The Londoners, who were written off at Naples in the first leg, reached the final with unlikely victories over Napoli, Benfica and one Barcelona in the knockout rounds. They were a minute away from defeat at the Allianz Arena, having been thoroughly outplayed by a classy Bayern Munich. But then there was Didier Drogba. The Ivory Coast striker - who left the club at the end of the 2012 season - was the key architect in Chelsea's win, first scoring the equaliser to take the game to penalties and then burying the final spot-kick.
Roman Abramovich smiled - it takes a lot to earn his approval. The long wait to become kings of Europe was over and as Frank Lampard and John Terry hoisted the trophy, Bayern players watched in disbelief.
"We just had to do the best with what we had," said interim manager Roberto di Matteo - who within two-and-a-half-month's of being in charge after the infamous sacking of Andre-Vilas Boas - led Chelsea to win a Champions league and FA Cup. Whether the Italian masterminded Chelsea's shocker or they rode their sheer luck will always be debated, but there is little doubt Roberto breathed a new life into a team failing badly until he took over. Many could not believe what transpired at the football amphitheatre.