10 Best Players Who Played For Both Chelsea And Tottenham
3. Bobby Smith
Bobby Smith was an outstanding “traditional” English centre-forward who used to terrorise goalies and defenders. While playing for Redcar Boys’ Club, Chelsea noticed Smith and he got a professional contract in 1950. In 86 League games, he scored 30 goals for the Blues. He never really established himself as a regular for Chelsea, but Tottenham Hotspur nonetheless paid £18,000 to sign him in December 1955.
He went on to leave an everlasting impression on the history of Tottenham Hotspur. Smith was a crucial member of Bill Nicholson’s illustrious, double–winning side of 1960–1961, in which he scored in the final of the FA Cup, a feat he repeated a year later, with Spurs retaining the FA Cup in 1962. He also won the 1963 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Overall, Bobby Smith scored 208 goals in 317 senior matches for Spurs, including 12 hat-tricks.
2. Gus Poyet
Gus Poyet joined Chelsea in 1997 on a free transfer. He had a successful spell playing for Chelsea, winning the FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup in his four years at the Bridge. The Uruguayan played a key role in Chelsea’s transformation into a football powerhouse in Europe.
However, Poyet left Chelsea for rival Tottenham in 2001, and in their 2002 League Cup semifinal matchup, he buried any remaining fondness in the hearts of the Chelsea supporters. Poyet kissed the club’s symbol in front of the Chelsea supporters who – not long before – were singing his name. Poyet spent three seasons with Spurs before retiring, as injuries ruined his final period with the club.
1. Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy Greaves is regarded as a legend at both clubs. He is undoubtedly the best among the players who played for both Chelsea and Tottenham. He was a great striker with a tremendous goal-scoring instinct. He also had great acceleration and pace, as well as great positional skills that led him to score many goals at both clubs.
Greaves began his professional career at Chelsea and scored in his first game against Spurs. A further 131 goals followed as Greaves became Chelsea’s highest hat-trick scorer – with an impressive tally of 16. Chelsea’s poor financial position led the club to sell Greaves to AC Milan. He found it difficult to settle in Italy despite still scoring goals freely and decided to move back to England, joining Spurs in 1961.
He marked his Tottenham debut with a hat-trick against Blackpool at White Hart Lane. In the same season, he played in every round of Spurs’ 1962 FA Cup win and scored the opening goal in the final against Burnley. Greaves went on to become the Spurs’ all-time top scorer with 266 goals. He also played for West Ham, later in his career.