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On July 2, 2003, the perennial underachievers in blue from West London stepped out from under the red shadows of Manchester United and Liverpool.
They did so holding the hand of one of the most powerful, wealthy and secretive men in Europe.
Today marks ten years to the day since Roman Abramovich changed the course of Chelsea Football Club’s history by buying the club from then-owner Ken Bates and other shareholders for £140m; a move which paved the way for billionaires across the globe to indulge their hobbies on the world’s largest domestic sporting stage.
Beloved by Chelsea fans, hated by diehard supporters of rival clubs, but by-and-large unknown to the rest of the world, Abramovich has marked his place as a hugely important figure in the annals of the Premier League, injecting £874m worth of transfers and forking out £1.5bn (yes, billion) or thereabouts for players’ wages over his ten years in charge at Stamford Bridge.
A staggering amount when one considers the cost of constructing the entire London Olympic Stadium was a shade over £500m.
But it’s not just the unwholesome amounts of cash he’s thrown at Chelsea FC that make him a central figure in world football, it’s the implications of his ownership.
What Abramovich did to world football
When Abramovich bought Chelsea FC, a popular club in a massive sporting competition, he did two things. He changed football both as a sport and as a business.
1) He showed foreign billionaires that owning an English Premier League club is within your power, and more than that, it’s a great way to make at least a few thousand people love you.
Since his takeover of The Pensioners, a number of rival clubs have piqued the interest of the fabulously wealthy.
Manchester-based clubs United and City are now owned by Malcolm Glazer and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan respectively, Liverpool FC is owned by John W. Henry’s Fenway Sports Group Abramovich’s compatriot Anton Zingarevich recently gained control of Reading FC (now playing in the Championship).
Notably, French Ligue 1 clubs Paris Saint Germain and AS Monaco have found themselves swimming in Euros thanks to bankrollers of their own in recent times.
2) One may argue against this, but the standard of football in the English Premier League has improved since Abramovich took over at Chelsea FC.
The flow on effect as mentioned above has led to other clubs spending millions on top-class players, and the competition has benefited from the Russian’s largesse. The spectators certainly have.
Names like Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and Claud Makelele arrived at the Bridge under Roman’s guidance; and with the arrival of the enigmatic Jose Mourinho, the stranglehold that Manchester United had on the Premier League and Liverpool’s dominance in European competitions began to look a little less concrete.
The entrance of a new power-player shook up the Premier League, and forced competitors to adapt. Somewhat unfortunately for Roman, he had the Sensei of adaptation, in the form of a bespectacled Scotsman with an unhealthy love of chewing gum to contend with.
The improvement in the quality of players and the style of football they bring with them has boosted interest in the game both in Britain and around the world. Broadcasts of the games are now available in over 200 countries worldwide, reaching an estimated 600 million people.
Where to now for Chelsea’s Man with the Deep Pockets?
Chelsea fans need not fear, Abramovich has no plans of going anywhere. Quite the opposite, in fact, if one considers the implications of the recent appointment of one Jose Mourinho to oversee the team for the next few seasons.
With Sir Alex’s departure from the helm at Manchester United, City appointing a new (but decidedly old) manager over a squad with no real core, identity, or substance, and Arsenal and Liverpool both being cruel footballing jokes, the second coming of Jose might just herald the beginning of a new era of dominance in the Premier League.
The remarriage of Roman to Jose has all the potential to forge a decade-long dynasty. A rich owner, a manager with more trophies than he knows what to do with, a team with an experienced core group of winners, and exciting young players learning their craft from their older teammates.
This is all assuming the Russian and the Portuguese can set aside their differences that led to their divorce the first time around.
This time will be different, they say.
This time, Jose will promote youth academy players instead of buying the mega-stars like Andriy Shevchenko, Deco and Nicolas Anelka. Just disregard the incumbent inward transfer of £53m-rated Edinson Cavani. Seriously Roman, didn’t you learn the first time?
This time, Jose knows exactly how much power he has, and in what areas (with no more pesky Director of Football Frank Arnesen to interfere with his transfer target aspirations).
This time, he’s ‘happier’, and ‘calmer’, though if his last few months at Real Madrid are anything to go by, Abramovich may need to keep a close eye on ‘The Special One’ to ensure his hobby-team isn’t ripped apart by a titanic ego struggle.
Whether Chelsea take home the bacon this season or not, it’s going to be a hell of a competition. However, it’s this blessed union of souls that makes Chelsea the favourites for the 2013/14 title.
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