The draw for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League was made in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday, with FC Copenhagen in the pot for the knockout stage.
by Joe Short
The tension rose as Copenhagen watched fourteen teams come out of the bowl, before finally FCK’s name popped up and paired with English Premier League champions Chelsea FC.
Due to Copenhagen’s runner-up position in the group stage, the first leg of the encounter will be played at PARKEN on Tuesday 22 February, kick off 20:45. The reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, London is scheduled for Wednesday 16 March.
A brief history of Chelsea FC
While Copenhagen continue to fly at the top of the Danish Superliga, Chelsea find themselves in fourth place of the Premier League after nineteen games, three points behind leaders Manchester United. They are without a win in their last five Premier League matches, a streak that contained – among other things – a 3-0 home defeat to Sunderland.
The club has won the English championship four times; most recently last season under current head coach Carlo Ancelotti. With the guidance of Jose Mourinho the club won back-to-back titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06, and were within a converted penalty of winning the Champions League in Moscow three seasons ago with Avram Grant at the helm.
Chelsea’s most famous FA Cup triumph was their first, a 2-1 win over Leeds United in 1970. The game had to be replayed after the original final at Wembley Stadium ended 2-2, and so three weeks later both sides met at Old Trafford. In extra time, David Webb scrambled the ball into an open Leeds goal to hand Chelsea their first Cup.
They are no strangers to European success either, having won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup twice, once in 1971 and again in 1998. From this latter success the Blues went on to lift the European Super Cup.
Road to the last 16
Chelsea started brightly in Group F, beating MSK Zilina 4-1 on the road. Two wins over Spartak Moscow and victory against Marseille followed, before the club confirmed their place in the knockout stages with a smooth 2-1 defeat of Zilina at Stamford Bridge. The Blues did lose their final match of the group stage in Marseille, although they had already secured top spot.
Against FCK
Chelsea have only once met FC Copenhagen in European competition, in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1998. After drawing the away leg in London 1-1, the Lions knew a 0-0 draw would be enough to see them through to the next round. However, Brian Laudrup would come back to break Danish hearts, scoring the only goal to eliminate FCK.
