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Andre Villas Boas has appointed former West Bromwich Albion boss Roberto Di Matteo as his assistant coach, reports said. The former Porto boss has had a sort of summer clearout ever since arriving at Stamford Bridge, letting go of several current members of the coaching staff and getting some fresh faces in.
Chelsea’s official website carried the following news piece which said-
Andre Villas-Boas this morning introduced his new backroom team, announcing the return to the club of Roberto Di Matteo as assistant first team coach.
Villas-Boas also brings with him to Stamford Bridge Jose Mario Rocha, a 48-year-old fitness expert who worked alongside the new manager at both his previous clubs, Porto and Academica.
Another new face will be Daniel Sousa, who will become head opposition scout, the role previously occupied by Villas-Boas in his first spell at the club between 2004 and 2007. Sousa also worked alongside Villas-Boas at each of his former clubs.
The 41 year old Di Matteo spent six years at Chelsea, signing from Lazio in 1996 and playing an important part in many Chelsea successes until his forced retirement from football due to recurring injuries in 2002.
He won two FA Cups with the Blues, and he even scored the opener in the FA Cup final against Middlesbrough in 1997, a record at just 42 seconds. He was lauded for his playing style when in charge of West Brom, and beat the likes of Arsenal away from home. His team was also the only one to rob points off Man United at Old Trafford in a 2-2 draw. But inconsistent results in the latter half of the season saw Di Matteo getting sacked and replaced by Roy Hodgson.
Di Matteo spent a year honing his coaching skills at MK Dons before his move to the Hawthorns. He converted them into a solid unit, guiding them to the League One Playoffs, but couldn’t translate that into promotion after a third placed finish.
On Di Matteo’s appointment, Villas-Boas had this to say-
“If you see the technical staff in front of me, and my appointment of Roberto, these are people who like the quality of the game and have a philosophy.
“It’s not just a case of winning it’s a case of flair.
“Everyone likes attacking football and the Premier League has a certain amount of goals in every game and it should be an entertaining game for the fans and that is what we will look to do.”
Reserve coach Steve Holland will also make the step up and work with the first team from now on, after guiding the Chelsea Reserves to the title last season.
