Without imagining or intending it, Chelsea had put together a solid armor to face the unprecedented and adverse circumstances she is going through. Used to command, she now has to resist. Thomas Tuchel is the kind of coach who instills strength, sacrifice and dedication. He discipline and German rigor. Almost a manual of resilience.
The club most affected in the world by the sanctions imposed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine got into the best eight teams in Europe in defense of their title. He is the current champion of the Champions League and also of the Club World Cup, titles he obtained in material and mental conditions very different from those he has been facing for a couple of weeks.
Forced by the English government to sell the club because he amassed a fortune thanks to his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, oligarch Roman Abramovich has a product that secured a place in the Champions League quarterfinals by beating away 2-1 to Lille. Today, with the draw in Nyon (Switzerland, 6 am in Colombia), he will meet his rival, who will emerge from the other seven qualifiers: Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Atlético de Madrid, Benfica, Bayern Munich and Villarreal.
Chelsea played the third game in six days, between the Premier League and the Champions League. On the trip to Lille, in the north of France, he already began to feel the structural suffocation derived from still being an Abramovich property.
“We have to face restrictions and limitations. Adjustments in the amount of staff that travels, the rooms that we have in the hotel. It would have been better to arrive by plane than sitting on a bus. We run the risk of being injured. We try to be as professional as we can, without making excuses. I think it is very clear what Chelsea requires of all employees and players: play your role and play to the limit,” Tuchel said.
Considered little more than a pest by the international community, Abramovich received minimal help from Putin, who decreed that Russia’s sports channels must broadcast all Chelsea games live, or face economic sanctions.
Champions League champion crisis
Chelsea cannot sell tickets to its fans, who, far from blaming Abramovich, a patron with whom they have won five Premier Leagues and two Champions Leagues since 2003, feel they are victims of unfair persecution.
Jürgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool, denounced a certain hypocrisy of the authorities and of the pedestrians on foot who practice ‘chelseaphobia’: “Did anyone care when Abramovich bought Chelsea? Did anyone care when they bought Newcastle? Did the fans care? I think we all knew where the money was coming from, it’s obvious. We all knew it, but we accepted it. It is our fault, the fault of society. And now we say, ‘Oh, we can’t accept it anymore!’ So we punish them. It’s not Chelsea’s fault at all.”
The disappointment also generated a sense of belonging in some players. Kai Havertz, scorer of the Champions League title goal, declared: “Chelsea gave me everything, and I’m ready to give everything for Chelsea. If they told me that there was no money to travel to Lille, I would have paid for it, it is not a problem. It’s not serious. There are more difficult things in the world right now.”
The uncertainty surprises Chelsea as the European team that has played the most games this season. This Wednesday was number 48 among six competitions: Premier, Champions, European Super Cup, Club World Cup, FA Cup and League Cup.
He is prohibited from buying and selling players, as well as from renewing contracts. Negotiations were frozen for the extension of the ties of Christensen, who would already have everything agreed to join Barcelona, and the German Antonio Rüdiger, in the folders of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
CLAUDIO MAURI
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