It was the season that Juan Sebastián Verón arrived from Manchester United for £15 million and played seven league matches before his removal to Inter Milan the next summer. It was the year Alexei Smertin was signed and instantly loaned to Portsmouth. Chelsea finished second in the Premiership yet Claudio Ranieri, the head coach, was sacked. It was also the year that a £16.8 million international striker on £94,000 a week drifted unchecked towards misery in his personal and professional life.

Hernán Crespo scored ten goals in 13 league starts for Chelsea in the 2003-04 season but was sent to AC Milan on loan last July and called a failure. He was: he failed to assimilate himself into life at a new club and a new country, he failed to live up to expectations on the pitch and he failed to treat José Mourinho with respect by not turning up to a breakfast meeting on the opening day of pre-season training.

It was not all his fault: he would have liked a little help and understanding. “My first experience at Chelsea was difficult because it was the first year of Abramovich’s ownership and everything changed and nobody knew what the position was,” he said. “Nobody asked me, nobody helped me. Nobody told me if it was better to live near Chelsea or near the training ground. I felt alone. When you change country, when you don ’t speak the language and you feel alone it’s the worst thing.

“That season I had a lot of injuries. When your mind is clear you feel well. Last year I didn’t miss one game, one training session. Why? Because my mind is clear. If your mind is clear you do everything at a higher level. You need the little things to make a difference.”

Small problems — sorting out his home, finding places to eat — added to bigger ones. His wife, Alessia, missed Italy and she was among guests threatened by a machete-wielding burglar at Verón’s London house. “I was not depressed but when I finished the season I seriously considered leaving football,” the 30-year-old said. “I spoke with Argentina’s trainer, I said I don’t want to go to the Copa America because I need to feel again the passion to play — because I don’t play for the money, I play for the passion.

“Now I feel everything’s more balanced, you feel confident, it’s a strong group. But I come here to learn. I want to learn the language — but somebody help me, it’s so difficult! Now I try again, I feel better.”

Mourinho met Crespo in Sardinia this summer and they reached an accord. There was little option but to welcome him back, with Abramovich refusing to sanction Milan’s request for another year’s loan and Chelsea unable to buy the world-class forward they looked for. Crespo’s frequent public pleas to stay at the San Siro proved fruitless.

“You don’t have a choice — if the owner wants you, the trainer wants you, you come,” he said. “They took a decision, I’m a professional and I do it. The desire from Chelsea for me to come back was more strong than Milan (to stay). The last time it was different.”

Still, Mourinho deserves credit for his role in restructuring the club on and off the pitch, providing a context in which Crespo believes he has the potential to be settled and successful. “Everything’s changed. He didn’t need a lot of words. I feel the manager has confidence in me,” he said. “My team-mates say they are very happy that I’m here. I feel good, I want to do something special but you need patience.”

Crespo even talked with enthusiasm about winning a trophy such as the Carling Cup. The days at Chelsea may still be strange. At least, two years after the shake-up that attracted then alienated Crespo, the club are more settled as he tries to embrace his second chance.

• Lyons last night confirmed that they want to take one of Chelsea's first team squad as part payment in any deal for Michael Essien. the Lyons president, Jean-Michel Aulas, hinted that they would seek a direct replacement for the Ghanaian midfield player.

  GIVE IT A SHOT - OTHER JOBS HE MIGHT TRY

  So Hernán Crespo was really on the point of giving up the game, the money and the glamour? Bill Edgar suggests some alternative lifestyles

  Trappist monk: A simple transition. Not only are footballers capable of saying nothing, they can even do so while talking to the media. Simply keeping their mouths shut would be a doddle

  Historian: This would allow them to discover that the Alamo is not the only military event that bears comparison with one team attacking the other incessantly for half an hour

  Football agent: Rather than earn a fortune by running around, they could do so by sitting at a desk and watching a client running around on their behalf instead

  Deep-sea diving: With an ability to plunge in the penalty area without wearing specialist equipment, footballers would surely thrive when diving with the aid of flippers

  Accountancy: Having earned a fortune, they can spend the rest of their lives trying to work out how best to invest it

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