Both of these midfielders appeared for our opponents Dinamo Zagreb at the start of their careers, before eventually ending up in west London, and in an exclusive chat at our Cobham training ground, Kovacic revealed how his decision to sign for the club was the best of his career.

‘I heard Dinamo Zagreb were really interested in me, and after two or three months they made their offer,’ said the Blues’ No,8, who spent the early part of his life in Austria. 'Dinamo represented a lot to me. It’s the biggest team in Croatia. They’ve won so many titles, so for every Croatian player, more or less, the dream is to one day play for Dinamo and then try to develop even more.

‘In the end, they wanted me so badly my whole family moved to Croatia. I remember when my father told me, ‘Son, we are going back.’ I was crying, I was so happy. In the end, it was the best decision of my career.’

Subsequent moves to Inter Milan, Real Madrid and now Chelsea have underlined his status as one of the world’s top midfielders – and in our most recent Champions League game, away to Salzburg, he again showed his fondness for a wonder goal.

That’s something he’s got in common with Stanic, who spent four years with the Blues between 2000 and 2004 but is most commonly remembered for one of his first actions in a Chelsea shirt.

On his Premier League debut against West Ham, the former Parma ace indulged in an impromptu keepy-uppy session before belting home a volley from all of 30 yards. It remains an iconic goal for Blues fans of a certain vintage, and Stanic still remembers the moment vividly 22 years on.

‘That goal is hard to explain, I think football is a mystery and how sometimes we make some moves that are not logical,’ he said. ‘We often see how some players do something intuitive and instinctive and there is no explanation for such a thing. During the game, sometimes a moment of inspiration overcomes reason and logic.’

With all your stats, facts and club content on top of that, the programme remains the ultimate matchday companion, and the perfect read for the journey home from the game. Make sure you get yours from the programme sellers around the stadium, or order online to have it delivered to your door.

The club is also offering supporters the chance to order programmes that were previously unavailable to purchase on a match-by-match basis last season, during the period when the club was working under a special UK Government licence.

Click here to purchase the final eight issues of last season’s programme. Each programme costs £3.50, plus postage and packaging.