London XI

From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki

The London XI was a representative team, specially created to take part in the 1955-58 edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the precursor of today's UEFA Europa League.

The competition was created on 18 April 1955, and the first tournament took three years to complete. The entrants were the major football team of each city which held a Trade Fair. Like many cities taking part, London had several strong teams; however rules stated that there could only be a single team from each city. It was decided to create a team especially for the tournament, using the best players from each London-based club. Membership of the team varied considerably between matches.

The London XI, managed by Chelsea chairman Joe Mears, reached the final of the cup, after coming top of a group that included special XI teams from Basel and Frankfurt, and then beating Lausanne Sports. London lost 8-2 on aggregate over two legs to FC Barcelona.

The London XI only competed in the 1955-58 tournament, all future Inter-Cities Fairs Cups involving a London team were contested by individual clubs from London instead.

Chelsea players who appeared for London XI

Number of appearances in brackets

• Peter Sillett (5)
• Ken Armstrong (2)
• Jimmy Greaves (2)
• Jim Lewis (2)
• Derek Saunders (2)
• Stan Willemse (2)
• Roy Bentley (1)
• Brian Nicholas (1)
• Les Stubbs (1)
• Stan Wicks (1)