Chelsea's Champions League Jinx: Can the Blues Win Their 1st CL Title?

Since purchasing Chelsea from Ken Bates in 2003, Roman Abramovic has spent over £1 billion in transforming the club into the force it is today.

But despite the Russian billionaire’s efforts, one trophy—the Champions League—has eluded the London club.

The Champions League is the most prized title in European club competition and is apparently Mr. Abramovic’s holy grail.

Despite having seen his club win all of the other major trophies (including the Premier League), the Russian tycoon is reportedly unsatisfied as the CL title continues to escape Chelsea’s grasp.

This is Chelsea’s Champions League story since Abramovic’s takeover in 2003.

2003/04

Chelsea were drawn with Sparta Prague, Besiktas and Lazio in the group stage. The Blues finished top, qualifying for the knockout stage.

In the last 16, they saw off German side Stuttgart with a 1-0 aggregate win.

In the quarterfinals, they beat London rivals Arsenal, making it to the semifinals, where the Blues lost in an aggregate of 5-3 to Monaco.

2004/05

Chelsea finished top of their group—ahead of Porto, CSKA Moscow and PSG.

In the last-16 they cruised past Catalan giants Barcelona, qualifying for the quarterfinals, where the Londoners beat Bayern Munich.

The Blues' journey, however, ended in tearful circumstances, losing to English rivals Liverpool—courtesy of Luis Garcia's controversial goal.

2005/06

The Blues did not progress past the first knockout stage, being eliminated by Barcelona with a 3-2 aggregate score.

2006/07

Chelsea emerged top of their group, ahead of Barcelona, Warder Bremen and Levski Sofia.

In the first knockout round, the west London club saw off Portuguese side Porto and went on to beat Valencia in the quarterfinals, too.

In the semifinals, Chelsea were again knocked out by Liverpool, this time on post-match penalties.

2007/08

Chelsea’s most successful Champions League season to date. The Blues finished second, following a 6-5 penalty shootout loss to Manchester United in the final.

In the knockout stages, Chelsea had navigated past Olympiacos, Fenerbahce and Liverpool on their way to the final, held in Moscow.

2008/09

The Blues qualified for the last-16 after finishing second in their group, behind Italian club Roma.

In the last-16, they beat Juventus with an aggregate of 3-2.

In the quarterfinals, they edged past Liverpool following a thrilling 7-5 aggregate victory.

In the semifinal, Chelsea were knocked out by Barcelona on the away-goals rule. It was a hard-to-take loss for Chelsea as match referee Tom Henning Ovrebo made several highly controversial decisions against Chelsea.

2009/10

The Blues were eliminated from the competition at the last-16 stage, following a 3-1 aggregate loss to Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan.

2010/11

Another disappointing Champions League campaign for Chelsea, exiting the competition in the quarterfinal stage, following a home-and-away loss to Manchester United.

2011/12

Chelsea are currently into the quarterfinal stage, where they face Portuguese club Benfica. A potential meeting with Champions League nemesis Barcelona also beckons for the Blues in the semifinals.

While the Blues have not always been at their best so far this season, if their hard-fought second leg victory over Napoli in the first knockout stage is anything to go by, the former English champions can not be ruled out as possible winners of this year’s Champions League crown.

The recent appointment of Roberto Di Matteo as interim manager also seems to have rejuvenated the Londoners.

The Blues were a shadow of their former selves during Andre Villas-Boas’ reign. But since his sacking, the Chelsea have won all four of their matches, including the 4-1 win over Napoli in the Champions League a week ago.

Could this be the year that Roman Abramovic finally reaps the sweetest fruit of his investment?

It may well be. Only time will tell.