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  • Episode 6: The Special One - Abramovich, Mourinho, Wenger's Fury, and the Making of a Superclub (2003–2007)

    Episode 6: The Special One - Abramovich, Mourinho, Wenger's Fury, and the Making of a Superclub (2003–2007)
    2026/08/24
    On the 1st of July 2003, Roman Abramovich paid £140 million for Chelsea Football Club. The deal had taken approximately fifteen minutes to conclude. Within weeks, he had spent another £110 million on players. English football had never seen anything like it — and would never quite recover from the precedent.This episode tells the story of the four years that followed: the most dominant period in Chelsea's domestic history, and the era that transformed a club that had once been sold for a pound into one of the most powerful footballing institutions in the world. It begins with Claudio Ranieri — the genial Italian who managed Chelsea's first Abramovich season with quiet dignity, knowing from almost the first day that he was already a dead man walking — and ends with Jose Mourinho's abrupt departure in September 2007, with Chelsea second in the Premier League table and the Champions League still stubbornly, painfully absent from the trophy cabinet.In between: the press conference that produced the most famous sentence in Premier League managerial history. The 2004-05 title campaign — ninety-five points, one defeat, fifteen goals conceded all season, records that stand to this day. The back-to-back championships that ended Arsenal's era of dominance and installed Chelsea where the Gunners had been. And the Mourinho-Wenger rivalry — two men of genuine intelligence and entirely opposed football philosophies, conducting a multi-year psychological war that was endlessly entertaining for everyone watching, and which came to define the Chelsea-Arsenal fixture for a generation.Player of the era: Frank Lampard — 211 Premier League goals from midfield, still the highest total ever recorded from that position, and one of the most persistently undervalued careers in English football history.Research SourcesAllFootball / Goal.com, 'Inside Story on Roman's Chelsea Takeover' — confirms the deal was effectively concluded in 15 minutes; the Tottenham alternative; the £60m for shares plus £80m debt assumption; total £140m headline figure.Grokipedia, 'History of Chelsea F.C. (2003-2022)' — comprehensive account of the Abramovich takeover mechanics; the Ranieri first season; Mourinho's appointment; the summer 2003 spending (£110m+).ESPN, 'Roman Abramovich: His Legacy at Chelsea and in England' — the Gronkjaer goal as the trigger for Abramovich's interest; the legal context around Sibneft (rigged privatisation admitted in court); total spending figures (close to £1bn net on transfers, £3.7bn on wages across the era).World Soccer Talk, 'Twenty Years of Special One: Anniversary of Mourinho to Chelsea' — the exact quote from the June 3, 2004 press conference: "Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm a Champions League winner and I think I'm a Special One."Sky Sports, 'Special One: Remembering Jose Mourinho's First Chelsea Press Conference' — additional detail from the unveiling; the Ranieri rebuke ("if one of you is Mr Ranieri's friend..."); context on Mourinho leaving Porto's medal presentation early.Premier League official, 'PL30: Chelsea's Special 2004/05 Title Win' — the defensive statistics: 15 goals conceded (still a record), 25 clean sheets (still a record), 95 points (record at the time), 29 wins, 1 defeat; Makelele as the pivot; the 4-3-3 switch; Lampard's 13 goals and 18 assists (top assist provider in the league).These Football Times, 'How Jose Mourinho Reinvented Chelsea and Reshaped the Premier League in 2004/05' — tactical breakdown; the Wenger "voyeur" comment in November 2004; the Liverpool semi-final controversy and Mourinho's press conference reaction.90min.com, 'Every Trophy Jose Mourinho Won with Chelsea' — confirms all trophies: PL 2005, PL 2006, League Cup 2005, League Cup 2007, FA Cup 2007; the CL semi-final exits to Liverpool (2005, 2007) and the last-16 exit to Barcelona (2006).Wikipedia, 'Jose Mourinho' — the guard of honour detail: Ferguson had United players form one for Chelsea in 2005 after their title; Mourinho returned the favour in 2007 at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho sacked September 2007, Chelsea second in the league, one point off the lead.Frank Lampard career statistics from multiple sources — 211 Premier League goals from midfield (highest ever from that position); FWA Footballer of the Year 2005; second in Ballon d'Or 2005; sold to Man City on a free in 2014; brief return 2014-15; Chelsea manager January 2020 to January 2021 (sacked with club ninth).West Ham sale context — Lampard signed from West Ham for £11 million in summer 2001; Frank Lampard Senior played 500+ games for West Ham; the sale was resented by West Ham supporters, providing a small London rivalry footnote.Research SourcesRick Glanvill, 'Chelsea FC: The Official Biography' — the definitive club history; essential for the founding period and the Parker dog-bite story.Rick Glanvill's 'Founders Day' long read on chelseafc.com (published March 2026) — contains primary source material ...
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    18 分
  • Episode 5 : The Italians Are Coming - Gullit, Zola, Matthew Harding, and the Premier League Reinvention (1993–2004)

