Don't Follow Abramovich, With 21 Billion US Dollars Even he Couldn't Buy the Beautiful Game

This is an article I read by Steven Howard, Thought I will share it with my blog readers. I would like to dedicate this article to the businessmen who recently stepped in Maldives football to manage Maldivian Football clubs with a great motivation, hopefully with a good intention too.

HE has got the £130million yacht with two swimming pools, two helipads and a submarine. He has the 440-acre estate in West Sussex, the flat in Belgravia and the £28m six-storey mansion in Kensington. He has the £1m bomb-proof Maybach 62 limo. And he traded in one older model — his wife Irina — for a younger one, a raven-haired beauty of 22.

But the one thing Roman Abramovich’s billions can’t buy is the Beautiful Game.

He first fell in love with the sport on a memorable night at Old Trafford in April 2003, when Real Madrid’s Ronaldo received a standing ovation after a 59-minute Champions League hat-trick. On the pitch were other global stars like Zidane, Figo, Roberto Carlos, Veron, Beckham, Keane, Van Nistelrooy and Giggs. Enough to turn anyone’s head. So the Russian bought Chelsea, poured £350m into the project and entrusted his dream to Jose Mourinho. Success was immediate: back-to-back titles, something a football institution like Arsenal had not managed since the Thirties.

But, then, the lustre started to fade. Though supremely well-organised and hard to beat, his side would not play the way he wanted. So he and his associates moved in.

Mourinho, who never believed in the Galacticos ethos, was handed players he didn’t want, while those he did were denied him. The undermining of the manager had begun. And so it would continue, with additional members of staff foisted on a man who rightly believed his own loyal backroom team had brought sufficient rewards without Big Brother interference.

It all came to a head at Villa Park 19 days ago, when Abramovich stormed out of his seat. The body language said it all. A week later, Mourinho responded in kind, throwing his head back in disbelief after Andriy Shev-chenko missed a sitter. The message was clear: you bought him, not me.

Further pressure was applied by Peter Kenyon saying Abramovich wanted two Champions League crowns in six years — and do it the right way, Jose. Then on Tuesday we came to the depths of the 1-1 Champions League draw with Rosenborg watched by 24,973 — just 2,000 more than turned up at The Valley Stadium for Charlton versus Norwich.

It is claimed Red Rom spoke afterwards for 20 minutes with Sheva, asking where it had gone wrong. The dark clouds became tinged with lightning when Abramovich heard of a row between Mourinho and John Terry — the manager concerned about his skipper’s form, even seeking a possible explanation from the club’s medical team. Seeing Terry has been playing with painkilling injections in his damaged toe since the start of the season, it was a legitimate concern.
A day later, the Chelsea board met to discuss the causes — and ramifications — of the meagre Euro turn-out. The greatest irony was that it took place just as a young, vibrant Arsenal side were thrashing Seville 3-0 in front of 60,000 ecstatic fans — paying even higher prices than Chelsea supporters. A team, patiently assembled at a fraction of the cost lavished on Chelsea, playing exactly the sort of attacking, entertaining football that Abramovich had always dreamed of.

So now the switchback ride is over.

Mourinho will take a time-out before what many believe will be an inevitable return to football in Italy. Yes, of course, he infuriated people with his tricks, his sarcasm, his scarcely-concealed innuendos and his hypocrisy. And he made some duff purchases. But he delighted us with his intelligence, his humour, his willingness to attack cherished beliefs and, yes, his ability to pull his own leg as well as our’s. In his place, Chelsea are lumbered with caretaker and yes-man Avram Grant, of whom they said yesterday: “We are delighted that in Avram we have an experienced man who can come in immediately.” Ah, yes, such experience. One Champions League campaign with Maccabi Haifa and one season at Portsmouth.

What Abramovich really needs is an Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson — managers with values other than money. Managers attracted by a cause and leaving a legacy. Managers with a life-long dedication to their clubs. And, yes, managers who play the Beautiful Game.

But they can’t be bought. Not even by him.

Source: The Sun