A quick glimpse into the Abramovich 19 years reign at Chelsea as Todd Boehly's era begins.
It all started on an eventful day sometime in 2003, precisely in July, when the Russian oligarch bought Chelsea Football Club from Ken Bates in the year 2003 for a reported 140 million pounds ($172.70 million).
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| Abramovich with Ken Bates when he bought Chelsea in 2003 |
Abramovich arrived at Chelsea in July and went on a 100 million pound spending spree which was the first of its kind in the history of the football Club and marked the beginning of a successful reign at the West London side. Notable summer signings when Abramovich took over were Juan Sebastian Veron, Hernan Crespo, and Claude Makelele. The Claudio Ranieri tutored Chelsea side came second behind Arsenal Football club who were unbeaten throughout the season. Chelsea also reached the Semi-finals of the UEFA Champions Leagues before Claudio Ranieri was relieved of his job as Chelsea manager.
Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, fondly called “The Special One," was appointed as Chelsea’s new manager with a task to take the club to the promised land and make it a force to reckon with in Europe. Jose Mourinho had earlier guided FC Porto to the Champions League crown in May and he replicated that at Chelsea, guiding them to the Premier League title and also the League Cup (Carabao or Carling Cup) in his first season at the club. Chelsea defended and retained the Premier League title the following season, together with the league cup, while also adding the FA Cup (2006/2007) season, but could not lay their hands on the prestigious Champions League crown. Mourinho's first tenure came at Chelsea came to an abrupt end in September 2007.
Thereafter, Avram Grant took over from Jose Mourinho and took Chelsea to their first-ever Champions League Final, which was played in Istanbul, but unfortunately, Chelsea lost in a penalty shootout to their fellow English club, Manchester United. Avram Grant left immediately after the season ended and was replaced by Felipe Scolari, who only lasted for seven months before he was fired. Guus Hiddink was brought in as interim manager to oversee Chelsea for the rest of the season, and he guided Chelsea to another FA Cup trophy whilst also securing a Champions League ticket.
Italian manager and high profile coach Carlo Ancelotti was brought in after Guus Hiddink's tenure expired, and he went on to win another Premier League crown plus an FA Cup trophy in his first season as head coach. Ancelotti was sacked the following season as he could not sustain the momentum despite finishing second in the log table and enduring a trophy less season.
The next coach to be drafted in was Portuguese coach Andre Villas-Boas, who guided Fc Porto to four trophies the previous season, but he could not replicate the form at Chelsea as he was kicked out after nine months. His assistant, Italian Roberto Di-Mateo, stepped in and led Chelsea to their first Champions League title after defeating German side Bayern Munich 5-4 on penalties at the Allianz Arena, their home stadium. He was promoted the following season and made the permanent coach, but was fired in November after a dismal Champions league group performance that saw Chelsea crash out in the group stage. Rafael Benitez, a one-time former Liverpool manager, was quickly brought in to oversee the team for the remainder of the campaign and delivered Chelsea their second European trophy (UEFA Europa League).
Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea in 2013 for his second spell at the Bridge and led Chelsea to another Premier League crown and a League cup title, but was dismissed the following season after a dreadful start to the season which saw Chelsea drop to the relegation zone. Chelsea later finished 10th in the log table, the lowest they finished in the Abramovich era.
Italian coach Antonio Conte stepped in and became Chelsea’s manager and he made an instant impact, as he did with Italian giants Juventus. He led Chelsea to their fifth Premier League title in his debut season. He won the FA Cup the following season but was fired after Chelsea failed to qualify for the Champions League. Conte is fondly remembered for his 3-4-3 formation at Chelsea. His fellow compatriot Maurizio Sarri replaced him as the head coach, and he (Sarri) propelled Chelsea to their second Europa League crown, where they defeated fellow London-based club Arsenal 4-1 in the final. Sarri left on his own accord due to Chelsea supporters' perceived show of hatred.
Club legend and highest-scoring midfielder in the history of the English Premier League Frank Lampard took over at the helm of affairs at the bridge. He could not sign any player because Chelsea was placed under a transfer ban. He led Chelsea to a fourth-place finish on the log. Lampard was relieved of his job the next season and was immediately replaced by German tactician Thomas Tuchel. He later led Chelsea to their second UEFA Champions League crown in May 2021. He also added the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA World Club Cup trophies to Chelsea’s cabinet while losing two domestic cup finals in his first entire season at the club. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale sometime in March this year before the British government imposed sanctions on him. The takeover was complete on the 25th of May after the British government and Premier league body gave the green light to American Billionaire and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team Todd Boehly-led consortium.
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| Todd Boehly Welcome to Chelsea. |
.jpeg "Abramovich First Chelsea line-up")
This was Chelsea’s first line-up in the Premier League in the Abramovich era
Chelsea Vs Liverpool(11th May 2003) Chelsea defeated Liverpool away at Anfield 2-1 courtesy of goals from Juan Sebastian Veron and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Veron scored Chelsea's first goal in the Abramovich era.
Chelsea won a total of 19 trophies during the Abramovich era. Interestingly, Chelsea won all the major trophies available in Club football including the Club World cup which ironically was the last in Abramovich’s era. This is a breakdown of the titles won during the Abramovich era;
Premier League- 5
FA Cup- 5
League Cup- 3
Champions League- 2
Europa League- 2
UEFA Super Cup- 1
FIFA Club World Cup- 1
Total - 19
Abramovich was infamous for sacking managers at the slightest mistake or drop in the standard of play. Here is the list of all the managers that coached Chelsea during his era:
Claudio Ranieri
Jose Mourinho
Avram Grant
Luis Felipe Scolari
Guus Hiddink
Carlo Ancelotti
Andre Villas-Boas
Roberto Di Matteo
Rafa Benitez
Jose Mourinho
Guus Hiddink
Antonio Conte
Maurizio Sarri
Frank Lampard
Thomas Tuchel
Abramovich spent a total amount of 2.1 billion pounds on the signing of players during the transfer windows. He spent heavily to bring quality players to Stamford Bridge. Romelu Lukaku holds the record as the most expensive signing in the history of Chelsea Football Club. He was signed for a fee worth 100 million pounds.
Ínteresting piece!.
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