On This Day – 26th August
Hernan Crespo signed for Chelsea player on this day back in 2003, becoming the tenth signing in a busy summer at Stamford Bridge.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over the club on 1st July, buying Ken Bates’ share of the club and paying off all of the club’s debts. He wasted no time in getting his chequebook out for the manager Claudio Ranieri to buy the big names required to win Chelsea’s first league title since 1955.
Ranieri went out and spent £17 million on bringing Argentinian striker to take Chelsea’s summer spending spree to almost £100 million. English football had never seen such extravagant spending and many fans were unhappy about it. Chelsea were trying to buy the league title and traditionalists winced at the sums being spent as player after player came in through the doors at Stamford Bridge.
Crespo had been the world’s most expensive player just three years earlier when he moved from Parma to Lazio. He only stayed at the Rome club for two years before upping sticks and moving to Inter Milan. When Chelsea came calling, the Argentine moved for a third time in as many years.
In Crespo’s first season at Stamford Bridge, he scored 10 goals in 19 games, which was quite a prolific record. Claudio Ranieri was replaced by Jose Mourinho at the end of the season, who had just won the Champions League with Porto. The Portuguese manager sent Crespo out on loan to AC Milan after Didier Drogba was brought to the club from Marseille.
2005/06 was to be Crespo’s last season in South London and he only managed 13 goals in 42 games before moving back to his former club Inter Milan. He is now the manager of Defensa, a team that play in the top flight of his native Argentina.
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