Chelsea's different managers in the Roman Abramovich era: How did they all fare?

Swansea City v Chelsea - Premier League
Is he on his way out?

May 3, 2015 - Jose Mourinho helps Chelsea win their 4th Premier League title after condemning Crystal Palace to a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Dec 17, 2015 - Seven months after helping them to their 4th Premier League title, Chelsea sack Jose Mourinho after a string of poor results, the embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Leicester City being the last straw.

May 12, 2017 - Antonio Conte leads Chelsea to their 5th Premier League in his very first season in charge.

Feb 6, 2018 - Conte dares Chelsea to sack him after and questions whether his players have the mentality to play for a big club after an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to high-flying Watford.

Déjà vu much for Chelsea fans? In this topsy-turvy league called the Premier League, team owners are notorious for growing impatient with their managers, particularly more if the team is vying to win the holy grail of English football - The Premier League trophy.

Leicester has done it in the past, so have Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City. However, one team which comes out right at the top of this list would be none other than current defending champions Chelsea.

After a shock 4-1 defeat away at Watford, is Antonio Conte on his way out, like the 11 different managers before him who unfortunately incurred the wrath of their Russian owner Roman Abramovich?

Check out this list below to see all the different managers who've been at the helm of Stamford Bridge since they first won the Premier League title in 2005.


#1 José Mourinho

Chelsea Training & Press Conference
José Mourinho helped Chelsea win their 1st Premier League title in 2005

Tenure: June 2, 2004 - September 19, 2007 (1205 days)

Matches: 185

Matches won: 124

Matches lost: 21

Win %: 67%

Honours: 2005 Football League Cup, 2005 Premier League, 2005 FA Community Shield, 2006 Premier League, 2007 Football League Cup, 2007 FA Cup

Proclaiming himself as 'The Special One', Mourinho lifted the league title (Chelsea's first in 50 years) and also the Football League Cup in his debut season.

In the years to follow, till his exit in 2007 by "mutual consent", Mourinho turned Chelsea into a powerhouse, winning the league title again, the Community Shield and two more domestic cups in three seasons at charge before friction between him and the owner Roman Abramovich led to his unceremonious exit on 19 September 2007.

However, Mourinho left as the most successful manager in Chelsea's history till 2007, by remaining undefeated in all home league games, turning Stamford Bridge into a fortress.

#2 Avram Grant

Chelsea Media Open Day
Avram Grant took Chelsea to the UEFA Champions League Final in 2008

Tenure: 20 September 2007 - 24 May 2008 (248 days)

Matches: 54

Matches won: 36

Matches lost: 5

Win %: 67%

Honours: -

After the discourteous exit of fan-favourite Jose Mourinho, Israeli Avram Grant faced a bitter and hostile welcome to the managerial seat at Stamford Bridge.

In his 248 days at the helm of the Chelsea ship, Avram Grant notably took the team to two cup finals, the League Cup final and the UEFA Champions League final in 2008. However, Chelsea ended up losing in both of them.

The first one, they lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and the second was the famous defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals Manchester United in Moscow, where John Terry woefully slipped while taking the final penalty to hand Manchester United their third European Cup title.

#3 Luiz Felipe Scolari

Chelsea Unveil Luiz Felipe Scolari as Their New Manager
Chelsea unveil Luiz Felipe Scolari as their new manager

Tenure: 1 July 2008 - 9 February 2009 (224 days)

Matches: 26

Matches won: 20

Matches lost: 5

Win %: 56%

Honours: -

Brazilian Scolari became the first World-Cup winning manager to take charge of a team in the Premier League. Just like his predecessor, Scolari also faced the wrath of the impatient Russian billionaire owner Abramovich.

After a frustrating 0-0 home draw against Hull City, Abramovich lost patience with his manager and mid-way through the season, Scolari was booted out, leading to the arrival of Dutchman Guus Hiddink.

#4 Guus Hiddink

Chelsea Press Conference
Guss Hiddink was signed to see off the remainder of the 2008-09 season

Tenure: 16 February 2009 - 30 May 2009 (104 days)

Matches: 22

Matches won: 16

Matches lost: 1

Win %: 73%

Honours: 2009 FA Cup

The enigmatic Dutchman took the reins of Chelsea FC after a disappointing half-season under Luiz Felipe Scolari and instantly became a fan-favourite. While simultaneously managing the Russian national team, Hiddink managed to win the 2009 FA Cup after beating Everton 2-1 at Wembley.

In spite of innumerous pleas by the fans and players alike to continue his stay at Chelsea, the Dutchman reiterated his wish to return to the Russian national team and left his post at the end of the season.

#5 Carlo Ancelotti

Wigan Athletic v Chelsea - Premier League
The Ancelotti led Chelsea team scored a record-breaking 103 goals Premier League title

Tenure: 1 July 2009 - 22 May 2011 (691 days)

Matches: 109

Matches won: 67

Matches lost: 22

Win %: 61%

Honours: 2009 FA Community Shield, 2010 Premier League, 2010 FA Cup

Following his first trophy, the Community Shield in 2009, Ancelotti finished the season on a high by leading Chelsea to their third Premier League title and also winning the 2009-10 FA Cup. His team shattered records by becoming the first ever side in the Premier League to score more than 100 goals in a season.

The next season saw Chelsea nearly drop down below Champions League positions only to somehow manage to finish second behind runaway leaders Manchester United. However, second-finishes was not what Abramovich signed Ancelotti for, as two hours after their final Premier League match of the season 2010-11, Ancelotti was abruptly shown the door.

