There’s a great photograph in circulation of the early days of the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea. The gang’s all there: a beaming John Terry, future England captain fantastic; Frank ‘Lamps’ Lampard, another of the golden generation and, though he doesn’t know it here, destined to manage the Blues and to join the long list of managers axed under the Abramovich rule; a sunny Eidur Gudjohnnson and, with his arms slung around the club’s best assets, the most famous oligarch of them all.
The players are holding the Premier League trophy. They are young, wealthy and communicating a radiant delight that their devotion to football, which began when they were eight, has carried them to this shining moment. A smiling Abramovich avoids the camera’s gaze with that curiously read-what-you-wish expression of his. Extravagantly silent throughout his reign as Chelsea owner, Abramovich has traded on the most famous half-smile since Mona Lisa. It has helped to convey the sense of mysteri …
- March 5, 2022
