Roberto Di Matteo Appointed by Schalke to Replace Sacked Jens Keller

Former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed the new manager of Schalke, replacing the recently sacked Jens Keller at the Bundesliga club.

Schalke reported confirmation of the 44-year-old's arrival in Germany:

Di Matteo started his management career at Milton Keynes Dons, before moving to West Bromwich Albion and eventually Chelsea, where he won the club's first-ever Champions League trophy after taking over from Andre Villas-Boas in 2011.

The former Italian international has spent nearly two years away from the game after being sacked in November 2012 and heads to Gelsenkirchen with the tough task of turning 11th-placed Schalke back into the force which regularly qualifies for elite European competition.

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Football writer Andy Brassell provided comment on the situation:

Di Matteo certainly has a momentous challenge ahead of him. The Bundesliga is typically dominated by Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but as the latter continue to struggle, this season's championship is already a shoo-in to remain at the Allianz Arena for many.

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While the title race is predictable, Schalke should be contenders when competing for a top-four spot. The team finished third last season and haven't concluded a campaign outside the European places since 2010-11, when Ralf Rangnick led the side to a lowly 14th.

This season has started similarly to those dark times. Schalke have just two wins from seven league games, suffering defeats against Hannover, Borussia Monchengladbach and most recently, Hoffenheim. Keller's sacking followed Saturday's result but wasn't made official until Tuesday, reported by Reuters and via the Daily Mail.

The Schalke board wasted little time in finding their replacement. Many believe Di Matteo was treated unfairly at Chelsea—he was sacked after just eight months, despite winning the Champions League and FA Cup—with Rafa Benitez taking over as interim boss before Jose Mourinho's long-awaited return in 2013.

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BBC Sport's Phil McNulty believed Di Matteo was "keeping the seat warm" at the time, so it will be interesting to see what he can bring with time on his side.

His Champions League-winning side was built on a formidable defence—so memorably put into practice when Fernando Torres netted a last-minute sealer during the semi-final second-leg clash with Barcelona—as Di Matteo's teams typically withstand pressure before launching a counter.

Bundesliga specialist Clark Whitney believes he is a smart choice for Schalke, who have conceded 12 in seven domestic matches so far:

The side's European form has been a little more positive, however, as draws with Chelsea and Maribor mean Schalke are likely to battle it out for second in a group which also features Sporting Lisbon. Di Matteo will face his former Blues side at the Veltins Arena on Nov. 25, giving him seven games to find a stint of form before then.

Di Matteo's career-long managerial stats were posted by Sky Sports:

The new boss has never held a managerial post for longer than two years and faces the challenge of taking his first coaching job outside of England when he heads Germany.

He does have a wide range of continental experience from his playing days, though. Di Matteo represented FC Schaffhausen, Zurich and FC Aarau in Switzerland before moving to Serie A with Lazio. His most successful spell as a player came with Chelsea, where he picked up six trophies in as many years between 1996-2002, prior to the Roman Abramovich era.

Both Di Matteo and Schalke will look to learn from each other. He has proven resilient as a young manager, but may wish to employ a more attacking outlook against teams Schalke can reasonably hope to beat. His squad is full of quality—with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Sidney Sam and Julian Draxler leading the way—but Di Matteo will need time to plug the gaps left by Keller's overly prolonged reign.

He is capable of doing so, but will need to make an impression quickly, before the Bundesliga season slips away from a Die Knappen side who are playing well within their potential right now.