Forget Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Thierry Henry.
Soccer’s biggest player in 2003 was Roman Abramovich.
The 37-year-old Russian oil tycoon, with a personal fortune of £5,5-billion, admits he knows little about the game and is more interested in ice hockey.
But his takeover of Chelsea — wiping out their reported debts of £80-million and then injecting another £120-million for the purchase of new players — turned the club from also-rans to serious contenders in both England and Europe.
Abramovich is one of the so-called ”oligarchs” who amassed great wealth after the fall of the Soviet Union. He speaks virtually no English and effectively lets his chequebook do the talking.
Thanks to Abramovich’s cash, Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri has been able to buy big — Hernan Crespo from Inter Milan, Juan Sebastian Veron from Manchester United, Adrian Mutu from Parma, Claude Makelele and Geremi from Real Madrid, Damien Duff from Blackburn Rovers and England internationals Joe Cole, Wayne Bridge and Glen Johnson.
With more money available when the transfer window opens at the end of the year, Chelsea officials have said they are in a position to add even more big names to an already huge squad.
All this has effectively made Abramovich, who bought the controlling interest in the Blues in early July, the most powerful man in club soccer.
His interest in Chelsea means the club can now outbid all others — Manchester United and Real Madrid included — in the race to land the top stars.
Ranieri, whose own job is under threat with Abramovich able to afford anyone in the game, tried to play down speculation about more big signings.
”How can I think about other players?” he said. ”Now for me it’s important to be focused about my players, my team. And then maybe I can ask Roman maybe it’s better to change something.
”But now my idea is that I have 21 players plus the goalkeeper and, for me, they are enough.”
If Ranieri doesn’t buy again in the New Year, Chelsea fans will want to know why not.
The club have just one league title in their history — 48 years ago — and were twice champion in the now defunct European Cup Winners Cup. But Chelsea have now made it to the top of the Premier League standings and advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League.
Chelsea could soon go head-to-head with nine-time winner Real Madrid or defending champion AC Milan, who clinched their sixth title by beating Juventus on penalties in May after a 0-0 tie at Old Trafford.
Ukrainian star Andriy Shevchenko scored the decisive spot kick for Milan that prevented Juve from adding the Champions League to their second Serie A title in a row.
With Inter Milan also reaching the semifinal, it marked a Champions League turnaround for Italian soccer after several years of Spanish domination.
FC Porto edged Glasgow Celtic 3-2 in extra time in a thrilling Uefa Cup final in Seville. A reported 50 000 Celtic fans went to the Spanish city even though many didn’t have tickets and couldn’t get into the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
In domestic action, Real Madrid gained their 29th Spanish championship, Juve extended their record of Italian league titles to 27, Manchester United won their eighth Premier League crown in 11 seasons and Bayern Munich captured their 18th German title and fourth in five seasons.
In South America, Argentina’s Boca Juniors scored a two-leg victory over Santos of Brazil in the Copa Libertadores, winning 2-0 at home and earning their third title in four years by gaining a 3-1 victory in Sao Paulo.
The biggest transfer of the year was David Beckham’s protracted move from Manchester United to Real Madrid for £25-million. The England captain now teams up with Real’s ”Galacticos” Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Raul Gonzalez.
”If I have become a better player it’s because these players around me have made me step up to another level,” said Beckham, who has received rave reviews in Spain. ”I would say coming to Real Madrid was one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
Beckham had appeared headed to Barcelona when Juan Laporta promised to bring him to the Catalan club during Barca’s presidential elections. Laporta won the presidency, but Beckham went to Madrid.
At least Barcelona, who fired Louis van Gaal and took on Frank Rijkaard, persuaded Brazilian World Cup star Ronaldinho to sign from Paris Saint Germain after he appeared to be going to Manchester United. The Reds hired American goalkeeper Tim Howard from the New York/New Jersey Metrostars, leaving French World Cup star Fabien Barthez frozen out.
The most eyecatching newcomer was Freddy Adu, a 14-year-old Ghanaian-born American, who attracted the interest of powerhouse clubs in Europe after some spectacular performances but decided to sign for DC United in Major League Soccer to stay close to his family.
Considered to be a megastar in the Pele and Diego Maradona mold, Adu already plays for the United States Under-20 team.
While Adu looks like the brightest star of the future, soccer still had its dark side.
Abramovich bailed out Chelsea, but major clubs such as Leeds United and Lazio were hit by crushing debts and forced to sell off big names. Several English clubs were forced into financial administration to avoid going bust.
Soccer didn’t escape drugs scandals, with England centre back Rio Ferdinand facing serious charges after he missed a routine doping test. Fifa pressed the Football Association to take strong action against the Manchester United star.
England faced the threat of being kicked out of Euro 2004 because of crowd violence and racist chanting. Violence also marred Turkey’s home games as well as those of its clubs in European competitions, while games were suspended in Argentina with fans hurling objects on to the field.
The death of Marc-Vivien Foe, who collapsed on the field in the semifinal, took the shine off France 1-0’s victory over Cameroon at the Confederations Cup.
Thierry Henry’s golden goal clinched the title for Jacques Santini’s men, who also became the only team to reach the European Championship with a perfect record of eight victories.
Latvia produced the surprise of the Euro 2004 qualifying playoffs by eliminating World Cup semifinalist Turkey to reach the finals in Portugal. The draw for the finals put traditional rivals Germany, The Netherlands and the Czech republic in the same group, while France begin their defence against England.
Germany won the women’s World Cup, beating Sweden 2-1 after extra time in final at Carson, California. The defending champion Americans beat Canada 3-1 to take third place. — Sapa-AP