• Premier League

Di Matteo joins Villas-Boas' backroom team

ESPNsoccernet staff
June 29, 2011
Roberto di Matteo has been out of the game since being sacked by West Brom © Getty Images
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Roberto di Matteo has also been confirmed as new Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas' assistant after his No. 2 at FC Porto, Vitor Pereira, took the chance to take over the Portugese champions.

Di Matteo, who won five major trophies in a six-year spell as a player with Chelsea, has been in the running for several managerial jobs over the summer since being sacked by West Bromwich Albion but will make the surprising move away from frontline management despite having a successful time at the Hawthorns.

Jose Mario Rocha and Daniel Sousa are likely to move to England as physical fitness coach and chief opposition scout respectively.

There had been speculation that Ray Wilkins could be back, less than a year after being controversially replaced by Michael Emenalo. Long-serving first-team assistant coach Paul Clement is set to leave, along with fitness coach Glen Driscoll and club doctor Bryan English. Emenalo could take up a technical director role.

Villas-Boas told the press conference: "If you see the technical staff in front of me, and my appointment of Roberto, these are people who like the quality of the game and have a philosophy. It's not just a case of winning it's a case of flair.

"Everyone likes attacking football and the Premier League has a certain amount of goals in every game and it should be an entertaining game for the fans and that is what we will look to do.

"The expectations are for the maximum. We want to win trophies, that is the challenge we face day by day in any business. Everyone wants to be the best and win something and the challenge is to win as soon as possible and to build a platform for the future.

"This is nothing different from any other club, the challenge in your everyday life is to be successful in what you do and that is the challenge I face here.''

The Blues' opening pre-season friendly against Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands on July 9 has been cancelled at the request of the new manager, who wants more preparation time with the squad.

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