In the modern commercially-driven, television-led soccer world the London [Images] side needed elements drawn from all over the globe to transform themselves from perennially fashionable but unreliable also-rans into a footballing power.

Roman Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, has invested some $550 million, most of it on quality players. Chelsea's first league title since 1955, and only the second in their history, is the Russian's pay-off in double-quick time.

The side's most influential players, the heart of the team, arrived before the Abramovich and Jose Mourinho revolution, however, and the backbone is resolutely English.

Captain John Terry, 24, has a fierce loyalty for the club he joined 10 years ago as a schoolboy. In front of Petr Cech's goal he has been supreme and commands his back line like no one else in the Premier League.

Voted Player of the Year by his peers last Sunday, Terry's reliability has earned him an England [Images] place and goes a long way to explain Chelsea's impressive defensive record with just 13 Premier League goals conceded.

Frank Lampard [Images], runner-up to Terry in the footballers' poll, is widely acclaimed as England's most accomplished midfielder.

A box-to-box player with scoring power in both feet, Lampard is remarkably reliable, holding the outfield player Premier League record for consecutive appearances with 143.

He is Chelsea's top scorer with 18 goals this season, having joined from West Ham United under Jose Mourinho's predecessor Italian Claudio Ranieri in 2001.

Iceland forward Eidur Gudjohnsen, along with Terry the only survivor of player-manager Gianluca Vialli's era, arrived in 2000 and has scored 74 times for Chelsea.

Mourinho has given him a deeper role this season and he has thrived, earning a regular place in the team despite the arrival of strikers Didier Drogba [Images] and Mateja Kezman.

With Wayne Bridge, Glen Johnson, Scott Parker and Joe Cole capped by their country, Chelsea's success is also helping England's preparations for the 2006 World Cup.

FOREIGN LEGION

The present situation is a far cry from the rumpus stirred by Vialli when he put out English soccer's first all-foreign side in 1999.

The international influence had begun in earnest in the mid-1990s when former World Footballer of the Year Ruud Gullit arrived at Stamford Bridge.

Gullit attracted Vialli, Gianfranco Zola and Frank Leboeuf and brought a swagger and style back to Stamford Bridge, missing since the Cup-winning days of the 1970s.

Mourinho's brooding good looks have reinforced this glamorous image but his playing methods, with the emphasis on tactics, have given the club a hard edge.

The Portuguese, who arrived last June, shored up Chelsea's defence, bringing his Porto Champions League-winning defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira with him.

A series of grinding 1-0 wins at the start of the season earned Chelsea a 'boring' tag but impressed Manchester United [Images] boss Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in England.

"Chelsea have raised the bar... They've been hard to beat all season beginning with the first game (Chelsea beat United 1-0)," he said.

The side gelled and, after twinkle-toed winger Arjen Robben returned from injury at the end of October, Chelsea burst into life with a series of four-goal games.

They took over top spot in the Premier League on November 6 and never relinquished it.

Tactical astuteness, rigid discipline and a highly developed team ethic helped earn Mourinho's side their first silverware with the League Cup in February.

Chelsea also beat European giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League and only Liverpool stand between them and Mourinho's second final in succession.

Mourinho plans to stay at Chelsea and win more silverware. Peter Kenyon, Chelsea's Manchester United-supporting chief executive, wants to stop relying on Abramovich's fortune, break even in five years and make Chelsea a worldwide brand.

Success has been a long time coming and this title could just be the start of the Chelsea era.

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