Russian Chelsea fans have lots to learn

When Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, thousands of opportunistic Russian football fans adopted the London side as their second, or even first, team.

One Russian internet forum for Chelsea fans has almost 18,000 members, and on Chelsea match days, blue-shirted Slavs can be found in Moscow's bars chanting "Chyelsi vperyod!" ("Come on Chelsea!")

Vadim, in relative terms, is an old stager. Walking yesterday on Red Square sporting a Chelsea shirt with Lampard, 8, on the back, he said he had been supporting Chelsea since 2004. "I never miss a game on television," he said. "I don't have a ticket to the final, but me and all my friends will be watching on TV."

But it seems that however passionate some Russian Chelsea fans might be, they still need a bit of cultural education before they can become fully qualified English football buffs.

On one website, a "lifelong" Chelsea fan reported that he was entering a work lottery to win a ticket but was completely stumped on one of the cryptic entry questions: "Which English team will 'never walk alone'?" The answer, of course, is Liverpool, who were eliminated from the Champions League in the semi-finals.

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