Chelsea reward Di Matteo's success with a two-year contract

“Roberto’s quality was clear for all to see when he galvanized the squad last season and helped the club make history, and the owner and the board are very pleased he will be continuing his good work.”

These words from Ron Gourlay, Chelsea chief executive, finally put to rest the speculation as to whether Roman Abramovich would be able to persuade Pep Guardiola to curtail his break from football. Many Chelsea fans and players thought it would be unfair to the 42-year old Italian if he was replaced after last season, and for the young Italian manager it means that he can now consider looking for a more permanent property in Chelsea!

Di Matteo replaced Villas-Boas with the team in turmoil. Their form was awful and the dressing room was demoralized. He made the players into a team again and lost just three of his 21 games. His tactics against Barcelona and Bayern Munich were perfect and Chelsea enjoyed a historic Champion’s league triumph to add to another FA cup.

He will have a much stronger squad this season after Abramovich has decided to invest heavily again, and we will be challenging for the Premier league title again. It was thought that he may be offered just one year, while Abramovich waited for Guardiola, but Chelsea have shown more confidence in his abilities. Rivals beware!