ADRIAN MUTU

In January, a string of rumors were linking Adrian Mutu with a return to his former club Fiorentina as the Romanian footballer had ended his contract with the Romanian club Petrolul Ploiesti and he was a free agent for a few months.

Adrian Mutu used to perform with the Fiorentina jersey a few years ago; it was with the Italian club where he really managed to stand out as he scored over 50 goals and made over 110 performances.

There was no doubt whatsoever that Mutu had an outstanding time in Italy as a player of Fiorentina and since he was a free agent, for a short period of time it was believed that Mutu was going to spend the last few years of his career in the club where he made a huge impact, in Fiorentina but those rumors did not last very long as Mutu later decided to retire from playing football at a competitive stage.

Mutu’s career in Fiorentina reached a downhill point after he was tested positive for doping as well as a series of injuries which kept him out of action for almost the entire season of 2009-10.

When his time with Fiorentina reached it’s end, he went on to join Cesena, Ajaccio and Petrolul Ploiesti but the highest point of his career was undoubtedly was spent with the Fiorentina jersey.

Chelsea was the only Premier League club that Adrian Mutu joined in his playing career and the English club has been attempting to seek compensation from the Romanian footballer since 2005 due to a ‘’breach of contract’’ which initiated after Mutu left Chelsea and went on to join Juventus. (more…)

Demba Ba’s 87^th minute was the last deciding element that Chelsea needed in order to knock out PSG from the Champions League in a forgetful match for Edinson Cavani.

The home leg match between Chelsea and PSG saw the French side snatching a 3-1 advantage and Eden Hazard’s injury was turning things even tougher for Jose Mourinho and his players as they now had to play at Stamford Bridge hoping to overcome their deficit and somehow find a place into the last 4 remaining teams in the Champions League.

Andre Schurrle came off of the bench at the 18^th minute as he had to replace Eden Hazard who was removed from the pitch due to an injury but the substitute player made almost an immediate impact as he scored the opening goal of the match only minutes after having entered the battle fray.

After receiving a pass from David Luiz, Schurrle slotted the ball past Salvatore Sirigu and gave hope to Chelsea as well as their fans that there still is a chance for them to get into the next stages of the Champions League as they only had 1 more goal left to score.

Edinson Cavani had a few golden opportunities to seal the game for PSG but it was a horrible night for the Uruguayan forward who had the chance to become the hero for his club but just couldn’t do it.

As the minutes ticked down PSG was trying to hold on to their lead and just when it seemed like the French squad was going to take home the victory, Demba Ba managed to touch a deflected shot from Azpilicueta and he diverted it past the reach of Sirigu as he last goal which Chelsea needed in order to knock out PSG from the European competition.

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Chelsea have approached Juventus in the hope of claiming compensation for the Romanian striker Adrian Mutu, who is still being pursued by the club. Former Juventus striker Adrian Mutu tested positive for cocaine back in 2004, which led to him being sacked by Chelsea. Since then, the Premier league outfit have been looking to get around £ 15 million in compensation from the striker. Mutu, though, has been evading the prospect of paying Chelsea this figure, which has been awarded by a tribunal recently.

The club has been locked in a nine-year battle with the player to recover this compensation. Mutu served a seven month ban from football as a result of testing positive for cocaine. After his suspension ended, he moved to Italian club Juventus. He has since represented several clubs including Fiorentina. Mutu was a £ 16 million signing from Parma, but he did not have a great impact at Chelsea even before testing positive for cocaine. The 34-year-old is currently playing for the French club, Ajaccio. He has stated that he will be retiring at the end of the season after failing to reproduce his best form in the early part of his career.

He has managed to score 10 goals in the French league this season.

“We are exercising our legal remedies to recover the amounts owed to us and we will continue to do so,” said a Chelsea spokesman. There have been several who have criticised the move by Chelsea claiming that it would almost destroy the future of Adrian Mutu. The striker has been appealing repeatedly in several courts stating that he does not have the amount of money demanded by Chelsea. Juventus made a profit of £ 6 million by selling the Romanian striker to Fiorentina, which is the reason behind Chelsea knocking on the doors of the Italian club.

English football fans will remember Adrian Mutu as one of the large influx of players who joined Chelsea during, Roman Abramovich’s spending spree after taking over the club in 2003. Mutu came to Chelsea with a £15.8 million price tag and many Chelsea fans failed to see the investment justified on the pitch.

After conflicts with then manger Jose Mouriniho, Mutu tested positive for cocaine and was sacked from the club in 2004 to serve a seven month ban from football and a court case which still continues to date, with a final appeal to the European court of justice to avoid a 17million euro damages payment to his old club, which would be the largest fine ever levied by FIFA.

Although he will be well known for this, few will know of his career post Chelsea. After arriving to England as a talent 24 year old with a bright future in European football, Mutu’s fall from grace is perhaps not dramatic as many may believe. Mutu has remained an important player for all the clubs he was played for. Both during a brief spell at Juventus and during his six year spell at Fiorentina, he has averaged over 13 goals a season including being named player of the season by ‘il calcio’ during the 2006-2007 Serie A season. Despite this in 2010 Mutu once again failed a doping test, punished with a length ban.

The true question surrounding Mutu is to what extent his potential to be one of Europe’s top strikers was destroyed by his personal life? It is clear his rise to stardom was shattered following his time at Chelsea and the lengthy court case that pursues him. In the end it is fair to say that Mutu will fall under the banner of the one of many sportsmen whose personal life destroyed their promising career.

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Regardless of everything that occurred at Chelsea, I ruddy adore Adrian Mutu. 1- Fiorentina, Juan left for dead by Mutu who finishes calmly. – by jamsiep (James Priest)