Heading into Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich, here are five storylines to watch for Chelsea.
updated: Sat May 05 2012 16:33:00
Who will win the FA Cup? Ian Rush and Marcel Desailly give us their predictions.
What started out as Chelsea's worst season since owner Roman Abramovich arrived in 2003 is now on the verge of becoming one of the English club's best.
The mystery behind the peculiar inscriptions "Out of the Blue" and "True Blue" which first appeared on Sauber engine covers at the Chinese Grand Prix has finally been revealed.
Chelsea sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas Sunday, citing poor results which threaten their participation in next season's Champions League.
Chelsea's sacking of Andre Villas-Boas came under fire Monday with former Blues boss Luis Felipe Scolari warning it will be "hell" for whoever succeeds the Portuguese at Stamford Bridge.
"Rome wasn't built in a day," Brian Clough once said, "but then I wasn't on that particular job."
It is tempting to look at the top half of the Premier League table and see rows of upright dominoes. At some point soon, one will teeter and tap its neighbor's shoulder, and then who knows how many, and which, will follow. What if Harry Redknapp takes the England job? (What if Spurs lose to Manchester United this weekend, and Arsenal beat Liverpool?) What if Chelsea does not get back into the Champions League places? What if Roman Abramovich sacks Andre Villas-Boas? What if he's the replacement? Why? When?
updated: Sat Feb 25 2012 18:15:00
Capped! - Viv Anderson becomes the first black player to represent England
Roberto Mancini and Andre Villas-Boas have had sharply contrasting fortunes this season, but both managers celebrated vital victories in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti paid the ultimate price for failing to deliver trophies at Chelsea last season, being sacked by the English club's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich just hours after a defeat on the final day.
updated: Wed Oct 05 2011 06:39:00
Italian giants Juventus celebrate the official opening of their new home.
Roman Abramovich is seeking to buy back Chelsea's home ground in order to switch to a new location that he hopes will help the English Premier League club remain competitive on an international scale.
Before luxury yachting was the preserve of Russian tycoons and Silicon Valley moguls, it was only the world's wealthiest royals who built palaces on the sea.
LONDON -- André Villas-Boas' unveiling at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday morning might not have been the most spectacular press conference in Chelsea's recent history but it was certainly the longest. Weighing in at a hefty 75 minutes, the 33-year-old Villas-Boas' performance was long on charm and self-effacement and slightly short on hard facts.
Carlo Ancelotti was sacked as Chelsea manager Sunday night after their 1-0 defeat to Everton in the final match of the English Premier League season.
Five things we learned from the final day's action in the Premier League:
The thing about Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is that very few people have heard him speak. Fewer still have heard him speak in a language they understand. And when Abramovich does speak, it's never in public or to the media. As for the people he employs to actually run Chelsea -- primarily club Chairman Bruce Buck and Chief Executive Ron Gourlay -- they talk very little and say even less.
Chelsea's big spending on Europe's transfer deadline day has been criticized by one of the club's English rivals, who questioned how the Premier League champions can meet UEFA's new financial fair-play rules.
When Carlo Ancelotti arrived at Chelsea in summer 2009, he started off playing 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond. That paired Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba as strike partners, with Frank Lampard tucked behind. It rapidly became apparent that Lampard is far better played with the ball in front of him than playing with his back to goal.
So Carlo Ancelotti is staying at Chelsea, for now at least, and with the club sitting top of the Premier League talk of crisis at Stamford Bridge feels slightly hysterical. Even if there was no substance to the reports -- strongly denied -- that Ancelotti was ready to quit on Sunday evening, though, something is going on behind the scenes, a lead that stood at five points three weeks ago has disappeared and the weakness of the squad's structure has been exposed.
The mega yacht business has been slow since the economy soured, but at least one luxury shipbuilder appears to be betting on a rebound.
The actress vows not to let detractors "tear me down" in the New Year
English Premier League bottom side Portsmouth have denied being formally served with a winding up petition by the Inland Revenue -- in a statement released by the club.
From catamarans made out of plastic bottles hoping to cross the Pacific Ocean to the recession-busting extravagance of billion-dollar superyachts, 2009 has been the year of crazy boats.
