Joining Chelsea from Parma mid-way through the 1996-97 season for £4.5 million the diminutive Italian was expected to struggle with the pace and weather when he first joined. Come the end of the season the Football Writers player of the year. He was the man that made the Blues tick and his time at Stamford Bridge yielded 297 games, 80 goals and five trophies. I’m sure every Chelsea fan will remember him smashing home the winner against Stuggart as they took the Cup Winners Cup back to West London in 1998. A player and a gentleman on and off the pitch.
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