Dennis Wise

Dennis Wise arrived from Wimbledon in the summer of 1990 for £1.6 million. Small, fierce and with far more quality on the ball than his reputation suggested, he became the heart of the side in a decade when Chelsea went from mediocrity to silverware.

Glenn Hoddle gave him the armband in 1993 and he kept it for eight years. He played 445 games and scored 76 goals by the club’s count (the Wikipedia list has 75). He was voted Player of the Year twice, in 1998 and 2000.

As captain he lifted six trophies: the FA Cups of 1997 and 2000, the League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup of 1998 (his pass set up Zola’s winner in Stockholm), the 1998 Super Cup and the 2000 Charity Shield. No Chelsea captain before him had lifted as many.

The moment still sung about is the San Siro, 1999, in our first Champions League season. Wise equalised for 1–1 against Milan, and the chant ‘Dennis Wise scored in the San Siro’ was born.

He left for Leicester in 2001. To the fans of that era he was the captain who backed down from no one and who first taught this team how to win finals.

Sources

• Wikipedia — List of Chelsea F.C. players (445 apps (the list counts 75 goals, other counts 76))
• Wikipedia — Dennis Wise (1990 move from Wimbledon, captaincy, San Siro 1999, honours)
• Chelsea FC — Book Club: Dennis Wise (the cup finals in his own words)
• Wikimedia Commons — Chelsea Legends 1 Inter Forever 4 (28453485028) (cropped).jpg (photo: @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0)