Premier Is a Three-for-All
Even though more than four months of the season remain, the 20-team English Premier League already has simplified itself into a three- way race.
Defending champion Manchester United, former champion Arsenal and the second-best team money can buy, Chelsea, have opened a sizable 13-point gap over the rest of the field and it appears almost certain the title will be won by one of the three.
Chelsea’s owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, has spent more than $160 million on players since July and only Spanish champion Real Madrid can boast of having spent as liberally over the past few seasons.
So far, what it has earned Chelsea, which has not won the title since 1955, is a tie for second place with Arsenal, with each team only one point behind leader Manchester United going into today’s matches.
“The title could be won by a single point, or even a single goal,” said Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger, whose team is unbeaten in 18 games heading into a home match against last-place Wolverhampton Wanderers. “Every dropped point punishes us very hard.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea, which plays at Charlton, is said to making a third bid to buy Valencia’s Argentine defender Roberto Ayala. So far, Abramovich has offered $16.1 million, a figure that would wipe out 10% of the Spanish club’s debts, but has twice been rebuffed.
Chelsea is coming off a 1-0 victory over Fulham in a game that saw one of Abramovich’s high-priced buys, Irish international winger Damien Duff, dislocate his shoulder. Duff will be sidelined up to six weeks.
Manchester United plays host to Everton today as it tries to fend off the only two realistic challengers for its title.
Reyna’s Return
After six weeks on the bench, midfielder Claudio Reyna, captain of the United States 2002 World Cup team, has returned to the starting lineup for Manchester City, which plays Birmingham City on the road today.
“It hasn’t been easy to miss the last few games,” Reyna said. “No one wants to sit on the sidelines. But I never thought there was a reason to go banging [Coach Kevin Keegan’s] door down.”
Georgia Kidnapping
Defender Kakha Kaladze, of European champion AC Milan, said Thursday during a visit to Tbilisi, Georgia, that government authorities there are “90%” certain that his kidnapped brother, Levan Kaladze, is still alive and might be released soon.
Levan Kaladze, a university student, was kidnapped in May 2001 and the family paid $200,000 ransom for his release last spring and agreed to pay another $100,000 if he was released in 21 days, but he was not freed.
Mutu Takes to the Air
Adrian Mutu celebrated in style as he received the award as Romania’s player of the year.
The forward chartered a plane to fly himself and four Chelsea teammates, Marcel Desailly, Mario Melchiot, Claude Makelele and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, from London to Bucharest.
“I am very proud of this award, which is more important for me than the prize for [being named] the best foreign player in the Italian league, which I received at the end of last season [while with Parma].”
Quick Passes
Columbus Crew and U.S. national team striker Brian McBride will not be joining U.S. teammate Brad Friedel at Blackburn Rovers because Major League Soccer is asking too much money for McBride, Blackburn’s Coach, Graeme Souness, told an English tabloid, the Sun.... Fulham has rejected Manchester United’s reported $9.7-million offer for French forward Louis Saha, but Liverpool is said to be prepared to offer double that amount for the 25-year-old, British newspapers reported. Fulham Coach Chris Coleman was quoted as saying Saha would leave “over my dead body.” ... Midfielder Stilian Petrov, who helped Celtic of Scotland reach the final of the UEFA Cup and helped his country qualify for the European championship in Portugal, has been named Bulgaria’s player of the year.
Times wires services contributed to this report.
