Di Matteo dismissal: Statements from both club and manager

How cool is RDM?

Roman Abramovich sacked Roberto di Matteo before 9 o'clock this morning. A dip in Premier League form and the threat of an early Champions League exit was enough for the oligarch to operate the oft-used managerial trapdoor once more.

It's scant loyalty for extraordinary achievement; Di Matteo exits Chelsea with head held high after delivering Abramovich his Holy Grail; the Champions League title.

And in an equally eye-raising decision, Rafa Benitez, who rejected the chance to join Chelsea last season and unpopular with their fans, becomes interim boss to the end of the season.

Here's some newspeak on Di Matteo's departure: followed by Roberto's afterwards.

"Chelsea Football Club has parted company this morning with manager Roberto di Matteo.

The team's recent performances and results have not been good enough and the owner and the Board felt that a change was necessary now to keep the club moving in the right direction as we head into a vitally important part of the season.

Even neutral hearts skipped a beat at di Matteo's win

The club faces a difficult task ahead in qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League as well as maintaining a strong challenge for the top of the Premier League while competing in three other cup competitions. Our aim is to remain as competitive as possible and challenge strongly on all fronts.

The owner and the Board would like to thank Roberto for all he has done for the club since taking over in March. Roberto helped guide us to an historic Champions League victory and a seventh FA Cup. We will never forget the huge contribution he has made to this club's history and he will always be welcome at Stamford Bridge."

Di Matteo's statement:

Roberto Di Matteo said: "It was an honour for me to be appointed manager of a club that I loved playing for and one that is so close to my heart. I am extremely proud of the successes and trophies that we were able to bring to the club in recent months.

“Lifting Chelsea's first Champions League trophy, in Munich, was the best achievement in club history and without doubt the highlight of my career to date, both as a player and manager. It is a memory I will treasure for the rest of my life.

“I have a deep and unreserved passion for Chelsea Football Club and I would like to sincerely thank all of the staff, my players and of course the Chelsea fans, for their tremendous and unconditioned support in the intense time I have been the manager at the Bridge. I wish all of them every success for the rest of the season and beyond.”

League Managers Association CEO Richard Bevan, said: “The LMA shares Roberto’s disappointment following Chelsea's decision to relieve him of his managerial duties. What cannot be questioned is Roberto’s passion for the club and the honesty and integrity he has shown throughout his time in charge. His record of a Champions League title and FA Cup triumph, speaks for itself, and he can be incredibly proud of what he has achieved in such a short space of time.

"Roberto has received a huge number of messages of support from across the game; from other managers, coaches, administrators at other clubs, Chelsea supporters and the Chelsea players themselves. I know he is extremely appreciative of receiving so much support and solidarity, and it demonstrates the high regard and respect that those in the game have for Roberto.”

Italian Football Podcast: previewing EURO 2012 & Prandelli interview

On the eve of EURO 2012, I've made a 15-minute podcast on Italian football.

In the show, I talk to reporter Tommi Mattei from the Italian squad's base in Coverciano ahead of their departure to Poland and Ukraine, there's also an interview with Italy coach Cesare Prandelli as he outlines his hopes for the tournament and we gauge his opinion on Roberto di Matteo's remarkable Champions League win with Chelsea.

I'm hoping to get a sponsor from this so if you like it, please leave a comment and Share! Thanks.

listen to ‘Italian Football Podcast: previewing #euro2012, interview with Cesare Prandelli & talking #loscudetto & #cfc's #ucl win’ on Audioboo

There's no substitute for experience

The old boys are certainly ruling the roost as this season's trophies are dished out.

It's been a season of two halves for Chelsea. First up, Roman Abramovich got behind a coach barely older than Frank Lampard before getting back to what he knew. The talent to win cups was already at his disposal in the dressing room - not on the drawing board.

33-year-old Andre Villas-Boas was told to grasp the thirtysomething nettle and build a new team.

About-turn: the two faces of Chelsea's season.

But it turned out more revolution than evolution as the The Unspecial One was fired - and though Abramovich has firmly kicked the rebuilding can into the close-season for a squad overhaul, Chelsea suddenly find themselves in the FA Cup Final and at an advantage over mighty Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final.

And they couldn't have made it this far without Plan B: caretaker Roberto Di Matteo and his insistence on letting experience run games.



Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard have played with renewed freedom since Villa-Boas' departure, and granted licence to do so by Di Matteo. The Italian said as much after the Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Barcelona: experience won through. 

Still winning!

Are you wondering how Liverpool reached both domestic Cup Finals despite an appalling league season? It's Gerrard, Carragher and Kuyt's ability to win individual matches over 90 minutes.

Manchester United may be short of European aspiration, but how much has Fergie had to rely on Ryan Giggs and the returning Paul Scholes to see off the Noisy Neighbours in the title race? I'd say a lot.



Aye, I told you so!

Arsenal looked decidedly one-dimensional before the deadline arrivals of Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta, but it's carried them through a turbulent season to finish strongly. Arsene Wenger suspended his principles in the transfer market to bring in that vital ingredient that can only be gathered by years in the game.

This has been a season where the oldies have been decisive. Maybe Alan Hansen's famed "win nothing with kids" comment was made sixteen years too early.

Next Chelsea boss? It's got to be Roby!

Di Matteo replaced Villas-Boas as caretaker boss

The identity of Chelsea's next boss is staring out under the noses of the billionaire Russian and his tubby apparatchiks. Roberto Di Matteo's lifted the team out of lethargy to the outer perimeter of glory - and he'd be my choice for the hotseat.

