Not even a year after winning our first piece of major silverware in a generation, in the shape of the 1997 FA Cup, Chelsea had lifted another trophy and were heading for a European final. The good times were well and truly back.

An epic comeback against Vicenza at Stamford Bridge booked our place in the Stockholm showpiece, where we would try to win the Cup Winners’ Cup for the second time in our history. On the other side of the draw, Joachim Low’s Stuttgart defeated Lokomotiv Moscow 3-1 on aggregate. It would be our first meeting against the German side, who like us were the reigning domestic cup holders and finished the season in fourth place in the league. They gave us this tankard to mark the occasion.

The Chelsea team travelled out the day before the game. We had injury worries. Gianfranco Zola had torn a groin muscle in a big home win over Liverpool a few weeks earlier, Dennis Wise was returning from a thigh injury, and Graeme Le Saux had suffered a kick to his calf. Player-manager Gianluca Vialli had big decisions to make.

Vialli led training sessions on the eve of the game and matchday morning. It was then that he informed Zola he was not prepared to risk him for the full 90 minutes, and would instead be selecting himself and Tore Andre Flo in attack.

Happily, Wise was fit to captain the side, but with Le Saux and long-term absentee Celestine Babayaro ruled out, youngster Danny Granville was the choice at left-back. His winners' medal is pictured top.

Chelsea’s matchday attire included a navy and white anthem jacket with the fixture details embroidered, (which like the medal and the tankard you can view in our museum) and yellow and red coats and sweaters for those players not in the matchday squad. They were what our shirt maker Umbro had available in the size run required at short notice. The anthem jackets, with two extra lions on them, were worn by England at that summer’s World Cup.

The Rasunda Stadium, to the north of Stockholm, was the venue. It had hosted eight games at the 1958 World Cup, including the final when a 17-year-old Pele fired Brazil to glory against the hosts. Forty years later, the traditional four-stand ground had a pitch not befitting of a European showpiece, even by 1990s standards. Chelsea began the better on its lumps and bumps, but good chances were few and far between in a typically tight final.

Vialli and his men were roared on by a phenomenal travelling support, with some estimates identifying 25,000 of the 30,000 in attendance as those of a Chelsea persuasion. Stuttgart had returned most of their allocation, with the extras snapped up by Blues.

‘It wasn’t a game in Stockholm, it looked like a game at Stamford Bridge,’ declared goalkeeper Ed de Goey afterwards. He saved excellently from Stuttgart’s Bulgarian star Krasimir Balakov in the first half. It was the closest the Bundesliga side would come to scoring.

Wise and Roberto Di Matteo had our best chances, but when we made our first substitution of the night, with 70 minutes on the clock, the contest very much hung in the balance. On came Zola for Flo. It proved an inspired move.

Just 17 seconds after our little Italian magician had entered the fray, he latched on to a clever Wise pass and thumped a half-volley high into the roof of the net. It was as sweet a connection as you could hope for.

‘I thought this is the moment,’ reflected Zola in later years. ‘Franco, take it, and fortunately I hit the ball perfectly and it went where I wanted it to go.’

Stuttgart mustered little by way of a response, despite a harsh red card shown to Dan Petrescu. When the final whistle blew, it signified the first time in Chelsea history we had won two trophies in a single season, this European glory adding to a League Cup success over Middlesbrough.

‘The credit has to be shared between all the chaps, and I am over the moon,’ beamed Vialli.

The celebrations continued long into the night, with the players parading the trophy in front of the ecstatic blue hordes.

For the many thousands of supporters on the official club travel packages, returning home from the Swedish capital proved harder than expected because of locally generated coach-transfer chaos and several other factors. Still, at least those fans stuck at the airport the next day could cheer the players one more time.

We hope the significantly smaller Chelsea following supporting Enzo Maresca and his side from the 3Arena’s away section have smoother travels, but that they also return home having witnessed a Chelsea victory in Stockholm, and the Blues taking one step closer to contesting another European final.

You can find out more about our history and see amazing artefacts in the flesh at the Chelsea FC Museum at Stamford Bridge!