BELLETTI TO LEAVE
Posted on: Wed 09 Jun 2010
Juliano Belletti joins Joe Cole and Michael Ballack as players leaving the club when current contracts run out at the end of this month.
Signed as an attacking right-back by Jose Mourinho in August 2007, for the second and third of his three years at Chelsea Belletti was more likely to be seen in midfield.
He made that positional change under the management of Luiz Felipe Scolari who remembered the player's aptitude for the role from their days back in Brazil.
Belletti arrived at Stamford Bridge for an undisclosed fee with a World Cup winners' medal and a winning goal in a Champions League Final to his name. He was one of several to have made the move between Barcelona and Chelsea in the past two decades.
Mourinho lasted only a matter of weeks into Belletti's stay, but the player quickly demonstrated his abilities during his first season in England with two stunning Premier League strikes - against Wigan and Tottenham - the latter of which won the Chelsea Goal of the Season award for 2007/08.
He faced tough competition from Paulo Ferreira and later Michael Essien to make the right-back berth his own that year but a total of 38 (six as sub) appearances suggest he was the favoured choice, particularly at Stamford Bridge.
It was as a sub that Belletti made his mark in the Champions League Final, replacing Claude Makelele in the last minute of extra time, before coolly slotting home a penalty in the shootout, his first touch, only to see the side lose out.
The arrival of Jose Bosingwa during the summer that followed saw Belletti, who was turning 32, lose his status as the choice when an attack-minded right-back was needed and he remained in England with the reserves when the first-team embarked on pre-season tour. However within weeks of the start of the 2008/09 campaign he was asked to play holding midfielder against Tottenham and cemented his popularity by scoring against big local rivals for a second season running, earning his own White-Stripes-inspired song.
He also played as an attack-minded right midfielder in a season that yielded 9 starts plus 25 sub appearances and three goals, including one in a last-gasp turnaround against Stoke at home.
Last season's 13+9 games were a mix of right-back and midfield appearances. He started the big home wins over Blackburn, Wolves and Sunderland but unfortunately his last significant act was conceding a Cup Final penalty at Wembley. Happily Petr Cech negated its impact. He leaves the club with FA Cup and Premier League winners' medals.
A thoughtful and popular figure, Chelsea Football Club would like to thank Juliano for his contribution. He played 54+40 games and scored five goals.
http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2067357,00.html
