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A Chelsea Curse?

Chelsea players aren't experiencing such joy in South Africa. Will JT, Lamps and Ash lift the curse tomorrow? (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Chelsea players aren't experiencing such joy in South Africa. Will JT, Lamps and Ash lift the curse tomorrow? (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
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Until weaintgotnohistory.com gets off the ground, I've taken it upon myself to provide Chelsea readers with some coverage of their club. Although they might not appreciate this one (unless they are both Blues fans and USMNT supporters).


I first alluded to a Chelsea curse when their players started dropping like little Luis Suárezes, except with actual diagnosable injuries, such as Michael Ballack's ankle and Michael Essien's knee. Now, not even a week into the World Cup, it seems that Chelsea FC may have bestowed a different curse upon their players: the curse of being unable to win a match in the tournament.

For the sake of this exercise, I'm going to consider a "Chelsea Player" anyone signed to the club on June 10, 2010, the day before the World Cup kicked off. This means there were 13 players able to take the pitch in South Africa, representing 6 nations:

Slovakia:

Miroslav Stoch, midfielder (now signed with Fenerbahçe)

Serbia:

Branislav Ivanovic, center back

Portugal:

Paulo Ferreira, full back

Ricardo Carvalho, center back

Deco, midfielder

Ivory Coast:

Salomon Kalou, forward

Didier Drogba, forward

France:

Nicholas Anelka, forward

Florent Malouda, midfielder

England:

Ashley Cole, left back

John Terry, center back

Joe Cole, midfielder

Frank Lampard, midfielder

 

Out of the six nations boasting one or more Chelsea players on their squad, here are their records:

Uruguay 0-0 France

England 1-1 USA

Serbia 0-1 Ghana

New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia

Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal

France 0-2 Mexico

In six games, the Chelsea-infiltrated squads have managed to earn five points.

However, the clubs with the Chelsea players unable to join their national teams--Ballack for Germany, Essien for Ghana--have managed six points. Both squads have won.

Chelsea curse? You decide.

(In all fairness, the Aston Villa players haven't earned their squads a win, either. But considering there are 4 Villans playing for two nations, it's not quite as effective--especially considering the countries played one another).