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Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed the new manager of German club Schalke. The former Chelsea and West Bromwich Albion manager replaced Jens Keller as the new boss of the 11th placed team in the German Bundesliga.
Former Stuttgart manager Keller was sacked following the Royal Blues’ dismal performances domestically, with the club recording just two wins out of 10 games.
Di Matteo returns to management
Di Matteo has had two managerial stints in England before being inducted as the Schalke manager. He had managed West Bromwich Albion, second league team MK Dons and Chelsea in the past.
Chelsea had appointed the 44-year-old as the caretaker manager in 2012 following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas and he then guided the Blues to win the Champions League and a FA cup.
He was also awarded with a permanent deal after his exploits with the club, but just after eight months was fired due to the team’s inconsistent performances. The Italian has been without a job since being shown the door by Chelsea in November 2012. Keller was replaced by Di Matteo after Schalke lost 2-1 to Hoffenheim last Saturday.
New challenge awaits
The Italian has limited top flight coaching experience but he has a wide range of experience in his playing days. Di Matteo played for FC Schaffhausen, Zurich and FC Aarau in Switzerland and then Lazio in Serie A. He had his most successful period when he played for Chelsea where he won six trophies before the Roman Abramovich period.
Schalke sports director Horst Heldt released a statement :
"With the change in coach we want to give a new impulse. We are absolutely convinced that Roberto Di Matteo can stabilise the team so as to reach its Bundesliga and Champions League goals. We are missing the necessary consistency to meet our targets. This is why we took this step. The performance of the team in the past few weeks has fluctuated."
Di Matteo has Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Sidney Sam and Julian Draxler in his squad and he will have to restore his team’s form before they face his former team Chelsea in a Champions League encounter.
Schalke are likely to battle for the second position in the group which also features Sporting Lisbon and Maribor. They have seven games to find their form and regroup before they face the London team at Veltins Arena on Nov.25.
