MUNICH, GERMANY - MAY 18: In this handout image provided by UEFA, interim manager Roberto Di Matteo smiles during the Chelsea press conference, ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final between FC Bayern Muenchen and Chelsea at the Fuflball Arena München on May 18, 2012 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Handout/UEFA via Getty Images)
And the managerial hunt is officially over - Chelsea, as expected, end up with Roberto di Matteo as what they're now calling 'manager and first team coach'. We've been waiting on news of this all week, having been told to expect a one-year contract by virtually every English media outlet, and although they got the big-picture stuff right, it turns out that di Matteo will actually be here for two years. Or being paid for two years, I guess.
It would have been very difficult for Chelsea not to give di Matteo the job, of course. Unless a known world-class manager fell into their laps, it would have been a little bit silly to replace a coach who is beloved by the players and won the club their first-even European Cup. Could we do better? Almost certainly, but di Matteo looks like he's good enough, won't be too expensive and presumably won't oversee an Andre Villas-Boasesque dressing room implosion.
Yeah, a one-year deal would have been better, but two years isn't awful, and if that's what we needed to get him to sign, so be it. Now back to player transfers.


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