Lebouef: Chelsea would be ‘stupid’ not to appoint Di Matteo

Frank Leboeuf believes Chelsea would be “stupid” not to offer Roberto Di Matteo the manager’s role on a permanent basis after the Italian guided the Blues to Champions League glory.

The 41-year-old replaced André Villas-Boas as Chelsea’s interim coach in March and against all odds, led the Stamford Bridge outfit to the FA Cup and their first European crown.

However, his future in west London has been in doubt, with Roman Abramovich yet to name his next manager and Barcelona’s former boss Pep Guardiola heavily linked with the vacant position.

But the former Italy international is now expected to be appointed on a full-time basis later this week – and Leboeuf backed his former team-mate to bring further success to Stamford Bridge.

“He proved in four months that he had knowledge about football and what he did was absolutely fantastic. He used the strengths Chelsea had,” Leboeuf said on TalkSPORT.

“He knew how to cope with the situation with senior players, he put a very good atmosphere into the dressing room, and he won two titles.

“They would have been stupid not to offer him at least a year.

“We will see what will happen afterwards, because we know [former Barcelona manager] [Pep] Guardiola is back next year and maybe that is what [owner] [Roman] Abramovich has in mind, but at least Roberto would have another year to prove he is a good coach.”

Di Matteo lost just three times in 21 games as Chelsea’s interim boss, and this impressive run included a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup final, and beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on penalties.

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Read more on: André Villas-Boas, Chelsea, frank lebouef, Premier League, roberto di matteo, roman abramovich.