It is easy to forget that Branna's signing was completed in January 2008. He arrived from Lokomotiv Moscow as a relative unknown and had not played competitive football in almost two months due to the conclusion of the 2009 Russian season.

He wasn't afforded any first-team opportunities over the remainder of that season; just two reserve team outings were made and the former Serbian international has since revealed he considered leaving Stamford Bridge that summer.

Yet he remained and, eight months after joining the Blues, made his debut in a League Cup win over Portsmouth. First-team appearances were still difficult to come by, though, under first Luiz Felipe Scolari and then Guus Hiddink.

However, thrust back into the starting XI for the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final tie against Liverpool, Ivanovic produced a 90-minute performance that changed the course of his Chelsea career entirely.

First, he drew the Blues level in the contest by powering past Xabi Alonso and then out-jumping Martin Skrtel to head home a Florent Malouda corner in front of the Kop. Then, in the second half, Frank Lampard delivered another corner into the Liverpool penalty area and Ivanovic escaped the attention of Steven Gerrard to put us ahead.

The Blues went on to win the game and then the tie. And Branislav was forever then known as 'two-goal' Ivanovic by the Chelsea faithful.

'I had never scored twice in a game at senior level,' Branislav explained in an interview with club channels the following morning.

'Only when I was little did I do this, so it was great for me. I didn’t know how to celebrate, I just ran around like I didn’t know what was happening, I was confused! The crowd was quiet with shock, and it was the same for me – shock.

'I can’t remember it now, but I will look back at my career and remember that moment. It is the best moment in my career.'

Branna continued: 'I don’t think anyone thought I would score two goals – I wasn’t thinking about it either, I was just concentrating on defending and went up for the corners.

'So it was nice for me because I never expected it, but my friends [in Serbia and Russia] were all really pleased to see me on TV and they’ve all been calling me today!'

Ivanovic started that game at Anfield at right-back, a position he would come to make his own in the seasons that followed. While not buccaneering in the style of Ashley Cole on the opposite flank, Branna's size, strength and underrated ability in possession were hugely valuable weapons.

Those came to the fore in open play – he had a knack of scoring big goals in big games – but also from set-pieces, as displayed that night against Liverpool.

'I can’t remember exactly the positions I scored from because it happened so fast, but I know that I spoke with JT and Alex about where we would go in the box,' he continued. 'JT told me to go to the first post and I was there to score, so I’m very happy about the way the first goal happened.

'The second one, I just saw a space free behind the defenders and it was a great ball in from Frank Lampard for me to score – I didn’t even have to jump! I don’t know how Liverpool prepared for us, I just played and did what I could.'

That mentality carried Ivanovic on and he became indispensable at Stamford Bridge. He won the biggest trophies with the Blues, including the Champions League, two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, and featured twice in the PFA Team of the Year and once in the Champions League Team of the Season.

Branna's time at Chelsea drew to an end in February 2017; he had fittingly scored on his final outing the previous month, an FA Cup win over Brentford.

He left having made 377 appearances, with his reputation as one of the Blues' finest defenders cemented with a place on the Legends Wall at Stamford Bridge, and with a nickname that will forever be remembered at Stamford Bridge.

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