Over a decade ago in Munich, a unit of players wrote their name in the history books. The Chelsea starting 11 on that day went to Bayern Munich’s home stadium and brought home a first ever UEFA Champions League win for the club. With these icons becoming immortal, we will be looking at where they all are now, and what they achieved after that fateful night in Germany.<\/p>\n
Goalkeeping extraordinaire Petr Cech stayed with the team for a few more years before winding down his career at Arsenal. He returned as a back-room staff member and helped facilitate the signing of Edouard Mendy who won the best keeper award in the 2021 Champions League win.<\/p>\n
He left his advisory role after the sale to Clearlake Capital and has surprisingly been spending his time playing Ice Hockey for the Guildford Phoenix and other sides like the Belfast Giants.<\/p>\n
The full-back had a very lengthy career even after this trophy win. He remained with Chelsea until 2014 before moving to Roma, LA Galaxy, and finally Derby County before calling it a day. He has since gone into coaching as a staff member under Frank Lampard, then Wayne Rooney before assisting Lee Carsley as interim England manager. He has been with the FA full-time since 2024.<\/p>\n
What an interesting career arc this time around. The chaotic defender left for Paris Saint-Germain before returning to the Blues to win the Premier League under Antonio Conte. He also made a move to Arsenal to wind down his time in Europe.<\/p>\n
The 38-year-old is still an active player, he spent a few years with Fluminense before signing for Fortaleza in January of this year where he has played 17 times so far.<\/p>\n
The English defender went on to captain the team for a bit in the mid to late 2010s before moving to Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. He retired in 2022 and has recently popped up as a pundit.<\/p>\n
The match we’re covering ended up being Jose Bosingwa’s last for the side. He and two other starters weren’t renewed and left on free transfers. He had a torrid time with Queens Park Rangers before seeing out his career in Turkey with Trabzonspor.<\/p>\n
He’s been fairly quiet since retiring but gives the occasional interview to comment on current topics.<\/p>\n
One of the more well-known parts of the title-winning squad, Frank Lampard of course went on to manage the Blues on two occasions. His first time around he dealt with a transfer ban and some young players to succeed but was eventually let go. His second-stint was as interim manager after the failed Graham Potter experiment.<\/p>\n
His most recent dive into management has been with Coventry City who he took over in November 2024 when they were languishing in the Championship. He took them as high as fifth but lost in the semi-final of the playoffs to eventual winners Sunderland.<\/p>\n
Most everyone knows what Mikel is up to these days. He consistently serves as a pundit on Chelsea matches and had a very public feud with Nicolas Jackson over the striker’s lack of output. When he’s not campaigning for his former employer to sign Victor Osimhen, he can be seen analysing matches during the Club World Cup coverage.<\/p>\n
After a number of loans Ryan Betrant eventually left the club in 2015 to have a successful run with Southampton who he made 240 appearances for. He finished his time as a player with Leicester and surprisingly, announced his retirement in his early 30s.<\/p>\n
Bertrand mostly gets coverage now for his son who plays for Arsenal’s academy and previously spoke about his desire to work as a Director of Football. He has also done some work with the FA about being a Black footballer.<\/p>\n
Juan Mata helped set up the key goal in this final but ended up playing for major rivals Manchester United. Since leaving the Premier League side he has bounced around from team to team with varying levels of success. He can currently be found playing in Australia’s A-League for the Western Sydney Wanderers. He is co-owner os San Diego FC and is part of the investment group behind the Alpine team in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
Salomon Kalou was the second player to be informed their contract wasn’t being extended after this triumph. He made a move to Lille and continued his professional career for runs with Hertha and Botafogo. As a fun note, Kalou was still an eligible player in Football Manager 24 and could be signed on a free transfer.<\/p>\n
He is now retired and is leading a business known as Oume, a premium chocolate brand, inspired by his homeland the Ivory Coast and its Cacao production.<\/p>\n
The scorer of the two most crucial goals, Didier Drogba became a legend on this night. The world knew ahead of time it was his last match with the team under his current contract but the prodigal son returned a few years later to play a veteran role in winning the Premier League title under Jose Mourinho. He played until he was 40 following an MLS stint with Montreal Impact and Phoenix Rising, where he was majority owner.<\/p>\n
He has been working as a host and philanthropist in retirement, notably hosting the Ballon d’Or ceremony in past years.<\/p>\n
The Chelsea starting 11 for the famous 2012 Champions League final went on to spread far and wide in the world of football. Some left legacies on the field, while others are building their off of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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