Michel Platini, the president of the governing body for European football (UEFA), has revealed plans to bring in new financial regulations to prevent clubs spending beyond their means in a bid to curb the debt within football.
The world's richest people are spending millions arming their super-yachts with military-style technology and trained personnel to fight off potential attackers.
When CSKA Moscow lifted the UEFA Cup in 2005, becoming the first Russian team to win a European trophy, manager Valeri Gazzaev described it as "a landmark victory for Russian football."
Marie Antoinette was no mistress of the high seas, but she'd probably feel quite welcome this weekend in the blue waters of the eastern Caribbean.
To our knowledge, Roman Abramovich has never sung Oops!... I Did It Again at karaoke while wearing a Britney Spears wig. But it would be apt, since the Chelsea owner hastily and mistakenly sacked a manager for the third time in 17 months.
Few positions in world football carry with them such expectation of immediate success as the Stamford Bridge hotseat.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is spending more than £240 ($340) per minute on his London football club, Chelsea FC, fresh figures have revealed.
Michel Platini has been an eager advocate of the introduction of salary caps since his election as the president of UEFA. His idealism, as well as his power base among the smaller nations of Europe, makes him a natural supporter of a scheme that might reduce the power of the giant clubs of England, Italy and Spain, and allow many more teams a realistic chance of winning trophies.
Chelsea posted losses of £65.7 million ($93.91m) as they were left to count the cost of managerial departures.
AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has told Chelsea he will not leave the Serie A club to join the Blues next season.
Chelsea said on Tuesday that they had been given permission to talk with Guus Hiddink about taking charge at the Premier League club until the end of the season.
Brazilian legend Luiz Felipe Scolari has been sacked as manager by Chelsea after "deteriorating" results and performances, the Premier League club announced on their Web site on Monday.
Mega-rich Middle Eastern investors are the latest wave of businessmen being linked with some of the biggest clubs in English soccer.
The possible Manchester City purchase of Kaka for as much as £243 million ($363 million) has raised the bar when it comes to transfer fees in the international football market.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has lost his position at the top of football's rich list but David Beckham remains the wealthiest player.
The super-yachts of the super-rich could soon become super-green.
The swanky and exclusive super-yacht market is bracing itself for a storm -- off the water.
At 160 meters long, there is nothing quite as luxurious as the world's largest and most expensive super-yacht -- Dubai.
World Soccer's Kevin Palmer catches up with new Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Team Limey, along with everyone else over in Blightly, has been riding the rare wave of British sporting success that the Olympics have brought. We were brought crashing back to reality watching the drab 2-2 draw between England and the Czech Republic, and contemplated turning your favorite net-based soccer column into a fortnightly update on the happenings of the U.K. cycling, swimming and rowing scenes.
Winning is the key to financial success for the pro teams of Europe, and spending has become the key to winning. Thus are bubble economies made
AC Milan have denied reports claiming that big-spending Chelsea have made an offer for the Italian club's Brazilian superstar Kaka.
The Champions League final: dramatic, riveting, emotional. So many interwoven tales -- of heroism and euphoria, of loss and heartache. One hundred and twenty minutes of pulsating soccer followed by a heart-in-mouth penalty shootout to decide it all.
Two days, two modern art masterpieces, two record-breaking auction prices -- and one buyer: Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
updated: Mon May 19 2008 12:51:00
China begins three days of national mourning for victims of the earthquake.
Fabio Capello is out to prove that the post of England national-team manager is not the impossible job so many people claim it to be.
Dutchman Guus Hiddink has agreed to extend his stay as Russia coach by two years until after the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Fair warning: This is another José Mourinho and Chelsea column.
The soccer world was left spitting out its cornflakes when it switched on its TVs and radios on Thursday morning to hear the news that the Special One, José Mourinho, had left Chelsea. The enormity of the event was such that Mourinho's furrowed brow featured on the front page of most daily newspapers, and even provoked the British Prime Minister to comment.
I'm resisting the temptation to scream "I told you so" from London's highest rooftop, but the recent events at Chelsea had a certain inevitability about them.
Ego, power and politics. To understand Jose Mourinho's exit from Chelsea, it is necessary to embrace these three words and realize his dismissal was not a football decision.