Yet Roman Abramovich always opts for the coach with the prevailing wind of hype under his wings - and what does he do with this hot air? He acts on it. Granted the Siberian got it spectacularly right with Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti (and hopelessly wrong when he sacked them both) - but what of the rest?

Grandad Scolari was hired merely because he put England to the sword thrice with Brazil and Portugal. His command of English made Fabio Capello sound like Brian Blessed. Ray Wilkins fronted the media for most of his tenure and when the former Kuwait chief did plop out a few words, he'd not bothered to find out how Chelsea was pronounced!


But quarter-English Baron Villas-Boas, with a full eighteen months management under his belt (fresh from a league and Europa double with Porto), got the nodski because his youth and career path resembled that of the Special One.

Sleeping Booted. So inappropriate for Chelsea

Could Roman make the same mistake again and launch an audacious bid for Pep Guardiola and his like? If so, then taking the Barca boss out of his comfort zone offers no guarantee of Champions League glory down Fulham Broadway anytime soon.



No, Chelsea must appoint Roberto Di Matteo. Iconic scorer of famous Blues goals as a player, he's clearly a man who cares not just for the club but also for the playing group too. Recall his riproaring celebration at the final whistle of Chelsea's Champions League triumph over Napoli. He nearly decapitated Fernando Torres as he sauntered off the pitch, jumping on the Spaniard's back like he was playing the joker in It's a Knockout.

He even got a bear hug from Frank Lampard, a clinch not employed since proposing to Christine Bleakley in the summer.

"Sacked mid-season at West Bromwich Albion!", I hear the cries. That counts for little. The spin should be that he has managed in the Premier League more to the point.

And remember, Rafa Benitez was sacked by Real Valladolid and Osasuna before tasting European success at Valencia and Liverpool. Alex Ferguson was dismissed by St. Mirren in his second job. Whatever happened to him?

Di Matteo's not ruling himself either, although sensibly he only wants to talk about "winning games in a results business". A down-to-earth approach that puts him in good stead for getting the job permanently.

Fergie and Rafa were both sacked early in their careers

Di Matteo's also played recently. He has the respect of the senior players and critically, they play for him. The Chelsea board need to apply completely different criterion and one of them is to get off their high-horse and stop buying the equivalents of a Rolex Daytona.

Think Swatch, Roman! Give it to a man who'd live and breathe Chelsea. Give it to Roby.

Also on Soccermongery: Villas-Boas chewed and spat out by Chelsea and John Terry court verdict will prove a snapshot of our society's health.

  

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How the mouthy have fallen! The week in football

Turns out WBA did for both of them!

You'd be forgiven for thinking Arsenal's team was made up of eleven Englishmen after their heroic failure to reach the last eight of the Champions League the previous week. So it was left to Chelsea to fly the flag for the Premier League.

Up a slightly less steep hill than the Gunners but nevertheless still in a tight spot, Chelsea completed a remarkable fightback to overturn a 3-1 first leg deficit to win 4-1 over Napoli in extra time at the Bridge.

Since taking the reigns from the deposed Andre Villas Boas, caretaker Roberto di Matteo's galvanised the Blues and critically, it's been the Chelsea pensioners of Terry, Lampard and Drogba who steered them to glory with a goal apiece.

This poses a problem for the next Chelsea boss because even though the thirtysomething trio can still do it at the highest level, ultimately they need replacing. Like Villas-Boas tried before, the new man will have to grasp the nettle. 

Paternity leave beckons

But it should be Di Matteo: he's no ordinary stand-in coach even if he's not Roman Abramovich’s first choice. There’s been grandiose talk of a Mourinho return, Fabio Capello (he who stood down over John Terry), and even Pep Guardiola.

But for me Roby's the man: for a starter, he’s a Chelsea ledge. Scorer of famous goals in Cup Finals and more than served his apprenticeship as an English club manager, and you just can't create that exuberant celebration after beating Napoli that showed he cares so much for the club and the group of players.

He almost gave Fernando Torres whiplash, jumping on the Spaniard from just outside his peripheral vision. If he's overlooked in favour of a bigger star, then Roman’s Empire may just continue to go round in circles.

Special mention for Steven Gerrard: on his 400th appearance for Liverpool, he thumped a hat-trrick to flatten neighbours Everton which also marked David Moyes' decade in charge at Goodison. Moyes has guaranteed the Mersey Blues have continually punched above their weight, but this time it's back to the drawing board for those soft-centred Toffees!

The expectation at Anfield is unbearable. History is a huge burden on the back of this current crop especially as manager Kenny Dalglish was responsible for so much of it. How quickly the League Cup win's been forgotten. It's the Champions League that matters.

Meanwhile, if you're in need of entertainment at your football conference, look no further than Dave Richards after a day of embarrassment for the Premier League chairman.

I can’t believe Richards apologised for being a Yorkshireman for what he called his “broad comments” during a speech in Qatar.



What a complete dill!

Richards said, "England gave the world football. It gave the best legacy anyone could give. We gave them the game. We were its governance. We wrote the rules, designed the pitches and everything else. Then 50 years later some guy came along and said you're liars and they actually stole it. It was called Fifa. Fifty years later, another gang came along called Uefa and stole a bit more."

Even the Premier League distanced themselves from their chairman's comments, claiming the old boy wasn't in Qatar in an official capacity.

But event organisers didn’t need to pour cold water on Richards. He did that himself later by falling into a fountain during a trip round a museum! It’s lucky he was helped back to his feet in doublequick time as he might have been mistaken for one of the relics.

Taxi for Richards!