    Episode 5 : The Italians Are Coming - Gullit, Zola, Matthew Harding, and the Premier League Reinvention (1993–2004)
    2026/08/04
    In 1993, a Chelsea fan placed an advertisement in the Financial Times seeking investment in his club. The fan was Ken Bates, still fighting to keep Chelsea afloat. The respondent was Matthew Harding — builder, Chelsea obsessive, and very rich man. What followed was one of the most transformative partnerships, and one of the bitterest feuds, in English football history. Harding's millions funded the players; Ruud Gullit's appointment as player-manager in 1996 transformed the culture. And Gianfranco Zola, arriving from Parma in November 1996, gave Chelsea a player so good, so joyful, and so distinctly un-English that supporters still struggle to explain what he meant to them.The episode covers the dramatic arc from survival to reinvention: the FA Cup win in 1997; the shattering tragedy of Matthew Harding's death in a helicopter crash in October 1996; Gianluca Vialli's Cup Winners' Cup win in 1998. It also covers a pivotal rivalry moment: in 2004, under Claudio Ranieri, Chelsea went to Highbury and beat Arsenal — the Invincibles, defending the Champions League quarter-final — to reach the semi-finals. It was the first real sign that Chelsea were becoming the kind of club that could beat the best. And it terrified everyone on the other side of London.Research SourcesChelsea FC official website, 'Matthew Harding Remembered — His Chelsea Timeline' (October 2025) — the definitive club account of Harding's involvement; precise investment figures (£5m North Stand, £16.5m freehold, transfer funds), key dates, and the family season ticket relocation detail.Bleacher Report, 'Matthew Harding: 15 Years On, Remembering a True Chelsea Icon' — narrative account of Harding's background and his relationship with the club.Grokipedia, 'Matthew Harding' — comprehensive biographical entry covering the Bates feud, the boardroom ban, and the helicopter crash; confirms the £26.5m total investment figure and the Harding-Bates tensions over Chelsea Village vs player investment.Wikipedia, 'Matthew Harding' — corroborates investment figures (£7.5m towards North Stand construction, £16.5m freehold, transfer loans); the "evil man" quote confirmed as made by Bates in 1997.Wikipedia, 'Ken Bates' — context on the Bates-Harding dispute and its ending.AbeBooks entry for Harry Harris, 'The Battle for Stamford Bridge' — confirms Hoddle's transformation of training and style, and the 1994 FA Cup final run context including the Harding-funded crowd flag.Chelsea FC official website, 'Ruud Gullit: Leading Chelsea to Triumph' — definitive club account; confirms Gullit as first foreign and first black manager to win a major English trophy; the "sexy football" declaration; the Di Matteo fee (£4.9m, a club record); Vialli signing from Juventus on a free.Chelsea FC official website, 'The Explosive Story of Ruud Gullit's Chelsea Departure' — covers the February 1998 sacking and Vialli's appointment on the same day; the irony of Vialli's bench role under Gullit and his two-minute Cup final cameo.Chelsea FC official website, 'Gianfranco Zola — Joining Chelsea Was the Best Decision I Ever Made' (March 2024) — Zola's own account of the transfer; the Ancelotti falling-out at Parma (moved to right midfield from his preferred role); the £4.5m fee; Chelsea and Hoddle had tried to sign him the previous year but were frightened off by a £10m price tag.Chelsea FC official website, 'In His Own Words: The Story of Gianfranco Zola Signing for Chelsea' (November 2021) — the 25th anniversary piece; Zola's goals that season including the Cruyff turn and volley vs Wimbledon in the FA Cup semi-final and the curler against Liverpool.Football Wiki (Fandom), 'Gianfranco Zola' — career statistics: 311 games, 80 goals for Chelsea; FWA Player of the Year 1997 (only player to win the award having not played a full league season); trophies won.Wikipedia, '1996-97 Chelsea FC season' — confirms the FA Cup final details (2-0 vs Middlesbrough, Di Matteo scored, Newton sealed it); Zola's FWA award; Matthew Harding's death noted mid-season.Wikipedia, '1997-98 Chelsea FC season' — Cup Winners' Cup winners; League Cup winners; Gullit sacked February 1998, Vialli appointed same day.Planet Football, 'Chelsea: Recalling the Wayne Bridge Goal That Kicked Off the Glory Years' — detailed account of the 2003-04 Champions League quarter-final vs Arsenal; Chelsea's 17-game winless run against Arsenal; the 1-1 first leg; Reyes goal, Lampard equaliser, Bridge winner in 87th minute.UEFA.com, 'Bridge Breaks Arsenal's Hearts' (official match report) — confirms the result (Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea), the Bridge winner, and aggregate score (Chelsea through 3-2).Planetfootball.com article confirms Chelsea had lost 17 consecutive encounters against Arsenal before the 2004 CL quarter-final — a crucial detail for the psychological context of the result.Research SourcesRick Glanvill, 'Chelsea FC: The Official Biography' — the definitive club history; essential...
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    20 分
  • Episode 4 : The Long Decline - Debt, Relegation, Hooliganism, and the £1 Club (1972–1988)

