What happened to: Chelsea FC’s 2012 Champions League final XI

Unarguably the greatest night in Chelsea FC’s history, The Blues reached the promise land as they edged past Bayern Munich on Penalties in Munich to win their only ever Champions League.

It was an underdog run as not many fancied The West Londoners to go all the away as that Chelsea side, which saw Andre Villas-Boas sacked midway through the season was pretty average.

( Read about Most Underrated PL players over the past 10 years here. )



What we are looking at today is what happened to every single player that started the game for The Blues?

GK: Petr Cech

Chelsea’s goalkeeper Petr Cech

Petr Cech was the fans’ man of the match award winner on the night as the Czech saved two penalties in the shootout as well as having a stellar performance during the open play.

Cech spent three more seasons at Stamford Bridge, adding a Europa League and a Premier League title to his trophy cabinet before moving to London Rivals Arsenal.

Cech broke the record for most clean-sheets in Premier League history at Arsenal, but his time at Arsenal was pretty mediocre otherwise. He added an FA Cup to his collection but, frequent mistakes and playing in front of an Error-Prone defense meant that Cech’s final seasons before retiring in 2019 were average.

RB: Jose Bosingwa

(Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/GettyImages)

Jose Bosingwa started the match at Right Back in the absence of Branislav Ivanovic. The final ended up being Bosingwa’s final game for the Blues as the Portuguese was released in once his contract expired the same summer.

Bosingwa spent another season in England with Queens Park Rangers before moving to Trabzonspor where he retired in 2016.

CB: David Luiz

David Luiz had a decent game at Centre-Back for the Blues and also slotted his penalty past Neuer calmly in the shootout.

Luiz spent another season at Stamford Bridge before moving to PSG in 2014 in a world-record deal. He ended up returning to Chelsea on the deadline day of 2016 summer transfer window, the Brazilian played an integral part in Antonio Conte’s League winning side in his first season back before winning the FA Cup and the Europa League in the following two seasons.

Luiz moved to Arsenal on the deadline day of the 2019 summer transfer window much to the disapproval of Stamford Bridge faithful.

CB: Gary Cahill

Gary Cahill of Chelsea (Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)

John Terry missed the final with a suspension, Gary Cahill was given the nod to replace the club stalwart and the Englishman played a crucial part in the win.

Cahill remained at Chelsea for 7 more years winning Multiple Europa Leagues and Premier Leagues before leaving the club after his contract expired in 2019.

Cahill was a very dependable player for Chelsea and played a huge role in the Club’s success during his time there.

LB: Ashley Cole

Ashley Cole, who many consider as the greatest left-back in Premier League history added a Champions League to his Already Succesful career. He was one of the four players who made their penalties count in the final.

Cole remained at Chelsea until 2014 before moving to AS Roma. Cole moved to The States with LA Galaxy in 2016 before retiring at Derby County in 2019 where he reunited with a Former Chelsea teammate in Frank Lampard.

DM: John Obi Mikel

John Obi Mikel replaced Ramires in the final and played the full 120′ of normal play.

The Nigerian stayed at Chelsea until 2017 making over 300 appearances for the club before moving to China with Tianjin TEDA. He returned to England for a brief spell with Middlesbrough in 2019.

Mikel is now a free agent after being released by Trabzonspor in March 2020.

CM: Frank Lampard

Captain Fantastic Frank Lampard put a shift in the midfield for the blues in the normal play before scoring his penalty in the shootout.

Super Frank would stay at Chelsea for two more seasons before moving to Chelsea’s league rivals, Manchester City in a controversial deal. Lampard scored against Chelsea during his time at Manchester City.

Lampard then finished his career with New York City FC in 2016.

He would then make his managerial debut with Derby County in 2018, achieving moderate success in his only season with the rams before coming full circle and becoming the manager of Chelsea.

AM: Juan Mata

(Photo credit should read CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images)

Juan Mata was Chelsea’s best player all season and he contributed in the final by assisting Didier Drogba’s equalizer in dying minutes. Mata would miss his penalty in the shootout but would still go on to win Chelsea’s player of the season.

Mata would enjoy another successful season at Stamford Bridge, before falling out of favor with Jose Mourinho in his return season at the club.

Juan would move to rivals Manchester United in of 2014, where he is still at now but truth be told the Spanish magician has never really hit the heights at United that he did at Chelsea.

LW: Ryan Bertrand

Ryan Bertrand’s inclusion in Chelsea’s starting lineup as a left-winger in a Champions League final signified the lack of availability of players Chelsea faced before the final. Bertrand predominantly a left-back played 70 minutes at left-wing being subbed off.

Bertrand spent another 18 months at the club, before moving to Aston Villa on loan. Followed by a move to Southampton where he would remain to this day, being one of the most consistent full-backs in the league over the last few years.

RW: Salomon Kalou

Salomon Kalou stayed at Chelsea for 6 years from 2006 with this final being his last appearance for the club. Kalou played 85 minutes in the final.

The Ivorian moved to Lille that summer spending two prolific seasons there before moving to Hertha BSC in 2014 where he’s still a consistent performer in 2020.

CF: Didier Drogba

Unarguably the biggest big-game player in Chelsea Football Club’s history, Didier Drogba was at it again as he scored a late equalizer to force extra time and then went on to score the winning Penalty past Manuel Neuer.

Drogba would leave Chelsea after the expiration of his contract in the Summer then spend two seasons with Shanghai and Galatasaray before making a comeback at Chelsea for a season. He’d win the league in his only season back. Drogba would go on to play for Montreal Impact and Phoenix Rising before retiring from the game.