#6 André Villas-Boas

Chelsea Training Session & Press Conference
Villas-Boas(R) was tipped to be the next Jose Mourinho, having been his understudy

Tenure: 22 June 2011 - 4 March 2012 (257 days)

Matches: 40

Matches won: 19

Matches lost: 10

Win %: 48%

Honours: -

Having been the understudy, Andre Villas-Boas was largely tipped to emulate the success of his fellow countryman Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. However, he fell way too short.

In his tumultuous charge of Chelsea for 257 days, Villas-Boas publicly lost the trust of the fans, the players and the owner alike. After disappointing defeats leading to Chelsea battling for Champions League qualification, Villas-Boas was finally relieved of his duties on March 4, 2012.

#7 Roberto Di Matteo

FC Bayern Muenchen v Chelsea FC - UEFA Champions League Final
Di Matteo led Chelsea to their first and only Champions League trophy

Tenure: 4 March 2012 - 21 November 2012 (263 days)

Matches: 42

Matches won: 24

Matches lost: 9

Win %: 57%

Honours: 2012 FA Cup, 2012 UEFA Champions League

There can be no better example of Roman Abramovich's impatient relationship with success than this. Signed as a caretaker manager after the brutal exit of Villa Boas, Di Matteo revamped the Chelsea squad to such an extent that they ended up winning the 2012 FA Cup and found themselves in the final of the holy grail of European football, the UEFA Champions League.

Unlike the previous time, Chelsea conveniently managed to brush off their opponents, the mighty Bayern Munich at their own home, Allianz Arena to win the first and the only Champions League trophy in their history.

Riding high on their European success, Chelsea appointed Di Matteo as a full-time manager at the start of next season only to sack him 5 months later, citing poor results as the reason. The highly controversial decision was slammed by pundits and fans alike.

#8 Rafael Benítez

SL Benfica v Chelsea FC - UEFA Europa League Final
The former Liverpool manager was heavily booed in spite of leading them to their only Europa League trophy

Tenure: 21 November 2012 - 27 May 2013 (188 days)

Matches: 48

Matches won: 28

Matches lost: 10

Win %: 58%

Honours: 2013 UEFA Europa League

It was considered a highly controversial signing considering Benitez's past with Chelsea's fierce rivals Liverpool and certain nasty comments that he had made about Chelsea while managing Liverpool.

From criticizing the Chelsea board of handing him the title of 'interim manager' to regular 'Rafa Out' placards showing up at every Chelsea match, Benitez decided to quit the team at the end of the season.

In his short reign, he still managed to take Chelsea to the semi-finals of FA Cup and helped them win their first ever UEFA Europa League trophy in 2013.

#9 José Mourinho

Chelsea v Sunderland - Premier League
The 'Special One' returned to his first love and won the title in his second season of return

Tenure: 3 June 2013 - 17 December 2015 (928 days)

Matches: 136

Matches won: 80

Matches lost: 27

Win %: 59%

Honours: 2015 Football League Cup, 2015 Premier League

The return of the 'Special One', only this time it was not a happy return. Mourinho's first season after the return was rendered trophy-less and a few loyalists also questioned his decision to sell their two-times consecutive Player of the Season, Juan Mata, to arch-rivals Manchester United.

He made up for it though in the next season, winning the League Cup and the Premier League title with three games to spare, along with the stellar signings of Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Thibaut Courtois.

The season after that turned out to be his last, as he lost the dressing room, especially the form of talisman Eden Hazard. On top of that, his off-field controversies, especially with team doctor Eva Carneiro, further fueled his exit.

On December 17, 2015, after a string of heavy defeats and Chelsea languishing closer than ever to the relegation zone, Jose Mourinho was fired from his post, thus ending the romance between him and Chelsea.

#10 Guus Hiddink

Chelsea Press Conference
Chelsea resigned Guus to manage the remainder of the season.

Tenure: 19 December 2015 - 16 May 2016 (150 days)

Matches: 27

Matches won: 10

Matches lost: 6

Win %: 37%

Honours: -

When Mourinho left Chelsea for the second time, the team was languishing at 16th, inches from the relegation zone. With the help of their old favourite Hiddink, Chelsea managed to climb 6 positions and finished the season 10th in the league.

Hiddink left at the end of the season but not before registering a new record for the longest unbeaten streak in the Premier League as a new manager after he guided Chelsea through 12 games without tasting defeat.

#11 Antonio Conte

West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea - Premier League
Chelsea signed former Italian manager and he got them instant success, by winning the league

Tenure: 3 July 2016 - present (584 days)

Matches: 86

Matches won: 59

Matches lost: 13

Win %: 69%

Honours: 2017 Premier League

The lively Italian who refuses to hide his emotions and has confessed to losing his voice by screaming during matches joined Chelsea as the first-team manager in 2016 and instantly connected with the fans.

In his very first season in charge, Conte led Chelsea, who finished 10th in the league the previous season under Mourinho and Hiddink, straight to the summit, winning them their 6th English title with two matches to spare.

However, in the current season, like every other Chelsea manager before him, Conte is under immense pressure after a string of poor results, the most recent one coming against Watford away.

His public spat with Mourinho who now manages rivals Manchester United and their former star Diego Costa along with his acrid criticism of the Chelsea board over summer signings has further given credence to his imminent dismissal from the post.

All that remains now is to see if Conte can really handle this pressure until the remainder of the season and manage to convince Abramovich to not sack him like all of his predecessors.

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