    Episode 4 : The Long Decline - Debt, Relegation, Hooliganism, and the £1 Club (1972–1988)
    2026/07/27

    "Debt, Relegation, Hooliganism, and the £1 Club"

    From glamour to near-extinction in fifteen years. The story of Chelsea in the 1970s and 1980s is one of the most dramatic collapses in English football — a cautionary tale about hubris, financial mismanagement, and the brutal consequences of building too big, too fast. The decision to redevelop Stamford Bridge into a 60,000-seat colosseum — taken at exactly the moment the economy turned savage — left the club with crippling debts, unable to buy players, haemorrhaging gates as the hooligan element took over the terraces. Relegation came in 1975. And again in 1979. And again in 1988.

    In April 1982, the Mears family sold Chelsea Football Club to Ken Bates for £1. One pound. That figure — comic, appalling, and utterly real — is the symbol of everything that had gone wrong. This episode tells the full story of the fall, while also profiling the man who, for all his many faults, would eventually save the club from oblivion: Ken Bates, and his decade-long legal battle to keep Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.


    Research Sources

    Rick Glanvill, 'Chelsea FC: The Official Biography' — the definitive club history; essential for the founding period and the Parker dog-bite story.

    Rick Glanvill's 'Founders Day' long read on chelseafc.com (published March 2026) — contains primary source material including the original press release from J.E. Dixon & Co., March 1905, announcing the club's formation.

    Wikipedia, 'History of Chelsea F.C. (1905–1952)' — reliable overview; cross-check all dates against primary sources.

    Wikipedia, 'William Foulke' — comprehensive biographical details; corroborated by Spartacus Educational entry and Chelsea FC's own archive.

    Graham Phythian, 'Colossus: The True Story of William Foulke' — the definitive Foulke biography; essential for the Player of the Era section.

    Chelsea match programme, December 1905 — the Foulke dinner quote; reproduced in multiple sources including Read the League and Dawley Heritage Society.

    Chelsea FC official website, '1915 vs 2020 — Two Chelsea FA Cup Finals in Historic Times' — detailed account of the Khaki Final with contemporary source material.

    The Football History Boys website, 'The Khaki Cup Final: Sheffield United vs Chelsea, 1915' — good contextual material on the wartime atmosphere.