The football world was rocked this week with the shock resignation on Wednesday evening of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
Jose Mourinho was rarely out of the headlines during his three-years in charge of big-spending Chelsea, bringing success on the field and courting controversy off it with his colorful and often eccentric press conferences.
Your views and comments on the world of football.
We're comfortably settling into our 30s here in Rankingsville, and we've long realized life is a little more complicated than orange slices at halftime of our AYSO games, microwave burritos for lunch and occasionally bumming $5 off our dads.
If any doubts over Ronaldinho's commitment to Barcelona still lingered, they ought to have been put to rest in the past few days.
In the world of 150-foot yachts, private helicopters and lightening fast speedboats, there is a new toy so exclusive that buyers are actually invoking non-disclosure agreements.
It began with Roman Abramovich and his purchase of Chelsea in 2003. It continued with the controversial acquisition of Manchester United by the Glazer family in '05.
The show of unity between Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and billionaire owner Roman Abramovich this week confirmed one of last season's worse-kept secrets -- that the pair were barely on speaking terms for the majority of the season, a falling-out that arguably cost the London club any hopes of winning the Premier League for a third season in succession.
Surely no group of consultants, assigned the task of designing an emblematic soccer manager for our ravenous media age, could have produced a marriage as perfect as the real-life soap opera that is Jos� Mourinho.
Last year, Michael Schumacher's numbers were positively Chamberlain-esque, a function of his longevity, ability and name recognition.
I finally have something in common with hundreds of thousands of Chelsea fans: I'm terribly disappointed in Andriy Shevchenko.
With the wave of overseas billionaires acquiring England's greatest football clubs, a new era is beginning.
The world's most expensive privately-owned yacht is being built in Genoa, Italy, the Sunday Telegraph reports. Known only as 'Hull 6154', the yacht measures 438ft, with seven decks, two helicopter pads and storage space for a submarine, and boasts a record-breaking price tag of £140 million. Its 60-strong crew will entertain guests in 15 state rooms fitted with the latest entertainment systems, gold and marble bathroom fittings and Jacuzzis. And if guests grow tired of the onboard delights, they can explore further afield using one of the yacht's five jet-skis or two speed boats.
English Premier League champions Chelsea recorded a pre-tax loss of 80.2 million pounds ($156.3 million) in the 2005/06 financial year, the club announced on Monday.
Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech is poised to make his long-awaited comeback from serious injury, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho has fueled speculation about his future at Chelsea with veiled criticism of the club's board for failing to underwrite moves for new players in the January transfer window.
Big-spending Chelsea will cut down on buying players in future years, according to billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has placed a bid for a stake in Rosneft, giving a boost to the Russian oil group's planned initial public offering, the Financial Times newspaper said on Saturday.
Guus Hiddink has revealed that he is almost certain to take over as coach of Russia after the World Cup finals.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has said he wants to turn the English football club into the most successful in the world.
It is being heralded as the biggest buyout in Russian corporate history.
Chelsea appear to be closer to signing Ghana midfielder Michael Essien after Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas revealed he had agreed to meet their owner Roman Abramovich next week.
Manchester United remain the richest club in football, as revenues from the game's top 20 teams heads towards the two billion pound ($3.78b) mark this year, a report showed Thursday.
Quadruple-chasing Chelsea have set an unwanted record off the pitch with record English football losses of 88 million pounds ($166 million) in 2003-04, their first season under the ownership of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea became the first club though to the knockout stage of the Champions league when they won 1-0 at CSKA Moscow.
Jose Mourinho vowed on Saturday that he would deliver the Premiership title to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich long before his long-term contract is up.
UEFA will examine Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's links with CSKA Moscow after the pair were drawn together in the first round of the Champions League.
Claudio Ranieri's agents says the Chelsea coach was misrepresented in an interview in which he criticized the club's owner Roman Abramovich.
David Beckham gave Real Madrid a scare ahead of Sunday's clash with Barcelona at the Bernabeu when he quit training with tendinitis in his left knee.
For once Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri could savor the headlines after his side eliminated London rivals Arsenal to reach the semifinals of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Russian champions CSKA Moscow signed a $54 million three-year sponsorship deal with oil giant Sibneft (SIBN.RTS) on Wednesday.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has insisted that he will see out his contract.
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