An in-depth feature in tonight's matchday programme titled The Making of Maatsen includes words from the man himself, his former coach at youth level, Andy Myers, and Jim Fraser, Chelsea’s head of youth development and recruitment, telling the story of his Blues journey from the very beginning.

‘Me, Jon Harley and probably most people that have worked with him… loved him,’ says Myers. ‘He loves football and his enthusiasm and energy when he trains is replicated on the pitch. You’ll see him sprint, you’ll see him get up the field, you see his endurance, you’ll see him bounce back and go again if he makes a mistake.

‘Maats is always wanting to learn. He’s got that enthusiasm to work so hard and that is the fundamental thing – when you’ve got that, the rest will take care of itself.’

Although this is our first meeting with AFC Wimbledon in their current guise, we’ve got plenty of history with the Dons from before, back when they were known as the Crazy Gang.

Our director of football operations, David Barnard, was CEO of Wimbledon back in those days and he tells us all about his time there, as well as his involvement in the club’s reformation as AFC Wimbledon in 2002.

Terry Skiverton is currently the Dons’ assistant manager and he was once a promising youth-team player here at Stamford Bridge. You can hear all about his experience at the club in the mid-Nineties.

Around that time a young centre-forward called Joe Sheerin was trying to make a name for himself at Stamford Bridge. Unlike Skiverton, he was able to make a first-team appearance for the club, ironically against his boyhood club Wimbledon, but it is thought to be the shortest Chelsea career of all time as he was only on the pitch for the final minutes of the game!

Sheerin later went on to become an AFC Wimbledon legend, captaining the club when they began their ascent up the English football ladder, and he tells the programme all about those experiences.

On top of that, the programme team tell the story of Chelsea’s famous FA Cup semi-final win over the Dons at Highbury, with some of the key protagonists of that game, including manager Ruud Gullit, looking back at how they overcame the Crazy Gang.

Mauricio Pochettino and Reece James also share their pre-match thoughts in their regular programme columns, plus there’s all the goings on from our Women’s and Academy sides through the words of Emma Hayes, Mark Robinson and Hassan Sulaiman.

Make sure to pick up your copy from the programme sellers around Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, or order one online from our publications partner Reach Sport here.

If you want to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or any other special occasion for an upcoming programme, or you just want to let everyone know how much you love the Blues, get in touch with your message and a suitable photo, and we will make sure it is included in the matchday programme. Send your message, along with a photo of the person you want to feature, to [email protected].