Sports Then and Now

Roman Abramovich brought Chelsea for £140 million in 2003, but by no means was that the end to his spending. Over the last 16 years, the Russian has spent over £1.5 billion on new players, with not all of those being of the caliber needed to compete for honors.

The Abramovich era has seen a trophy haul of 13 major trophies; including five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and one Champions League success. The 2009/10 campaign also saw the Blues complete their first FA Cup and Premier League double.

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1.            Adrian Mutu (£16 Million from Parma)

Things started very well for Mutu following his big-money move from Italy. He scored four goals in his opening three matches and was shaping up to be a top quality signing. However, things quickly turned sour for the Romanian international.

Chelsea signed the former Series A star in 2003, and he was quick to fall out with new manager José Mourinho who arrived the following season due to questions about the Romanian’s attitude. Read the rest of this entry →

If you are one of the five or six people who have actually read any of my other irresponsibly chimeric screeds (hi Mom, Aunt Kate), then you no doubt realize I have a peculiar fondness for the bizarre and the off beat.

I also possess a passion for the sport of soccer, which is a fortuitous thing, as the world of association football is literally overflowing with all manner of chiseling crooks, dangerous thugs, craven lunatics and twisted perverts. This means that the well of weirdness that FIFA keeps in the secret attic of a small church in southern France will never run dry, much to the satisfaction of those like myself who take great pleasure to revel in the arcana of the beautiful game.    This is something that many American fans overlook; the petty dramas of the transfer market, the vicious hatred between rivals fans, the wealth of impossible personalities and the far fetched happenings of international soccer.

Take the case of the Togolese national team. I mean, imagine you are a Togolese international, and you awake one morning, switch on your TV and see a match report from a friendly in Riffa, Bahrain that you are pretty sure never happened–at least not with the Togo team you play for. Read the rest of this entry →