FC Barcelona (Spain),
Tenerife (Spain), FC Barcelona (Spain), Chelsea FC (England)
Honours
???
Biography
Albert Ferrer Llopis (born 6 June 1970 in Barcelona, Catalonia)
is a former Spanish footballer.
A pacy and tough-tackling right back, "Chapi" began his career
with FC Barcelona B. He then went on loan to CD Tenerife. He
returned to FC Barcelona in 1990 and became the club's
established right-back for the next eight years. The team were
hugely successful in this period, winning five La Liga
championships, one European Cup, one Cup Winners' Cup, two Copa
del Reys, four Supercopa de Españas and two European Super Cups.
He made over 300 appearances for the Catalan giants.
Ferrer moved to Chelsea in June 1998 for £2.2 million and
quickly established himself in the side, helping the club
qualify for its first ever Champions League campaign in his
first season. Chelsea won the FA Cup the following year (but he
missed the final through injury) and reached the quarter-finals
of the Champions League. During that run he played in 14 of the
club's 16 games in that competition and scored his only goal for
Chelsea in a 2-0 win against Hertha BSC Berlin.
A combination of injuries and manager Gianluca Vialli's squad
rotation policy reduced Ferrer's opportunities in the following
season and he made only 14 league appearances. The club reached
another FA Cup final in 2002 (which he again missed, though this
time through not being selected). Out of favour and facing
strong competition from younger defenders at the club, Ferrer
made just seven league appearances in his final two years at
Chelsea and left in May 2003 upon the expiry of his contract. In
total, he played 113 games for Chelsea.
Ferrer was also a Spanish international and won 36 caps. He was
an ever-present in the side at USA '94 as Spain reached the
quarter-finals but missed Euro '96 through injury. His only game
at the 1998 world cup was the shock 3-2 defeat to Nigeria, which
saw Spain crash out in the group stages. He was also a part of
Spain's gold medal winning football team at the 1992 Olympic
Games.
