Chelsea look for hard man to restore order
Sunday, May 25th, 2008
Roman Abramovich has told Chelsea’s board to find a managerial hard man to replace the sacked Avram Grant. The club have yet to identify who will become their third manager in nine months, but they have put together a shortlist focusing on renowned disciplinarians, believed to include Guus Hiddink, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Marcello Lippi, with Mark Hughes the home-grown candidate.
Pini Zahavi, who for several years has acted as a buying agent for Chelsea, is pushing the credentials of his friend Sven-G?ran Eriksson, whom Abramovich has attempted to hire on two previous occasions, but the former England manager’s reputation for indulging his players would appear to rule him out this time. Frank Rijkaard and Roberto Mancini, who have won domestic titles with Barcelona and Inter Milan respectively, also fall into this category.
However, the intervention of Abramovich could change that. Hiddink has not signed a two-year contract extension that was agreed with the Russian FA in March and, as a guest at the Champions League final last week, told a packed Luzhniki Stadium in English that he still hoped to work in the Barclays Premier League.
Hiddink is perhaps the only candidate to fulfil all of the criteria that the Chelsea board have been given in their search for a manager. His track record, coaching skills and tactical acumen are impeccable he has taken four countries to leading finals and won the Champions League with PSV Eindhoven as is his English.
Tags: acumen, avram grant, barclays, barclays premier league, cate, champion, champions league, champions league final, chelsea, contract extension, disciplinarians, domestic titles, england manager, felipe scolari, frank rijkaard, hard man, hiddink, inter milan, luiz felipe scolari, luzhniki stadium, marcello lippi, mark hughes, premier league, roberto mancini, roman abramovich, shortlist, zahavi