26 December 1999 - Chelsea Flows Over Southampton

On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first British team to field an all-foreign starting XI. And it worked out pretty well for them.

The occasion was a Premier League match against Southampton at the Dell. The line-up decision was not entirely in the hands of manager Gianluca Vialli, as a breakout of the flu deprived him of several regular selections, including striker Chris Sutton and midfielder Dennis Wise, both of whom were English internationals (Wise was the club's player of the year in 1998).

To fill in the gaps, Vialli fielded a starting eleven that consisted of Ed De Goey (Netherlands), Albert Ferrer (Spain), Frank Leboeuf (France), Emerson Thome (Brazil), Dan Petrescu (Romania), Celestine Babyaro (Nigeria), Gus Poyet (Uruguay), Didier Deschamps (France), Roberto Di Matteo (Italy), Gabriele Ambrosetti (Italy), and Tore André Flo (Norway). It was the the first time in the history of British football that a team put out a starting line-up without a single British player.

Chelsea went on to win 1-2, with Flo (pictured) scoring both of their goals (18', 43'), while Southampton's goal was an 80th-minute consolation strike from Kevin Davies. 

The all-international eleven ended in the 74th minute, when Vialli brought Englishman Jon Harley on for Ambrosetti (and then Jody Morris, another Englishman, came on for Petrescu in the 87th minute).

29 February 2004 - Boro Does The Job

On 29 February 2004, two quick goals lifted Middlesbrough to their first major honor, beating Bolton in the League Cup final.

Founded in 1876, Boro had come close to a trophy a few years earlier, reaching both the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1997, then returning to the League Cup final in 1998. In their first League Cup final, they led Leicester City 1-0 deep into extra time, but conceded a goal in the 118th minute to force a replay which Leicester won, 1-0.

Bolton, meanwhile, had won a slew of FA Cups (1923, 1926, 1929, 1958), but had reached the League Cup final only once before, losing 2-1 to Liverpool in 1995.

The teams met at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium, where many of the official 72,634 attendees missed the opening goal. In just the second minute, while they were still making their way to their seats, Boro midfielder Boudewijn Zenden fired a ball across the goal. It was met by his teammate, forward Joseph-Désiré Job (pictured, left), who turned it into the net to put Boro up 1-0.

Five minutes later, Zenden doubled the lead with a penalty kick after Bolton center back Emerson Thome fouled Job in the box. Even though Bolton pulled one back with a strike from Kevin Davies in the 21st minute, they could not get an equalizer past Middlesbrough keeper Marl Schwarzer and the match ended as a 1-2 Boro victory.

At the time, Job's goal was the quickest in League Cup history, but that record was later beaten by John Arne Riise, who netted for Liverpool in the first minute the next year.

26 December 1999 - Chelsea Flows Over Southampton

On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first British team to field an all-foreign starting XI. And it worked out pretty well for them.

The occasion was a Premier League match against Southampton at the Dell. The line-up decision was not entirely in the hands of manager Gianluca Vialli, as a breakout of the flu deprived him of several regular selections, including striker Chris Sutton and midfielder Dennis Wise, both of whom were English internationals (Wise was the club's player of the year in 1998).

To fill in the gaps, Vialli fielded a starting eleven that consisted of Ed De Goey (Netherlands), Albert Ferrer (Spain), Frank Leboeuf (France), Emerson Thome (Brazil), Dan Petrescu (Romania), Celestine Babyaro (Nigeria), Gus Poyet (Uruguay), Didier Deschamps (France), Roberto Di Matteo (Italy), Gabriele Ambrosetti (Italy), and Tore André Flo (Norway). It was the the first time in the history of British football that a team put out a starting line-up without a single British player.

Chelsea went on to win 1-2, with Flo (pictured) scoring both of their goals (18', 43'), while Southampton's goal was an 80th-minute consolation strike from Kevin Davies.

The all-international eleven ended in the 74th minute, when Vialli brought Englishman Jon Harley on for Ambrosetti (and then Jody Morris, another Englishman, came on for Petrescu in the 87th minute).

29 February 2004 - Boro Does The Job

On 29 February 2004, two quick goals lifted Middlesbrough to their first major honor, beating Bolton in the League Cup final.

Founded in 1876, Boro had come close to a trophy a few years earlier, reaching both the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1997, then returning to the League Cup final in 1998. In their first League Cup final, they led Leicester City 1-0 deep into extra time, but conceded a goal in the 118th minute to force a replay which Leicester won, 1-0.

Bolton, meanwhile, had won a slew of FA Cups (1923, 1926, 1929, 1958), but had reached the League Cup final only once before, losing 2-1 to Liverpool in 1995.

The teams met at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium, where many of the official 72,634 attendees missed the opening goal. In just the second minute, while they were still making their way to their seats, Boro midfielder Boudewijn Zenden fired a ball across the goal. It was met by his teammate, forward Joseph-Désiré Job (pictured, left), who turned it into the net to put Boro up 1-0.

Five minutes later, Zenden doubled the lead with a penalty kick after Bolton center back Emerson Thome fouled Job in the box. Even though Bolton pulled one back with a strike from Kevin Davies in the 21st minute, they could not get an equalizer past Middlesbrough keeper Marl Schwarzer and the match ended as a 1-2 Boro victory.

At the time, Job's goal was the quickest in League Cup history, but that record was later beaten by John Arne Riise, who netted for Liverpool in the first minute the next year.