Roman Abramovich. The mercurial, avaricious and mega rich owner of Chelsea Football Club. Ever since the Russian business tycoon has taken over the London based football club, he has unprecedentedly changed the dynamics of the premier league.
Before the Abramovich era, players were brought on a rational basis. Many factors led the way, like the value-addition he would make to the team, the financial condition of the club, the value-for-money constraint, the player in the present team who would make way for the new arrival, the manager's extent of desire for the new acquisition,.. et cetera. Not that the new transfers being made are irrational, but most of the times, Abramovich's capricious desires make the footballing world gape with awe. Like the time he bought Fernando Torres. No doubt, Torres was the most lethal striker on the planet at that point of time. Defenders dreaded his mere presence. But for a football fan, it didn't really make sense, especially because of the fact that Chelsea wanted the star player of their Rivals and furthermore, Chelsea's strike force was already filled with Drogba, Anelka, Sturridge and Salomon Kalou and Roman paid an exorbitant fee of £50 million, breaking the british transfer records and making Torres one of the most expensive players of the world. But as time did tell, he joined the list of the failures, which already included Shaun Wright-Phillips, Andriy Shevchenko etc..He may still have a few years left on his contract to prove his worth, but he would never ever be able to justify his price tag.
It's not just about a past few seasons which marked the arrivals of stars like Torres,Mata,Hazard,Luiz; Abramovich has been digging deep into his bank accounts time and again, right from his acquisition of the club. Transfers like Essien(£24.4 million), Cole(involved in a swap deal with rivals Arsenal), Drogba(£24 million), Shevchenko(£30 million), Malouda(£16.5 million) signify the spendings of the Roman Era. Its not just about the world class players that attract Abramovich's eye; He is also an impatient owner, who pulls the trigger over his managers very often.The present manager, Roberto Di Matteo is already the eighth different manager under his realm. The emphasis during every single year of his ownership being his profound obsession for the holy grail of football, the Champions League Trophy. The story of how di matteo became the permanent coach from being caretaker manager by achieving the Russian Billionaire's long-lasting desire is however a story of a different article, but the takeaway is that Abramovich has spent £76 million in the last 5 years on backroom staff alone, chopping and changing the managerial staff every now and then. And to pinpoint, a report claims that he has spent £32 million during the 7 month service period of the previous coach Villa-Boas alone, including a 12 million compensation paid to him for prematurely terminating his employment. A lucrative deal for failure I suppose!
Figures speak, don't they? All those figures tell you the story of either a prodigal or a successful spending. But underlying those statistics also lie a deep & intense passion for the sport.
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| Abramovich's reaction after a Champion's league goal during the Road to Munich |
Unlike the Glazers or Fenway Sports group or any other franchise owners, week in week out, you might find Abramovich in the stands of Stamford Bridge for the most parts of the season. His emotions reflecting all the instances on the field, be it his ear-to-ear grin after a BLUE's goal or a despaired look while they are trailing. Be it his post match dressing room meetings with the players or his hands-on involvement in all the crucial matters relating to the club, it all stems from one deep-lying passion for the game. He is a quirky owner, even he might accept that fact, but he is also an ardent fan for the club. He really cares about its well being & craves for the team to win the biggest trophies across the continent. And he doesn't just want to win. He wants to win it big time. He wants his team to play the most attractive football, dominate and tear apart opposition & at last, win the trophy with an unassailable attitude; with an acceptance from the world that they truly deserved it. And it manifests itself in his initial reluctance to make Di Matteo the permanent manager. And after all his heartfelt millions of spending over his entire tenure, maybe his wish stands at the periphery of being successful this season.
He might have revolutionized & changed the perception of transfer market by the depth of his pockets, he might have started a new trend by acquiring/trying to acquire many world class players as per his wish and he might have sparked the drift towards the money ball game; In a way, his stamp over the modern football might go way down into the history books, that is the kind of effect he had produced on the sport. Even after all the criticism showered on him for his spendthriftiness and his lack of patience, he continues to go by his will and do everything that can be done by him to take Chelsea FC to new heights. He symbolises the epitome of an owner's passion. He may be noted on completely contrasting shades by football fans for his contributions to the modern game; But at Soccer Slaves, we cannot ignore the fact that, this beautiful game requires more such passionate owners, not because of the never-ending millions he brings to the table, but because of the infinite love he shows towards the game.
Happy Birthday, Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich!
sums it all up, the oil merchant from russia !
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