Our look at the stories behind Inter Milan’s only previous visit to Stamford Bridge continues with the tale of third-choice goalkeeper Ross Turnbull, who was thrust into the spotlight for the high-pressure Champions League knockout tie.
Chelsea will host Inter at Stamford Bridge in our final match before the start of the 2024/25 season, on Sunday 11 August. It will be just the second visit to SW6 by the current Italian champions.
The first came in the 2009/10 Champions League last 16. Inter came to the Bridge looking to defend a narrow 2-1 lead from the first leg at San Siro and a physical and defensively solid Nerazzurri side, the Blues faced a difficult task to turn the tie around.
Salomon Kalou’s away goal in Milan had given us a fighting chance, but it was set to be an uphill battle after goalkeeper Petr Cech was forced off with a calf tear in that game. The three-to-four-week prognosis on his recovery meant he would also miss the second leg.
However, Chelsea’s goalkeeping injuries have long had a bad habit of coming in pairs and that curse struck again in 2010. Just 12 days after that trip to Italy, Hilario was struck down by a groin strain. He was also ruled out of the decider.
That left Ross Turnbull as the only fit keeper in our senior squad, although the ever-bullish Jose Mourinho, then in charge of Inter, quickly dismissed suggestions it could hand his side an advantage.
'This story of playing with the third goalkeeper is a non-story,' insisted Jose, referencing his own experience of the curse. 'When I was Chelsea manager we played against Barcelona in the Champions League with our third goalkeeper in goal.
‘Petr Cech was injured, Carlo Cudicini was injured and Hilario made his debut. We played two matches against Barcelona with our third keeper in goal, we beat Barcelona at Stamford Bridge and drew in the Nou Camp.
'This happens all over the world so I don't think this is a big problem.'
Turnbull joined the Blues from Middlesbrough the previous summer and had never expected to be a key figure, arriving to add depth to our goalkeeping department alongside stalwarts Cech – by then well established as one of the world’s best – and Hilario, who remains at the club to this day as a member of our coaching staff.
The 25-year-old from Bishop Auckland had just two Chelsea appearances to his name going into March, replacing the injured Hilario during a League Cup thrashing of Bolton and getting his first 90 minutes as part of the youthful side which drew with APOEL in our final Champions League group fixture.
That was about to change. Three days before Inter came to town, Ross was handed his Chelsea Premier League debut by head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who also insisted he was not concerned by the prospect of the inexperienced keeper stepping up at a crucial moment of the season.
'Maybe we will have a problem with goalkeepers because we don't know about Hilario and Petr Cech is doing physio, but he hasn't trained on the pitch so it is very difficult for him to recover.
‘I am not worried. I have trust in Turnbull. He hasn't played a lot of games but with our goalkeeper coach, he has improved very well.'
It’s fair to say not everyone outside the club shared that trust. Many in the media were quick to jump to conclusions, suggesting Chelsea’s goalkeeping situation could derail our chances of success on three fronts in 2009/10, piling more pressure on Turnbull.
Looking back, Turnbull admitted it was not easy to hear: 'I read some of the stuff in the newspapers before the game, which was disappointing, but everyone inside the club showed they had faith in me, friends and colleagues, which is what counted to me.
‘That's what the press do and you just have to accept it really. I'm a confident person, so that was no problem. I was just glad to be playing. I wanted to be playing, to show people what I could do and make sure they didn't forget about me when I'd not had too many opportunities to play.
‘When you get one you have to show what you can do. I was thinking positively and looking forward to playing. I didn't know how many I would play so I had to enjoy it while I was in.'
Some of the critics were silenced when Turnbull’s league debut resulted in an assured and confident performance from the goalkeeper.
The only disappointment from a 4-1 victory over West Ham United that he conceded once, although no keeper would have fancied their chances of stopping that Scott Parker wonder-goal.
Although the pressure was about to ramp up another notch with the visit of Inter, Ancelotti remained satisfied that Turnbull would prove up to the task in the absence of Cech and Hilario.
'It is a big test for Ross but I think that he doesn't have a problem,’ added Carlo. ‘He is a very quiet man and he didn't have a possibility to play but he worked very hard. So I am happy he can play and it is a good opportunity to show his quality.
'It is very difficult, I understand this, and Turnbull understands this, but he has the quality to do well. I am not worried about this because he is a good goalkeeper.
' He won't be worried, he is very calm, like a man. It is important for him to be optimistic and to play a good game for the team.'
When Inter arrived at the Bridge, their formidable front three was facing not the legendary Cech, but the relatively unknown Turnbull between the Chelsea posts. The even less familiar teenage reserve keeper, Rhys Taylor, was on the bench.
In the end, it was the Nerazzurri who came out on top to progress to the quarter-finals and ultimately win the competition that season.
But ironically our downfall came at the other end of the pitch, where prolific duo Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka – who hit the back of the net a combined 52 times in 2009/10 – found their route to goal uncharacteristically blocked.
While our strikers failed to find a way past the stubborn Inter backline, Turnbull did well to restrict the Italians to just a single goal on the counter.
Samuel Eto’o alone could have bagged a hat-trick, but Ross’ saves were a big reason the Cameroon star failed to do so, one late with his legs drew particular praise.
It may not have been enough to keep us in the Champions League, but there was no blame to fall on Turnbull’s shoulders. Instead, he had gone some way towards justifying his move from Middlesbrough to Chelsea by showing he was someone who could be relied upon to step in when needed.
His role in the squad was clear. Over four seasons with the Blues Turnbull made 19 senior appearances but was an unused substitute 175 times. That situation requires a certain selfless attitude, and it is one that was clear when Ross reflected on that brief spell in 2010 when he was thrust into the spotlight.
'I was pleased with my performance, that's a positive, but I'd much rather us have been in the last eight,’ he said. ‘We set out to win the game and go through but it wasn't to be, we didn't perform on the night.
'I wanted to play but at the same time I didn't wish ill health on Petr or Hilario, they're friends. Football is funny, it's not an 11-man game anymore, it's a big squad game and people were starting to understand that.
'You will get injuries and you need a big squad. If the games came, great, but if not I would support Pete and H as much as I could. The most important thing is for the team to have success, it would be nice to look back at the end of the season having done my part.’
That was one wish that did come true. Although his role may not have been as big as the likes of Cech and Drogba, Turnbull still ended his first season with Chelsea as an FA Cup and Premier League winner.
And two years later, he would be among the substitutes on the bench in Munich when we did go all the way in the Champions League.