What does an oligarch do the summer his soccer team finallybrings home the Champions League trophy? He spends, and spends enormously, tochange the style of his team going forward. At last count, Roman Abramovich hadpaid out another 80 million pounds, or about $125 million, on transfer fees tobuy new players for Chelsea.
The Holy Grail was thought to be the Champions League. Butnow that he has won that, won the English League and the English Cup severaltimes over, he does not walk away. He spends because, we assume, soccer is nowin his blood, even though he seldom talks about his ownership.
We assume something else: that having reached the end of thequest, the boss wants to be pleased by his own team. Pleased aesthetically byits style.
Roberto Di Matteo, the man who brought home the ChampionsLeague trophy and England’s F.A. Cup after taking over an apparently dispiritedgroup of players, is given the dual task of rebuilding the squad and the style.
Di Matteo’s new Chelsea “ slated to play UEFA’s SuperCupagainst Atletico Madrid in Monaco on Friday and later in the year to representEurope in the Club World Cup in Japan “ is already a far, far different machinefrom the one he inherited.
The difference is brought by Eden Hazard, the Belgian atjust 21, was bought from Lille in France for 32 million pounds after theChampions League final.
After Chelsea had run its record to three games, threevictories, and Hazard had been instrumental in either creating or scoring goalsin each of the games, Di Matteo spoke.
On his same wavelength, from the very start, has been JuanMata. Mata plays as Hazard plays “ with a joy in his stride, and with inventionfew can match.
If these were race horses, there would be protests in thestreets about overworking the poor animals. Since they are mere beasts forburden in a man’s game “ a rich man’s game “ the protests are mute.
There is more to come. Chelsea has yet to integrate the newsignings Oscar from Brazil, Marko Marin from Germany, Cesar Azpilicueta fromSpain and Victor Moses from Nigeria.
The Hazard way, with the ball on the ground and the movementeasy on the eye, has commenced.
