Money doesn't equal championships
Chelsea have finally shown chinks in previously impenetrable armour
STEVE BOHRN STAFF
For the past two seasons, Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea football club have dominated the English Premiership League. Since Abramovich purchased the team in 2003, Chelsea has spent over 100 million British pounds on players. The money seems to have been well spent, as they have won two EPL titles.
Because of this rapid investment, Chelsea have skyrocketed from being an average team to a team that is nearly unbeatable. They have spent ridiculous sums of money on transfers of the best players, in an attempt to make themselves the best in every aspect of the game.
Their latest transfers include two of the premier players in the game. The transfer fees for Mikael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko have not been released, but media estimates put them at around 30 million pounds each or just shy of $60 million. Ballack, a midfielder, has been the captain of the German international team for two years, and before coming to Chelsea won numerous trophies and championships with German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich.
In Chelsea, he joins a midfield that is already littered with talented players, such as Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, and Arjen Robben, who all have extensive experience and are among the best in the world at what they do.
Forward Shevchenko has 71 caps with the Ukrainian international team, scoring 33 international goals, and helping his side to an impressive showing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in which Ukraine made it all the way to the quarterfinals. He played his club soccer for A.C. Milan in Italy before coming to Chelsea, and helped that team win the 2002- 03 UEFA Champions League and Coppa Italia.
He joins French phenom Didier Drogba at the front, and the two players form what is considered the most frightening strike force in all of soccer.
But despite these great off-season acquisitions, Chelsea is not on top of the English Premiership standings. Since the beginning of this season, Chelsea has only found themselves the leaders in the EPL for a short period of time.
Although Chelsea have begun to run into good form of late, they were shaky at best to begin the season. The low point in their season came with losses against Middlesborough and Tottenham Hotspur, two teams that find themselves in the middle of the table now. With many difficult matches remaining, Chelsea may be in trouble.
They currently trail leaders Manchester United by three points, but both Premier League meetings between the two sides are yet to take place. The true picture will be much clearer after these matches.
Nothing short of the league title will be good enough for Chelsea, who have allowed themselves to run an operating deficit each year that Abramovich has controlled the team, something that is not expected to change until 2010. Supported by Abramovich’s billions, they are able to bring in the best players and the best staff.
But this doesn’t mean the Championship is lost to all the other teams. The race is actually very tight as New Year’s approaches and the Premiership could very well be lead by any of three or four teams when we ring in the new year.
Chelsea plays two crucial matches against Manchester United and Arsenal that could be the deciding point of the entire season, while both of the other teams enjoy decidedly easier schedules, although no game in top flight soccer in Europe can ever truly be called easy.
Other teams on the fringe of being contenders are Aston Villa and Bolton, both of which are tied with Arsenal in points this season, but history has proven that these teams do not have the depth to last the entire season and compete legitimately with the big three of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea.
And with dramatic scorelines and breaking news almost daily, this year’s Premiership is truly up in the air. The only question: who will catch it when it comes down?