    West London Observer archive (British Newspaper Archive) — match reports and crowd descriptions from 1905–1910; especially valuable for the Good Friday 1906 Manchester ...
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    16 分
  • Episode 3: The King's Road - Docherty, Osgood, Spurs at Wembley, and the Swinging Sixties at Stamford Bridge (1961–1972)

    Episode 3: The King's Road - Docherty, Osgood, Spurs at Wembley, and the Swinging Sixties at Stamford Bridge (1961–1972)
    2026/07/22
    No episode in Chelsea's history is more intoxicating than the 1960s and early 1970s — the era of Tommy Docherty and then Dave Sexton, of Peter Osgood and Charlie Cooke and Alan Hudson, of the King's Road boutiques and the long-haired, flared-trouser footballers who seemed to embody the spirit of a decade. Chelsea were the glamour club of the age — not necessarily the most successful, but the most fashionable, the most exciting, the most talked-about.The episode covers Docherty's brilliant, combustible reign — the near-treble of 1965, the League Cup win, the constant near-misses that drove him to madness; the arrival of Peter Osgood, who broke his leg and came back better; and the great years of Sexton's Chelsea, who won the FA Cup in 1970 in an extraordinary replay against Leeds at Old Trafford, and then — in 1971 — the European Cup Winners' Cup, Chelsea's first European trophy. It also confronts the paradox at the heart of this era: the most glamorous Chelsea team in history, and still they fell short of the very highest honours.Research SourcesChelsea FC official website, 'Tommy Docherty 1928–2020' — the club's own obituary; comprehensive account of Docherty's five-and-a-half year reign including the near-treble of 1965 and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-final run.Chelsea FC official website, 'Peter Osgood — The Greatest Goal You Never Saw' — the club's definitive profile of Osgood, including the broken leg, the comeback, and the slow-motion Shirley Bassey footage detail.Chelsea FC official website, '50th Anniversary Pre-Match Briefing: 1971 Cup Winners' Cup Final Replay' — essential primary source for the Athens final details; injury list, tactical notes, and post-match celebrations.TheChels.info, 'Peter Osgood' — comprehensive wiki entry covering appearances, goals, and key match contributions.Wikipedia, '1970 FA Cup Final' — detailed match-by-match account of both the Wembley final and the Old Trafford replay; includes the Bonetti injury, Osgood's diving header from the Cooke cross, and Webb's winning goal from Hutchinson's throw.Wikipedia, '1971 European Cup Winners' Cup Final' — full account of both the first match (1-1, Osgood goal, Zoco equaliser) and the replay (Dempsey volley, Osgood's second, Fleitas consolation).These Football Times, 'The Emperors of Athens: How Chelsea Won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1971' — excellent narrative account of the Athens final; the Dempsey redemption arc, Charlie Cooke's performance, the celebrations.FourFourTwo, '1971 Cup Winners' Cup Final: How Chelsea geared up for their first European triumph' — player interviews and eyewitness colour from the Athens trip.Blue Champions, 'Tommy Docherty: Chelsea Manager 1961 to 1967' — detailed breakdown of Docherty's seasons including the League Cup win over Leicester 1965.The Chelsea Social, '1965 League Cup Final: 56th Anniversary' — context on the near-treble season and the significance of the League Cup win.Wikipedia, '1966-67 Chelsea FC season' — confirms 1967 Cup final details: scorers (Saul, Tambling, Robertson), the 2-1 result, Osgood's absence through injury.Various Osgood tributes (Sportskeeda, Game of the People, Little Blue Chelsea Blog) — biographical detail, the death at a family funeral in 2006, the statue unveiling in 2010, the ashes under the penalty spot.Research SourcesRick Glanvill, 'Chelsea FC: The Official Biography' — the definitive club history; essential for the founding period and the Parker dog-bite story.Rick Glanvill's 'Founders Day' long read on chelseafc.com (published March 2026) — contains primary source material including the original press release from J.E. Dixon & Co., March 1905, announcing the club's formation.Wikipedia, 'History of Chelsea F.C. (1905–1952)' — reliable overview; cross-check all dates against primary sources.Wikipedia, 'William Foulke' — comprehensive biographical details; corroborated by Spartacus Educational entry and Chelsea FC's own archive.Graham Phythian, 'Colossus: The True Story of William Foulke' — the definitive Foulke biography; essential for the Player of the Era section.Chelsea match programme, December 1905 — the Foulke dinner quote; reproduced in multiple sources including Read the League and Dawley Heritage Society.Chelsea FC official website, '1915 vs 2020 — Two Chelsea FA Cup Finals in Historic Times' — detailed account of the Khaki Final with contemporary source material.The Football History Boys website, 'The Khaki Cup Final: Sheffield United vs Chelsea, 1915' — good contextual material on the wartime atmosphere.West London Observer archive (British Newspaper Archive) — match reports and crowd descriptions from 1905–1910; especially valuable for the Good Friday 1906 Manchester ...
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    23 分
  • Episode 2: Glorious Underachievers -Between the Wars, Arsenal's Shadow, and Ted Drake's Revolution (1919–1955)

