ContinueChelsea have announced that Roberto di Matteo has signed a two year contract to be the permanent manager of the club after a successful spell as interim boss last season.
Di Matteo led Chelsea to the FA Cup and Champions League double after taking over the reigns from Andre Villas-Boas who was sacked for his poor form in the league.
The Italian boss today returned from his holiday and was quick to put pen to paper on a new contract with the club.
"Roberto's quality was clear for all to see when he galvanised the squad last season and helped the club make history, and the owner and board are very pleased he will be continuing his good work," said chief executive Ron Gourlay.
"We all believed he was a young coach with much to offer when we first asked him to take charge of team affairs in March and the manner in which he worked with us, the players and all the staff, and the success that followed, made him the clear choice when it came to selecting the person to take us forward in the seasons to come.
"We will be working closely with Roberto in the weeks ahead, some exciting signings have already been made and Roberto has had input into those.
'Although he has set the bar very high in the short time he has been in charge, we know that Roberto is the right man to lead Chelsea onto further success."
The 42-year-old took charge of Chelsea for the final 11 weeks of the season and despite being unable to lead the club to a top four finish, he did guarantee Champions League football after beating Bayern Munich on penalties in the final.
"I'm obviously delighted to have been appointed as manager and first-team coach. We all achieved incredible success last season that made history for this great club. Our aim is to continue building on that and I'm already planning and looking forward to the squad's return for pre-season."
Di Matteo becomes the fourth Italian to take charge of the club and will be hoping he can replicate the huge success of last season.
Source: Chelsea official website.
