Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made a baffling decision that one of the club’s greatest players ‘did not understand’.
Abramovich became owner of the Blues in 2003 and immediately set about turning them into a household name in world football.
Chelsea’s recent history had been fairly successful, winning two FA Cups, a Football League Cup, a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and a UEFA Super Cup in the six seasons before the Russian took over.
However, the billionaire had bigger ideas and was willing to spend hundreds of millions to achieve his ambitious objectives.
And, it did not take long for Abramovich to implement his win-at-all-costs mentality at Stamford Bridge as the Blues won the Premier League title just two years after his arrival.
Chelsea would go on to lift 18 major honours under the 57-year-old’s reign, including two UEFA Champions Leagues and a FIFA Club World Cup, and will always be remembered as the man most responsible for the club’s transformation.
He was by no means faultless, though. Indeed, one Chelsea legend was puzzled by arguably his most controversial decision.
Roman Abramovich’s baffling decision
Roman Abramovich’s appointment of Jose Mourinho in 2004 was pure genius.
The previous manager Claudio Ranieri had done well at Stamford Bridge but it was thought that Chelsea needed someone else to take them to the next level.
Mourinho, who had just lifted the Champions League trophy with Porto, was the man to do exactly that.
His ruthless mentality perfectly fit Abramovich’s ideology and their partnership resulted in two Premier League titles and three domestic cups.
However, given the pair’s remarkably strong personalities – Abramovich’s much less public – one could have expected them to clash at some point.
And, in the 2006/07 season, when Chelsea’s form had petered out slightly, they were at odds over the club’s hierarchy.
Mourinho was not pleased with the power attributed to sporting director Frank Arnesen and Abramovich’s advisor Piet de Visser. Nor was he satisfied with the appointment of Avram Grant as director of football.
Ultimately, their working relationship diminished to the point where it was no longer tenable for Mourinho to remain as the club’s manager.
Despite all the success he had achieved in little over three seasons with the Blues, it was decided that he should leave on September 20, 2007.
Chelsea legend’s reaction to Jose Mourinho’s departure
The news came as a surprise to many, including Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, who had just enjoyed the most prolific season of his career.
The Ivorian, whose combination of physical, mental and technical attributes made in a force to be reckoned with, scored 33 goals in the previous campaign.
He was surely looking forward to spending the foreseeable future as Mourinho’s number nine and was understandably perplexed and distraught by the ‘Special One’s’ departure.
“Emotionally it was difficult for me,” Drogba told The Guardian. “I did not understand. My reaction was ‘I want to go; he has left, I want to go, everything is finished’. I was in this mood.
“But then I was still under contract and I always said that as long as I was wearing the Chelsea shirt I will always give my best, no matter what. I will always give my best. For two weeks it was very difficult.”
Drogba went on to explain why he enjoyed working with the Portuguese coach so much: “People say Mourinho liked me, I was his son. But, in fact, if I was not performing, then I did not play.
“That is the good thing with him. Even if he likes you outside football, if you do not perform on the pitch, you do not play. That is really what is his signature.
“You have to perform, you have to be the best. It is only business. I think we have a good understanding, we don’t have to talk every day to know what we think about each other.”
Related Topics