    Episode 2: Glorious Underachievers -Between the Wars, Arsenal's Shadow, and Ted Drake's Revolution (1919–1955)
    2026/07/13

    For the first fifty years of their existence, Chelsea were one of English football's great enigmas: a club with vast crowds, star players, and a grand stadium who could seemingly not win anything of significance. This episode covers three and a half decades of near-misses and false dawns — the interwar years under the long-serving manager David Calderhead, who managed the club for 26 years and won nothing; the yo-yoing between divisions; and the uncomfortable reality that, while Chelsea were consistently among the best-supported clubs in the country, their neighbours to the north — Arsenal — were assembling one of the greatest dynasties English football had ever seen.

    The Herbert Chapman Arsenal of the 1930s was everything Chelsea were not: organised, purposeful, serial winners. The contrast was painful and instructive. Chelsea packed Stamford Bridge — in October 1935, an extraordinary 82,905 crammed in for a league match against Arsenal, still the second-highest top-flight attendance in Stamford Bridge history — and still couldn't find a way to consistently beat them or anyone else. It took the arrival of Ted Drake in 1952 to change the culture entirely. He abolished the old-fashioned "Pensioner" identity, rebuilt the squad from the lower divisions rather than signing faded stars, and in 1955, against all expectation, led Chelsea to their first-ever league title.



    Research Sources

    Wikipedia, 'History of Chelsea F.C. (1905–1952)' — the primary structural source for this episode; comprehensive season-by-season records and the Calderhead and Gallacher material.

    Wikipedia, 'History of Chelsea F.C. (1952–1983)' — essential for the Drake years and the European Cup withdrawal.

    Wikipedia, 'David Calderhead' and TheChels.info wiki entry — biographical details and the "Sphinx of Stamford Bridge" nickname.

    Wikipedia, 'Hughie Gallacher' — comprehensive biography; cross-referenced with FourFourTwo long read and Spartacus Educational entry for anecdotal detail.

    FourFourTwo, 'Hughie Gallacher: the free-scoring forward who became football's original bad boy' — excellent narrative treatment of Gallacher's life and Chelsea years.

    Wikipedia, 'Ted Drake' — biographical and managerial career details; cross-referenced with Chelsea FC official 'Birth of the Blues' long read.

    Chelsea FC official website, 'Long Read: Birth of the Blues — the Drake Revolution' — the club's own account of Drake's arrival, including the "we are going to beat the Chelsea joke" quote and the Drake/Sillett traffic light anecdote.

    Chelsea FC official website, 'The Elusive Dream: Chelsea and the European Cup' — Rick Glanvill's definitive account of the 1955 European Cup withdrawal; essential for the Hardaker material.

    Wikipedia, '1955-56 European Cup' — confirms the draw, Chelsea's pairing with Djurgården, and the withdrawal.

    Wikipedia, 'Herbert Chapman' — essential for the Arsenal dominance context; the WM formation, the London Underground station renaming, the interwar dynasty.

    Wikipedia, 'Roy Bentley' and Blue Champions player profile — biographical detail, goal tallies, 1955 season statistics.

    Blue Champions website, 'Roy Bentley: Chelsea Player 1948-1956' — detailed match-by-match account of Bentley's key contributions to the 1955 title season.


    Research Sources

    Rick Glanvill, 'Chelsea FC: The Official Biography' — the definitive club history; essential for the founding period and the Parker dog-bite story.

