The Chelsea F.C.–Tottenham Hotspur F.C. rivalry is a rivalry between London-based professional association football clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea play their home games at Stamford Bridge, while Tottenham Hotspur play their home games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Background
While Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur never considered each other primary rivals, there has always been strong needle between the fans dating back to the 1967 FA Cup final. Matches between the two teams would often attract large attendances and would sometimes end up in violent clashes between supporters.
A 2012 survey has shown that Chelsea fans consider Tottenham to be their main rival, above Arsenal and Manchester United. In the same survey, it is shown that Tottenham fans still consider Chelsea their second rival, below Arsenal.
History
The first league meeting between the two teams took place on 18 December 1909 at Stamford Bridge as Tottenham only joined the Football League in 1908 and won promotion to the Football League First Division in 1909. The match was won by Chelsea 2–1. Both teams however struggled in the 1909–10 season, and they met again at White Hart Lane on 30 April 1910 in the final match of season, with both fighting for survival in Division One. Spurs beat Chelsea 2–1, sending Chelsea down, with the winning goal scored by former Chelsea player Percy Humphreys.
However, the rivalry itself dates back to the 1967 FA Cup final, which was the competition's first final to be contested between two teams from London, and is thus often dubbed the "Cockney Cup Final". Tottenham won the game 2–1 with over 100,000 people in attendance.
The rivalry was further ignited during the 1974–75 season, one in which Tottenham and Chelsea fought out a bitter battle against relegation from the First Division. Before the match, Tottenham were in the relegation zone and Chelsea were one point ahead of them. The tension of the match led to fans invading and fighting on the pitch before the game started. After a delayed start, Tottenham won the game 2–0. Chelsea failed to win either of their remaining two games and were ultimately relegated from the First Division with Tottenham staying up via a solitary point.
Since the 1990s, Chelsea became dominant in the meetings with Tottenham, and were unbeaten by their rivals for over a decade, culminating in a 6–1 win at White Hart Lane in the 1997–98 season. On 5 November 2006, Tottenham beat Chelsea 2–1 at White Hart Lane, ending a 16-year period without victory against the Blues in the league. Spurs did, however, beat Chelsea in 2002 during a 5–1 win in the second leg of the league cup after a 2–1 defeat at Stamford Bridge, resulting in an aggregate score of 6–3.
On 11 March 2007, Chelsea and Tottenham met in the FA Cup quarter-finals, with Chelsea coming to 3–3 down from 1–3 and earning a replay. The next day, hooligans of Tottenham and Chelsea clashed in the streets of London, a fight in which 10 fans were knifed. Chelsea eventually won the replay by 2–1, progressing in the semi-finals. In the next season, the two sides met in the 2008 Football League Cup final, with Tottenham winning the trophy after a 2–1 victory.
Prior to signing for Chelsea in 2013, Willian had attracted interest from Tottenham. He completed a medical at Tottenham before meeting with Chelsea, which caused confusion as to which club he would sign for. Willian claims Chelsea was his first preference and he would have only signed with Tottenham if the deal with Chelsea fell through. It is alleged that during Roman Abramovich's tenure as Chelsea owner, he refused to do any business with Tottenham.
On 1 March 2015, Chelsea won the 2015 Football League Cup final 2–0 against Tottenham, with goals provided by John Terry and Diego Costa. Chelsea fans made headlines for racist and anti-Semitic chants on the Underground after the match. After this final, Chelsea surpassed Tottenham in number of trophies won.