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1/8 of March
// Well-off Russian fans have celebrated Women's Day at the stand of Stamford Bridge stadium
Off side
A Champion League round of 16 between Chelsea and Barcelona became the most significant event in London on March 8, where International Women’s Day is not kept at all. On that occasion many well-to-do Russians took to the British capital their girlfriends and wives to show them Roman Abramovich’s team playing. Employees of Sibneft alone occupied two jets, with the total of 2,000 Russian vising the game. Evgenia Milova, Kommersant’s reporter, watched all of them.
The Kommersant’s reporter spotted the grandson of the first Russian president – Boris Yeltsin Jr., Russian Midland F1 team’s marketing director together with Shakhri Amirkhanova, editor-in-chief of the Russian edition of Harper’s Bazaar. The rumours of the couple's upcoming wedding have been flying about in Moscow for several months. Tatyana Dyachenko, the former president’s daughter, appeared with her husband Valentin Yumashev, former head of the presidential administration. Also present at the event were Basic Element Groups CEA Oleg Deripaska with his wife Polina and her friend Dasha Zhukova, Russian tennist player Marat Safin's girlfriend.
Even former PM Mikhail Kayanov was spotted at the match. Wearing dark grey coat he forced his way through the crowd with exceptional dignity. “He looks good,” the verdict was immediately passed by a group of Russian top models [it was Poytr Listermann, a model bussines producer, who made them familiar with football]. "We agree,” they added. What with or what to the girls agreed - one could only guess: they must have decided to support Mr. Kasyanov if he makes his mind to seek presidency in 2008. A young enthusiastic group of the Kazakh government officials came after the Russian ex-prime minister. Besides, Boris Jordan, Spoutnik Group president and the heir of the family empire Nathan Rothschild with his girlfriend Evgenia Slyusarenko could be seen in the crowd of fans.
Many important people preferred a lively atmosphere of the stadium to VIP boxes. The annual rent of the latter costs at least £1Mln, while the official price for a stand ticket is £48 (local profiteers sold them for £200). One could notice Chukotka’s first deputy governor Andrei Gorodilov together with several Sibneft top managers at the stand. The governor of Chukotka Roman Abramovich watched the game with his wife sitting in his personal Millenium Lounge box, gulping Jananese hors d'oeuvres which were supplied by London restaurant Sumosan between football attacks. Alexander Volkov, the proprietor of the restaurant, finally succeeded in forcing his Japanese rivals out of the Abramovich’s box.
Russian and British Chelsea fans triumphed when their team had scored three goals before the end of the first half. People jumped, hugged and kissed, both at stands and in boxes. This burst of joy was interrupted by the FIFA football player the year 2004, Barcelona’s half-back Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, aka Ronaldinho.
To Chelsea fans’s happiness Ronaldinho did not score more than two goals, and his team-mates did not perform any feats though they showed a spectaculous game, the expets said.
Chelsea won 4-4 which made it possible for the team to reach the Champions League semi-finals. Eminent guests left their boxes taking with them Swiss pens with the team’s logo. But while one stadium worker shouted calling Barcelona’s Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o “a monkey”, and some representatives of Chelsea tried to sort out their relationship with the coach of the Spanish team (UEFA will investigate this incident), somebody saw a beer bottle fly at Mr. Abramovich. This information was not officially confirmed, though.
Evgenia Milova
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 14, 2005
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