Now in his second season at the club, José Bosingwa brought with him pace, energy and guile to the right-back spot after arriving from Porto in the summer of 2008.

The Portuguese international's first campaign in England was characterised by his ability to get forward and cause problems in the opposition's half, scoring two superb goals against Stoke and West Brom.

He doesn't just attack though, his speed is equally useful in defensive situations where he has demonstrated an ability to cover for team-mates, while he rarely gives the ball away.

After beginning his new life in England under former national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, he missed an opportunity to impress early on when he injured a groin just 20 minutes into our first pre-season friendly in China. He flew home to work with the physios, and was fit for the start of the season, not looking back from there.

Comfortable as a midfielder, Bosingwa is also capable of filling in on the left-hand side of defence, as he did so admirably while marking Lionel Messi in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona last season, restricting the Argentine to a bit-part role in the game.

Bosingwa agreed terms with Chelsea prior to Euro 2008, agreeing a three-year deal to sign from Porto, where he had spent the previous five seasons since signing from Boavista in 2003.

While with Porto, he played alongside our own Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira, and established himself as first choice right-back upon Ferreira's switch to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004.

Used just 13 times in his first season by José Mourinho, Bosingwa became a regular during 2004/5, eventually playing over 100 times.

He played twice against Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge in September 2004 in our 3-1 group stage win over the reigning European champions (he was an unused sub for the away fixture) and in the first leg of 2006/07's first knockout round, a 1-1 draw in Porto.

The player's consistency for club allowed him to break into the Portugal squad, where he is now the regular right-back.

Born in Mbandaka, Congo, the same birthplace as Claude Makelele, José Bosingwa da Silva moved to Portugal at an early age, and was recruited by Boavista where he developed his all-round game - solid at the back, energetic down the flanks and incisive in attack.

His first season at Chelsea brought 34 league appearances, interrupted only by a calf injury picked up on international duty in April, and ended with his first silverware in English football, the FA Cup.

The only black mark on his season was the ban picked up following comments made about the referee in the aftermath of our Champions League exit to Barça. A three-game ban for the new season was reduced to two, completed in the away game against APOEL at the end of September.