Chelsea FC: Roberto Di Matteo Could Be the Unforeseen Messiah

In the aftermath of his side’s FA Cup triumph, resounding calls are now being echoed throughout the football community for Roberto Di Matteo to be appointed permanent manager of Chelsea. The question is: why has it taken quite this long?

The Blues are also set to go up against Bayern Munich in the final of this season’s Champions League, helping the Italian stake his claim on the position.

Don’t misconstrue these views, however. There are those out there who would still seek the services of big names such as Pep Guardiola and Rafa Benitez before they hand the permanent role to Di Matteo, but those are the same voices who were at the forefront of the Andre Villas-Boas fanfare back in June of last year.

After achieving the feats he did at Porto, it was easy to get sucked into the AVB vacuum, believing that the youth (in the managing world) would be the José Mourinho prodigy that many were touting him to be. However, nine months and just 27 Premier League matches later, the Portuguese infamously found himself out in the cold after a miserable spell at the helm of the West London club.

Villas-Boas cost Chelsea an astounding £13.5 million just to come to the club, and while that may not weigh heavy on the likes of Roman Abramovich, the tycoon was more than fortunate that a man like Roberto Di Matteo sat readily on his doorstep.

From League 1 MK Dons to Championship West Bromwich Albion, Di Matteo may not have ascended the management ladder in as explosive a manner as his Chelsea predecessor, but had you offered some supporters of the club their current achievements at the turn of the year, they may have bitten your hand off.

Granted, the Stamford Bridge side haven’t performed as to specification in regards to the league and currently find themselves sitting in sixth position.

With the re-emergence of Newcastle United as an English powerhouse, the upper echelon of the Premier League has expanded by one, and with Tottenham Hotspur entering the fray in recent seasons, the battle for European football is tighter than ever.

Clinching the FA Cup means that Di Matteo has already assured that his team will feature in the Europa League next campaign and winning their first Champions League would ensure that the Italian goes down in the club’s history books.

The humdrum and business-like manner of an elite league such as England’s top flight means that owners rarely settle for anything less than 100 percent. But with the ascension of so many teams around them, the Blues boardroom need to realize that throwing money at the problem doesn’t necessarily ensure results.

Villas-Boas’ arrival at Stamford Bridge was a controversial one given his massive price tag, and when compared to Di Matteo, one would think that the big-money option would come up with the goods. One would be wrong.

This mentality is correlated in the way we buy players. And Chelsea and Newcastle will prove perfect guinea pigs in this scenario also.

The Magpies have spent pennies over the past year when put up against the Blues’ outgoings. Nobody needs to profess the ineffectiveness of Fernando Torres since his £50 million switch, and no matter how much he may have improved lately, the £10 million signature of Papiss Demba Cissé looks a great deal more valuable as his team sit above Chelsea in the league standings.

And the list doesn’t stop there.

Demba Ba, who arrived on Tyneside as a free transfer, could be listed as a more successful signing than David Luiz. Or might we suggest that Yohan Cabaye was a far better purchase than Raul Meireles?

The point is that just because a manger/player hasn’t done the job on the biggest stage of them all yet does not mean that they are completely and utterly incapable of doing so. After all, how is that to be tested unless they are given the chance in the first place?

Di Matteo brought West Bromwich Albion back into the Premier League two season ago and his exit from the club was a much-talked-about topic with a large portion of the club’s support still backing him at the time of his dismissal. Sure, it’s not quite Porto, but it would be wrong to gauge the extent of a manager’s ability based solely on where he has been and not where he could be going.

After the season’s each of them have had, many a fan would cheer the likes of Paul Lambert (Norwich), Brendan Rodgers (Swansea), David Moyes (Everton) or Roberto Martinez (Wigan) if they were to be offered a shot at a top European side, as they have all shown more than their share of managing majesty at times during this season.

Whether it be down to tactics, squad selection or just a vast improvement in man-management, Roberto Di Matteo looks to have certainly made a massive impact on the playing staff at Chelsea and done something Andre Villas-Boas could not. There’s no question that the latter is still a fantastic manager after what he achieved in his native Primeira Liga, but this particular job seems to suit the man who occupies it as we speak.

As the famous saying goes: If something isn’t broke, why fix it?

Speaking after the FA Cup final victory over Liverpool, Robert Di Matteo—or the "new, new Special One" as I like to call him—said that he was "relaxed" over his position at Chelsea and that it wasn’t an issue for him.

Kenny Dalglish boasts all the credentials and legend status at the side he governs, yet hasn’t succeeded this term. Fabio Capello’s trophy cabinet was bulging before he landed the England job but he flopped in his international role. The list of management failures could go on and on.

For such a successful team, Chelsea were infinitely unfortunate that their seemingly risk-free gamble on Andre Villas-Boas didn’t work out but for an assistant manager (a free replacement at that) to come in and do so much in the space of two months is incredibly lucky.

He may not have brought any new faces in or pushed any to the wayside, but the former Blues hitman has breathed a new lease of life into a fatigued-looking roster.

At the end of the day, the executives behind the scenes wield the power in deciding what sort of part their "interim first-team coach" plays in the club’s future, but it would be senseless business for the club to let their helmsman go simply because "Roberto Di Matteo" isn’t quite as renowned as they might hope for.

In 10 years' time, people may look back at the eight managers Chelsea had between the years of 2012 and 2022 and rue the day that their boardroom never had the humility to hire a "small name" who was doing the job.

Either that, or they look to their current manager, Roberto Di Matteo, who celebrates a decade anniversary at the head of the side and are grateful for the best accident that ever happened to them starting with the 2011-12 season, Champions League win or not.