Since he took over Chelsea in 2003, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has spent nearly $400 million on new players and has achieved what most people thought impossible: virtually instant success. Chelsea will shortly become the new champions of England – for the first time since 1955 – and they have reached the semifinals of the European Champions League, where they will face Liverpool tomorrow.

The club has become, almost overnight, one of the European superpowers, moving in alongside Real Madrid, Manchester United, AC Milan, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich – teams that have taken decades to establish themselves among the sport’s leaders. Of course, it could all be a flash in the pan, a repeat of what happened when steel millionaire Jack Walker bankrolled the Blackburn Rovers to the 1995 title – the club’s first championship since 1914. The glory withered immediately, and Blackburn sank back to its former average-club status.

But no one sees that happening to Chelsea, not least because Abramovich’s riches appear almost limitless. Named last week by Forbes magazine as Russia’s richest man, Abramovich, who controls the oil company Sibneft, sits atop a fortune estimated at $14.7 billion. His income last year was $2.2 billion, a figure that makes his spending on Chelsea look almost niggardly.

He has spent wisely, though. Not with the abandon of a spree, but with the measured intelligence of an investment. The canniest decision was to bring in Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho to replace the Italian Claudio Ranieri at the beginning of the current season.

If a coach is as good as his last game, then Mourinho’s credentials were unmatchable. In 2003 he led his unfancied Porto team to victory in the UEFA Cup; in 2004 they took Europe’s top title, the Champions League. Right after that triumph, Mourinho moved to London, taking with him two of his Porto defenders, Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho, at a cost to Chelsea of $60 million. A further $77.5 million was spent on the Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech, Dutch winger Arjen Robben, and striker Didier Drogba from Ivory Coast.

Mourinho knew exactly which players he wanted and what sort of soccer they should play. The Mourinho style is a rather slippery item, amoeboid in its ability to change with circumstances and opponents, but inflexible in its fast pace, its relentless work rate, its determination, and its ability to score the vital goals.

If none of that sounds particularly attractive, so be it. In truth, Chelsea is not the most pleasing team to watch. The team lacks artistry and finesse; where one might expect those to reside – in midfield – other qualities dominate: the aggressiveness and urgency of Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele, the sheer athleticism of Eidur Gudjohnsen. Even Robben, the most skilled of the Chelsea players, is hardly a smooth, elegant mover. There is something stiff, almost Pinocchio-like in his wonderfully baffling moves. Damien Duff is another example of skill combined with never-say-die energy, while his forward partner Drogba has speed, darting runs, deadly finishing and – of course – physical strength.

One of Mourinho’s most impressive achievements has been to adapt immediately to the English soccer culture. The trio who make up the spine of his team are Drogba, the African who has added the essential English quality of winning the ball in the air to his formidable on-the-ground skills; Lampard, an English midfielder in the classic mold, a strong ball-winner, a good passer, and a goalscorer; and center back John Terry, the classic English defender, technically limited but good in the air and strong in the tackle.

The 6-foot-1-inch 195-pound Terry, the team captain, has just been voted England’s Player of the Year. His play neatly symbolizes matters: There is not a great deal of subtlety about him, or about Mourinho’s team. The overall impression is of speed, power, and efficiency. A team that makes few mistakes, but a team that pounces instantly and ruthlessly on its opponents’ errors.

True, Chelsea has had its share of luck in the Champions league, where Bayern Munich’s Brazilian defender Lucio twice deflected long range shots past his own goalkeeper in their quarterfinal matchup. Against Barcelona in the previous round, Chelsea’s winning goal was greatly tainted by a foul on the Barcelona ‘keeper that referee Pierluigi Collina failed to see.

On that occasion, Mourinho had no comments on the refereeing. But his remarks after the first leg of the Barcelona tie – in which he accused Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard of entering referee Anders Frisk’s locker room at half time – caused no end of trouble. After Frisk received a torrent of abusive and threatening e-mails and announced his retirement from the game, UEFA found Mourinho guilty of making false declarations and suspended him for the two games against Bayern Munich. Though Mourinho later admitted he had not personally seen Rijkaard go into the locker room, no apology has come from the Chelsea coach.

Probably that was too much to hope for from a man who has frequently been described as arrogant. “I am the special one,” was his matter-of-fact statement to the press when he arrived in England. In fact, far from being repentant, Mourinho managed to turn the Frisk incident to his advantage, claiming that Chelsea had not fully backed him up against UEFA, and letting it be known that he was unhappy. Chelsea rushed to placate him with a new contract and a $1.8 million raise that took his salary up to $9 million, over twice what Sven Goran Ericksson gets for coaching the England national team.

Arrogance seems to be in the air at the new Chelsea. This season the club has twice been accused of illegally meeting with players belonging to other clubs. For the other Premier League clubs – indeed, for all of Europe’s clubs – the alarming reality is that Abramovich’s millions have destabilized the player market. Chelsea is now regularly rumored to be “interested in” this or that top player.

One such player is Steven Gerrard – who will captain Liverpool tomorrow against Chelsea in the Champions League. Chelsea has never confirmed or denied its interest in Gerrard, leaving Liverpool to cope with the unsettling possibility that its key player may be thinking of defecting.

Tomorrow’s game features two English teams, but it is hardly an all-English affair; the expected starting lineups will see only four English players on the field, two on each side. Liverpool, under its Spanish coach Rafael Benitez, has had a patchy Premier League season, but has looked a much better team in its Champions League games. The teams have met twice this season in the Premier League, with Chelsea winning both games 1-0. But the Londoners will be looking for a healthier score line to take up to Anfield for the return leg next week.