3: Ruud Awakening

In just two years, Glenn Hoddle had taken Chelsea from the doldrums of the Premier League to a European semi-final.

It was April 1995, and Real Zaragoza stood between the Blues and a match-up with London rivals Arsenal in the Cup Winners' Cup final.

Chelsea would lose that tie 4-3 on aggregate, but, importantly, that European campaign ignited something in the Chelsea manager and managing director, Colin Hutchinson.

They had seen the future and what was possible with a club like Chelsea.

And that future was now: the Bosman Ruling was coming and it opened the transfer market for the Blues to become the first English club to really exploit it.

Enter Ruud Gullit, the Ballon d'Or winner and Dutch legend who would be the first in a long line of Bosman signings that would help send Chelsea to the top of the Premier League.

This is the story of how Gullit helped awaken a sleeping giant of English football.

In this episode you will hear from: Ken Bates, Colin Hutchinson, Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit, Martin Tyler (commentator), Clive Batty (Journalist), Rick Glanvill (Chelsea historian), Andy Saunders (The Chels), Tim Rolls (Chelsea fan and author) and Neil Barnett, AKA "Spy".

The Blueprint is written by Garry Hayes and narrated by Ceri Levy.

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Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music.

Archive used in this episode is courtesy of Chelsea TV.