Chelsea's 'other' Special One

If a list was made of all the things under the footballing spotlight on a consistent basis, Chelsea, their managerial merry-go-round and Roman Abrahimovic would feature prominently for sure. After all, Chelsea’s power dynamics are no secret to the footballing fraternity. If the hierarchy begins with Roman Abrahimovic’s ruthless dictation of administrative duties, it continues along into the hands of the executive board comprising of names like technical director Michael Emenalo and chief executive Ron Gourlay, ending with the player power vested in the hands of club captain John Terry and other significant figures in the dressing room.

Ironically, as the aforementioned elements featured frequently in the media over the years, one of Chelsea’s most powerful administrative figures was rising to prominence ever so quietly, without the usual media furore, which has become quite mainstream at the club. And as the media lapped up Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge in his first press conference in charge, the person who made it possible stood elusively behind chairman Bruce Buck.

Marina Granovskaia was officially inducted into the Chelsea executive board on the 14^th of June this year, but her ties with Chelsea and Abrahimovic go back a long way. The multilingual Russian-Canadian graduated from Moscow State University in 1997 and immediately began working in Sibneft oil company, which was then owned by Abrahimovic. After the Russian oligarch bought Chelsea in 2003, Granovskaia moved to London to assist him in managing various assets as his de facto chief of staff. Her involvement with Chelsea came about in 2010, which was when she started attending board meetings as Abrahimovic’s direct representative.

It was clear then that Granovskaia was Abrahimovic’s right hand woman, acting not only as a transfer broker but also as a key negotiating channel between the players and Abrahimovic, as well as a senior advisor to the man himself. It is widely claimed that Granovskaia played a pivotal role in the hiring and firing of managers in the last two years, the prolonged chase of Pep Guardiola as well as in signing Fernando Torres from Liverpool and David Luiz from Benfica. So strong is Abrahimovic’s faith in her abilities, that when he discovered that Mourinho wanted to leave Madrid and that PSG were hot on his heels, he sent Granovskaia to personally convince the Special One to return. Once again, Chelsea’s ‘other’ Special One had succeeded.

Post 2010, she has been spotted multiple times at Chelsea’s training ground complex in Cobham as well as the club’s offices at Stamford Bridge. And after 16 years of service under Abrahimovic, Granovskaia’s surge to power was rubber stamped by an elevation to Chelsea’s executive board. By doing so, Granovskaia becomes Chelsea’s first ever female board member, joining a unique group of women holding powerful positions in the world of football, including Karren Brady (West Ham VP, termed the ‘First Lady of football’) and Carolyn Radford (Manford Town’s chief executive, youngest ever woman to become the CEO of a football club.)

On a personal level, Granovskaia is similar to the man she works under, preferring to keep away from the media’s glare. Even after her promotion was made official, Chelsea’s official website has only put up 6 lines in her profile description. Bubker Belkhit, head chef at London/Moscow based restaurant chain Sumosan, told the Telegraph Sport that Granovskaia is “an amazing person”.

He added,”he’s so professional, she knows what she wants. She’s on top of any small thing to the biggest thing. Any small problem I contact her with, she deals with it on top of everything else she has on her shoulders.”

Although Marina Granovskaia’s appointment for the Blues doesn’t change much in terms of administrative structure, her added involvement will bode well in terms of transfer pursuits as well as better and more efficient communication channels at the club. With the Special One’s appointment assuring that the limelight will be focused elsewhere, Chelsea’s ‘other’ Special One will definitely be working as industriously behind the scenes.