Chelsea parade Champions League trophy

 

Incredulous Chelsea fans have been celebrating with their Champions League-winning team in London on a success march past the day after the club won the cup for the first time in their record.

Chelsea's squad and provisional boss Roberto di Matteo traveled on two open-top buses, waving blue scarves as they showed off the illustrious cup with the "large ears."

kindly fans crowded onto the streets and even climbed up plants and lampposts and onto bus stops just about southwest London to catch a glimpse of their heroes, counting matchwinner Didier Drogba.

Chelsea, who overcame Barcelona in the semifinals, were 1-0 down next to Bayern Munich with seven minutes outstanding at the Allianz Arena, but Drogba untrue an 88th-minute equalizer.

The Ivorian picket then scored the charming penalty in the shoot-out with what could be his final lash out for Chelsea. The 34-year-old's agreement runs out this summer, and he has been related with a travel to China.

It capped a extraordinary few months for Chelsea, who sacked Portuguese boss Andre Villas Boas in late March with the team toiling in the Premier League and sprawling 3-1 touching Napoli after the first leg of their Champions League last 16 match.

Below Di Matteo, Chelsea someway inverted the deficit against Napoli, but a extraordinary victory over Barcelona managed to outshine that.

Chelsea looked damned again after chief John Terry was sent off early in the second leg and they went 2-1 down on collective, but once again the Blues triumphed against the odds - and continual the trick against Bayern in the German's club's home stadium.

The win also solid Chelsea a place in the Champions League subsequently season after they missed out via the Premier League by only final sixth. Tottenham, who completed fourth in the English league, will have to settle for the Europa League.

As the buses came to a halt on Sunday, Terry, who was perched for the final but lifted the cup with Frank Lampard, led the players and fans in a chant of "champions, champions, ole ole ole." When the microphone was accepted to Drogba, he was serenaded by both cast list and fans with "Didier Drogba, we want you to stay."

Roman Abramovich, the club's wealthy Russian owner, was also on the parade to witness the celebrations of Drogba, Fernando Torres, Ashley Cole, Petr Cech, Juan Mata, and countless other signings made under his big-spending ownership.

Winning the Champions League had been Abramovich's dream and plenty of managers were fired over their failure to deliver it, but Di Matteo's future is still far from secure.

"Whatever the club decides I will respect, it's as simple as that," the Italian coach said after the match in Munich.

As the Chelsea fans celebrated, the mood in Munich was predictably somber.

Once the delirious opposition fans had departed -- an estimated 100,000 Chelsea supporters were in Munich -- the city was left to mourn what most of the German newspapers saw as a desperately unlucky defeat.

Sports daily Bild's headline read: "Schweini, we are crying with you!"

Bastian Schweinsteiger, the talisman of the Bayern team who came through the youth system at the club, hit the post with a hesitant penalty in the shoot out.

Former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben had missed a chance to wrap it up even before the shoot out when he had a penalty saved by Cech in extra time.

Chelsea had one corner in the entire match and scored from it through Drogba. Bayern had 20 corners, and 43 attempts on goal to Chelsea's 9.

"It's like a nightmare," Bayern director of sport Christian Nerlinger said. "When you see how the game played itself out, it's like a bad film.

"This is frustrating and depressing to digest. This defeat is very difficult to take."

Munich daily Süddeutsche Zeitung concluded: "How much bad luck fits into a single football match?"