier being shipped disconnected to Aston Villa.
Sidwell finished his vocation arsenic a memorable Premier League player, but that was mostly acknowledgment to his clip astatine Villa and a consequent determination to Fulham. He spent six combined seasons astatine the 2 clubs. His 25 Chelsea appearances are mostly a footnote.
Franco Di Santo (2008/09 — 2009/10)
The archetypal multi-season subordinate connected the database is Franco Di Santo, who joined successful 2007 from Chilean broadside Audax Italiano. Arriving astatine conscionable 19 years old, helium spent his archetypal play successful the Chelsea reserves earlier moving up to the archetypal squad the adjacent year, earning the No. 9 shirt.
It went poorly, arsenic the Argentine made conscionable 16 appearances for the club, totalling 278 minutes and failing to people a azygous goal. After 2 unproductive seasons arsenic a backup, helium was loaned to Blackburn Rovers earlier a imperishable determination to Wigan Athletic, wherever helium played 3 seasons earlier departing England.
Fernando Torres (2010/11 — 2014/15)
The look of Chelsea's No. 9 curse, Fernando Torres is 1 of the biggest big-money flops successful modern shot past and the poster kid of hazard successful costly transfers.
A fable for Liverpool aft 4 superstar seasons astatine Anfield, Torres made the determination to Chelsea aft they shelled retired £50 million, which astatine the clip made him the sixth-most costly subordinate successful past and acceptable a British transportation record.
It was, for the astir part, a disaster. While Torres scored 45 goals and laid connected 30 assists for Chelsea, it took him 172 matches to grounds those totals, acold from the level of anticipation Blues fans would person hoped aft spending specified a immense sum of money. In fact, those contributions paled successful examination to his Liverpool days, wherever Torres scored astir treble the goals successful less appearances (81 goals, 19 assists successful 142 appearances).
Radamel Falcao (2015/16)
Chelsea's swoop for Radamel Falcao was ne'er meant to beryllium much than a stopgap, but his struggles were adjacent greater than anticipated.
The Colombian guardant had blossomed into a superstar astatine Atletico Madrid and Monaco, but having passed the 30-year-old people and recovered from a superior genu injury, helium had leapt astatine the accidental to enactment Premier League acquisition connected his vocation resume. After a muted play connected indebtedness astatine Manchester United, helium spent a play astatine Chelsea wherever helium was adjacent little influential, making 10 appearances and scoring a azygous goal.
He returned for different 3 years astatine Monaco, wherever helium won the Ligue 1 rubric alongside a teenage Kylian Mbappe successful 2016/17. Stints at Galatasaray and Rayo Vallecano preceded a late-career instrumentality to his location country, wherever helium inactive plays astatine 39.
Alvaro Morata (2017/18)
Another of the astir egregious flops connected this list, Spain striker Alvaro Morata joined Chelsea from Real Madrid successful 2017 for a then-record interest for the nine of astir £60m.
His archetypal play really provided a coagulated return, arsenic helium scored 11 goals and assisted six much successful 31 Premier League appearances, but his European contributions were overmuch lighter, leaving fans frustrated. Morata changed his garment fig for the 2018/19 play to 29, but it did small to alteration his fortunes, arsenic his accumulation continued to dip. He near for Atletico Madrid connected an 18-month indebtedness successful January of 2019, and made the determination imperishable the pursuing summer.
Gonzalo Higuain (2018/19)
In a determination akin to the Falcao swoop, Chelsea snatched up erstwhile Real Madrid prima Gonzalo Higuain successful January of 2019 connected indebtedness from Juventus. The Argentine was a lethal guardant for Napoli for 3 years aft leaving Madrid successful 2013, but his monolithic €90m transportation to Juventus proved overmuch little positive, arsenic did a little indebtedness spell astatine AC Milan.
Chelsea hoped they could revive the star, but aft 5 goals successful 18 appearances, helium would beryllium sent backmost to Italy without a imperishable move, and the hunt continued for a prolific and accordant No. 9. It was ever a fleeting supplication to anticipation that an aging Higuain could recapture his Madrid form, and that wouldn't ever travel to pass.
Romelu Lukaku (2021/22)
Perhaps 1 of the astir baffling instances of the No. 9 "curse," Romelu Lukaku's struggles astatine Chelsea are hard to explicate successful the midst of an different productive vocation for the Belgian forward. Having been a high-profile and costly flop astatine Manchester United, Lukaku seemed to person recovered his champion aft 2 exceptional seasons astatine Inter.
Chelsea couldn't resist, and bested Man United's £75m swoop for Lukaku 3 years anterior with a £97.5m determination of their own. He looked similar the last portion successful the puzzle for Thomas Tuchel to crook his astonishment 2021 Champions League winners into Premier League champions.
It went terribly. After 8 goals successful 26 Premier League appearances successful his lone play astatine the club, the Blues had had enough, sending Lukaku retired connected indebtedness backmost to Inter and past to Roma, earlier helium secured a imperishable determination to Napoli astatine one-third the terms for which they acquired him.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022/23)
Few gave Chelsea fans and unit much occupation than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a subordinate who has struggled to shingle disconnected a estimation for causing dressing-room difficulties passim his career.
The Gabon planetary was effectual for Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal antecedently but struggled aft a half-season astatine Barcelona connected loan. He lone outgo Chelsea £10.3m, truthful it was worthy the risk, but each helium brought was trouble.
Aubameyang lone scored 3 goals for the nine successful 21 appearances crossed each competitions, and his struggles led Graham Potter to permission him retired of the club's squad for the Champions League knockout stage. He departed for Marseille aft little than a twelvemonth astatine the club, wherever helium rediscovered his goal-scoring form, overmuch to the frustrations of Blues fans.
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