Wednesday, October 24, 2012

24 October 1966 - He Came, He Saw, He Conquered

On 24 October 1966, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was born in the city of Saratov in southern Russia. Currently one of the richest men in the world, he has spurred Chelsea to a massive haul of silverware including multiple league titles and the Champions League trophy.

Abramovich accumulated his wealth quickly, though he has been accused of using methods of questionable legality. For example, while still serving in the Soviet Army, he made money by selling allegedly stolen gasoline. By 1995, however, he, along with a partner, had acquired a controlling interest in a large Russsian oil company, paying $100 million.

In 2003, he bought Chelsea from then-owner Ken Bates. He paid £140 million for the club, who at the time were saddled with debt, and quickly steered them to back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006--their first league titles since 1955.

Chelsea have had nine different (non-caretaker) managers under Abramovich, including Claudio Ranieri, José Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, and current boss Roberto Di Matteo. Throughout, Chelsea have won three league titles (2005, 2006, and 2010), four FA Cups (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012), and the Champions League (2012).

2 comments:

  1. You don't consider the Cup-Winners-Cup a major trophy?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would have, if I had remembered it. Sloppy researching on my part. It's corrected now, thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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