Chelsea fans lined the streets of west London today as the team celebrated the club's historic Champions League and FA Cup double with a victory parade.
Players, including captain John Terry, showed off the Champions League trophy, which they won less than 24 hours ago in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Munich.
Jubilant fans waved flags as the open top blue bus passed by and players waved club scarves.
Euro stars: Ashley Cole celebrates with captain John Terry, who was suspended for the the final, on the open top bus parade
Top dogs: Chelsea's Ashley Cole, left, Didier
Drogba, second left, Jose Bosingwa, center, Salomon Kalou, second right,
and John Obi Mikel, right, celebrate
Blues brothers: Chelsea football club fans wait
for the victory parade bus, after the team arrived from their Champions
League soccer victory against Bayern Munich
The Blues were crowned European club champions for the first time in their history when they overcame Bayern Munich in their home stadium after the match went to extra time.
Around 25,000 Chelsea fans packed behind one of the goals in the Allianz Arena, while many more crammed into bars in London and around the UK to follow the action live on TV.
Even Prime Minister David Cameron managed to catch the nail-biting shoot-out, watching the drama unfold alongside German chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders at the G8 summit at Camp David.
Didier Drogba was Chelsea's hero, scoring the equalising goal in the dying minutes of normal time and netting the spot kick to win the shootout 4-3.
It followed his match-winning goal which saw the west Londoners overcome Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley earlier this month.
At 34, Drogba is said to be leaving Stamford Bridge, so his winning goal could well be his last kick for the club.
But the Ivorian star will certainly be immortalised as a Chelsea legend by the fans.
London's finest: Ecstatic Chelsea stars
celebrate with fans after becoming the first side from the capital to
win European club football's greatest prize
Flying the flag: Chelsea fans gather outside Stamford Bridge before the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League trophy parade in London
Robbie Watts, 46, from Haverhill in Suffolk, said: 'The game was mental. I can't watch penalties so I had to go to the loo to hide but when I heard they won I felt fantastic. Everybody in the pub was going crazy.
't's the biggest reward they can get. They should all get knighthoods. Typical Chelsea - leaving it all to the last minute.
"It was the best game I've ever seen.'
Alan Brown, 52, a decorator from Hemel Hempsted, said: 'It's happy days. It's just amazing. I've supported them since I was seven years old. This has been a long wait but we're there now.
'I saw the game at home I was so nervous. We should have hammered them but we beat the Germans on penalties. It doesn't get any better than that.'
Kings of Europe: Chelsea team players wave to fans as they ride during an open-top bus parade along Kings Road in west London
Money well
spent: Manager Roberto di Matteo salutes fas (left) while owner Roman
Abramovich is glad to see a return on the fortune he spent on the club
Turning the air blue: Chelsea players and fans united in joy
Ashley Simons, 23, an account manager, said: 'We have come all the way from Salisbury to be here today and the man of the match for me was definitely Ashley Cole.
Drogba got all the headlines but for me Cole was the unsung hero of the night. He's been good for four or five years now and he was fearless when he stepped up to take that penalty. All the players the last manager discarded really came good.'
His pal, Olly Ford, also 23, a teaching assistant, said: 'We would love to keep Roberto di Matteo but I think the club have got something else lined up.
'But if we get Capello I'll hang myself. He can't even speak any English.'
Enjoying the high life: Chelsea fans stand on a ledge as they wait for players to ride past
Road to
redemption: Fans delighted to finally win Champions League after losing
previous final on penalties as club legend Frank Lampard holds the
trophy aloft
'Our boys have done us proud and they deserve it. I'm so proud of all of them - Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Essien, but the man of the season for me is Petr Cech. I love that man.'
Jamie Britton, 18, a student from Hampshire, said: 'I have been a fan all my life and I'm just so happy. It's amazing. It was such a good game, especially after we lost on penalties last time.
I watched the game with my dad yesterday at home and we were on the edge of our seats. It's been worth the wait. I came up today especially to see them and the atmosphere's amazing. It's great that this has happened.'
High five: Chelsea captain John Terry is congratulated by fans
Winning team:
Chelsea with the Champions League trophy after their win on penalties,
thanks to Didier Drogba right, against Bayern Munich at the Germans'
stadium
Pure joy: Chelsea squad in party mode
It's not always this good: Young fans wave flags waiting on team team bus as older fans lap up the moment
The skipper thanked supporters for coming to the parade near the west London ground and said the win had been a 'long time coming.'
Speaking from the club's tour bus as the players celebrated he said: 'This has been the most amazing night in all our careers and I'm so glad we can celebrate it with you guys. Chelsea are the best club in the world, easy.'
As each player took turns to lift the cup (position) John Terry said it would not have been possible without club owner Roman Abramovich and added: 'We've waited eight years for this. I just want to say we love you guys. Chelsea's our club, we deserve this.'
Thousands of Blues fans lined the streets waving flags and blowing horns as they watched the hour-long parade from Stamford Bridge to Parsons Green.
Some even scaled rooftops, lamp posts and traffic lights to get a glimpse of the players as they went past.
One even joked the British economy had gone up due to the sales of celery which fans threw at each other.
Graham Nolan, a 59-year-old construction worker from Fulham, west London, said the win was the highlight of his life.
He said: 'I cried tears of joy when we won. I'm 59 now and I've been a supporter since I was eight years old. We've waited a long time for this. I was there in Greece when we won the cup in 1971. For me, you just can't get better than this.'
Lifelong supporter Robbie Ward, 47, a school supervisor also from Fulham, west London, said the atmosphere was as electric as it was when he watched his team win in his local pub on Saturday night.
He said: 'It was fantastic. When the penalties on I was so nervous I bit all my nails on. Look at them, they're just stubs now. Everyone was going mad, cheering and jumping up and down.
People were hugging each other. I just can't believe we've done it. For me it's one of the best days of my life.'
Olu Aguda, a 26-year-old technologist from East Ham, east London, said he has been a Chelsea fan 'since he knew right from wrong.'
He added: 'I was right at the front when they went past. It was amazing. I waited in the same spot since about 1pm so I could catch a glimpse of them. It was short but so worth it. That's the moment everyone's been waiting for.
"'Everyone was screaming. When we won it was ecstasy. There's no other feeling like it in the world.'
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