MUNICH—Chelsea will be planning for the future from an unexpected position of strength as champion of Europe following its dramatic upset victory over Bayern Munich.
Since Saturday, owner Roman Abramovich has the Champions League trophy he had craved since buying the club in 2003, plus a place in next season’s competition which is key to the club’s business plan and status among Europe’s elite teams.
Now the Russian billionaire and his advisors must decide if Chelsea’s immediate future includes new contracts for inspirational interim coach Roberto di Matteo and talismanic forward Didier Drogba.
The 34-year-old Drogba staked an emphatic claim to extend his eight-year stay by heading the 88th-minute goal which leveled a one-sided match at 1-1. He then followed up by stroking home the decisive penalty in the shootout at Bayern’s home stadium.
Di Matteo could hardly do more during his three-month audition since being promoted from assistant to fired coach Andre Villas-Boas, lifting the most coveted club trophy in world football, plus the FA Cup.
“Roberto is certainly in the mix and he’s done a great job for us and he has to have serious consideration,” Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said Sunday. “We’ve put (the appointment) aside for the last five to eight weeks. Now in the next few weeks we have to sit down, figure it out and do what’s best for Chelsea.”
The American official said chief executive Ron Gourlay will hold talks with Drogba’s agent this week.
“There’s a number of things we’ve got to look at and we’ll review where we are and take it from there, but it’s a phenomenal turnaround really,” Gourlay said.
Chelsea’s players were united in their praise for Drogba after another unlikely win to follow eliminating Barcelona in the semifinals.
“Of course, Didier is one of the best strikers in the world,” said forward Juan Mata, who had Chelsea’s opening penalty saved in the 4-3 shootout win. “He is very important for us, he scored a really important goal, so he deserves everything.”
Drogba’s wage demands would have been an expensive luxury had Chelsea lost and failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea earned around €60 million ($77 million) in prize money from competition organizer UEFA this season. Even a one-year exile in the second-tier Europa League would hit the club’s accounts as “financial fair play” rules limit wealthy owners’ ability to bail out clubs which spend big on transfers and salaries.
Abramovich has subsidized total losses of around 800 million pounds ($1.27 billion), but Chelsea must generate more income than has been possible at its 42,000-capacity Stamford Bridge stadium.
“They need to do two things in the short-term,” according to football finance analyst Kieron O’Connor, who writes the respected Swiss Ramble blog. “Improve commercial revenue through additional sponsorships; reduce the wage bill by offloading some of the more expensive players.
“Longer-term it’s all about the stadium, hence their interest in Battersea Power Station.”
Chelsea officials reportedly held recent meetings in Qatar to explore funding options, following a trail blazed by Barcelona which signed a five-year shirt sponsorship deal with the spectacularly wealthy Gulf emirate.
Abramovich’s admiration for Barcelona, on and off the field, hints at Chelsea’s next steps.
He is said to covet the Spanish club’s former coach Pep Guardiola, who has stepped away from football after shaping the most admired team of modern times.
Guardiola seems unlikely to be tempted back so soon, even with Chelsea entering the Champions League and FIFA’s Club World Cup for continental champions played in Japan in December.
Abramovich’s desire for expansive, exciting football explained the hiring of Villas-Boas and the 50 million pound (then $80 million) signing of Fernando Torres in January 2011. Torres was used as an impact substitute again in Munich, and Spanish sports daily AS reported Sunday that he is unhappy with his role.
The progressive young Portuguese coach unsettled Chelsea’s old guard, and dropped Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole for the season-changing defeat to Napoli in a last-16, first-leg match in February.
Villas-Boas was doomed by that 3-1 loss in Italy. Yet those same players helped Chelsea win the return 4-1 for Di Matteo, and guided the team to its Champions League title more through dogged resistance than flowing play.
Bayern had 35 shots compared to Chelsea’s nine, and 20 corners against just one, which Chelsea used to great effect. Mata’s delivery was powered into the net by Drogba.
It was a triumph in true Chelsea style, and could yet prove the end of an era.
Buck said the club intends to appoint a permanent manager prior to a pre-season tour of the United States that starts against Seattle Sounders on July 18.
Di Matteo spoke with Abramovich in Munich’s Allianz Arena but did not reveal details of the conversation.
“He looked very happy,” said the 41-year-old coach, who will likely land a top job at Chelsea or elsewhere. “Whatever the future holds for me I’d be happy, whatever the club decides I’ll respect it.”
