Di Matteo confirmed as Chelsea boss
442 Staff - Wednesday 13 June 2012, 17:16
Roberto Di Matteo gained his
reward for steering Chelsea to Champions League and FA Cup glory
last season when he was appointed manager on a permanent basis
on Wednesday.
The former Italy midfielder had signed a two-year contract
with the Londoners, the European champions said on their website.
Di Matteo, 42, is the eighth manager to have worked under
Roman Abramovich since the Russian billionaire bought the
Premier League club in 2003, following Claudio Ranieri, Jose
Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo
Ancelotti and Andre Villas-Boas.
"Roberto's quality was clear for all to see when he
galvanised the squad last season and helped the club make
history, and the owner and board are very pleased he will be
continuing his good work," Chelsea's chief executive Ron Gourlay
said on the website.
"We all believed he was a young coach with much to offer
when we first asked him to take charge of team affairs in March
and the manner in which he worked with us, the players and all
the staff, and the success that followed, made him the clear
choice when it came to selecting the person to take us forward
in the seasons to come."
In March, Di Matteo was promoted from assistant coach to
interim manager with the team in turmoil following the sacking
of Portuguese Villas-Boas.
REMARKABLE TURNAROUND
The former Chelsea player sparked a remarkable turnaround in
the club's fortunes in the final two months of the campaign.
Unifying a dressing room of players who appeared to have
lost their way under Villas-Boas, Di Matteo guided the team to
an against-the-odds triumph over favourites Barcelona in the
semi-finals of the Champions League.
Then, on May 19, Chelsea lifted the European Cup for the
first time after beating Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout in
the final at the German club's Allianz Arena.
Two weeks earlier Di Matteo's side had beaten Liverpool 2-1
in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
"I'm obviously delighted to have been appointed as manager
and first-team coach. We all achieved incredible success last
season that made history for this great club," Di Matteo said.
"Our aim is to continue building on that and I'm already
planning and looking forward to the squad's return for
pre-season."
The Italian won the FA Cup as a player with Chelsea in 1997
and 2000, scoring in both finals against Middlesbrough and Aston
Villa respectively.
Di Matteo, a great favourite of the fans, was also on target
in the 1998 League Cup final win over Middlesbrough.
He suffered a triple leg fracture in a UEFA Cup tie in
September 2000 and, after 18 months of battling against the
injury, was forced to retire as a player at the age of 31.