    Rick Glanvill's 'Founders Day' long read on chelseafc.com (published March 2026) — contains primary source material including the original press release from J.E. Dixon & Co., March 1905, announcing the club's formation.

    Wikipedia, 'History of Chelsea F.C. (1905–1952)' — reliable overview; cross-check all dates against primary sources.

    Wikipedia, 'William Foulke' — comprehensive biographical details; corroborated by Spartacus Educational entry and Chelsea FC's own archive.

    Graham Phythian, 'Colossus: The True Story of William Foulke' — the definitive Foulke biography; essential for the Player of the Era section.

    Chelsea match programme, December 1905 — the Foulke dinner quote; reproduced in multiple sources including Read the League and Dawley Heritage Society.

    Chelsea FC official website, '1915 vs 2020 — Two Chelsea FA Cup Finals in Historic Times' — detailed account of the Khaki Final with contemporary source material.

    The Football History Boys website, 'The Khaki Cup Final: Sheffield United vs Chelsea, 1915' — good contextual material on the wartime atmosphere.

    West London Observer archive (British Newspaper Archive) — match reports and crowd descriptions from 1905–1910; especially valuable for the Good Friday 1906 Manchester ...
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    19 分
  • Episode 1: The Club That Was Built for the Stadium (1905–1915)

    Episode 1: The Club That Was Built for the Stadium (1905–1915)
    2026/05/27

    The founding story of Chelsea is unlike any other in English football. There is no factory, no church hall, no cricket club, no lamppost. There is a businessman, an athletics ground, and a rejected lease. In the spring of 1905, after Fulham FC declined to rent Stamford Bridge, Gus Mears made a decision that would define West London football forever: he would build a club to fill his stadium instead. That single rejection — Fulham's chairman Henry Norris turning down Mears' offer — is the seed from which Chelsea grew. The West London derby, the neighbour relationship, the gentle sense of competition between the riverside club at Craven Cottage and the bigger, wealthier operation at Stamford Bridge — all of it flows from that one conversation.

    Within months, Chelsea FC had been created from nothing — players signed, a manager appointed, a badge designed — and elected to the Football League Second Division without having kicked a single ball as a club. This episode tells the story of that audacious founding: the 22-stone goalkeeper Fatty Foulke signed as the first marquee name; the astonishing crowds that flooded Stamford Bridge from the very beginning (67,000 for a league game against Manchester United in 1906, a London record); the rapid promotion to the First Division; and the inaugural top-flight London derby in 1907 — Chelsea beating Woolwich Arsenal 2-1, drawing a record crowd to Stamford Bridge and prompting one newspaper to declare that this new rivalry would "be fought over again a thousand times in factory, office and workshop." It also covers the 1915 Khaki Cup Final — Chelsea's first appearance at a major final, played at Old Trafford in the shadow of war.


    Research Sources

    Rick Glanvill, 'Chelsea FC: The Official Biography' — the definitive club history; essential for the founding period and the Parker dog-bite story.

    Rick Glanvill's 'Founders Day' long read on chelseafc.com (published March 2026) — contains primary source material including the original press release from J.E. Dixon & Co., March 1905, announcing the club's formation.

    Wikipedia, 'History of Chelsea F.C. (1905–1952)' — reliable overview; cross-check all dates against primary sources.

    Wikipedia, 'William Foulke' — comprehensive biographical details; corroborated by Spartacus Educational entry and Chelsea FC's own archive.

    Graham Phythian, 'Colossus: The True Story of William Foulke' — the definitive Foulke biography; essential for the Player of the Era section.

    Chelsea match programme, December 1905 — the Foulke dinner quote; reproduced in multiple sources including Read the League and Dawley Heritage Society.

    Chelsea FC official website, '1915 vs 2020 — Two Chelsea FA Cup Finals in Historic Times' — detailed account of the Khaki Final with contemporary source material.

    The Football History Boys website, 'The Khaki Cup Final: Sheffield United vs Chelsea, 1915' — good contextual material on the wartime atmosphere.

    West London Observer archive (British Newspaper Archive) — match reports and crowd descriptions from 1905–1910; especially valuable for the Good Friday 1906 Manchester ...
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    36 分