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| Albion Appoint Di Matteo |
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| Saturday, 04 July 2009 00:00 | |||
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ALBION are pleased to announce that Roberto Di Matteo has agreed to become the club's new head coach having signed a 12-month rolling contract. The 39-year-old will take up his Albion duties tomorrow when the first-team squad report back for pre-season training. Eddie Newton and Ade Mafe will follow him from Milton Keynes to take up positions as assistant head coach and fitness coach respectively. Chairman Jeremy Peace said: "I am delighted with Roberto's appointment, which concludes an intensive selection process during which over 40 names were considered. "We shortlisted two outstanding candidates, spoke to both of them after receiving permission from their clubs, and ultimately Roberto was the unanimous choice of the board." Di Matteo took his first steps into management when he was named MK Dons boss in July 2008, following the departure of Paul Ince to Blackburn Rovers. In his first season in charge he led the League One club to within two points of their second successive automatic promotion, finishing on 87 points. The Dons came third in the table thanks to the second-best scoring record in all four English divisions as they smashed 83 goals - just one less than Leicester. Di Matteo's men quickly became renowned for their attractive, attacking football and also boasted the second-best defensive record in League One, conceding just 47 goals in 46 games. But play-off heartbreak was to follow as they more than matched Scunthorpe over two legs in the semi-finals, only to lose 7-6 on penalties after extra time. Di Matteo began qualifying for his coaching badges during his time as a player with Chelsea and last year gained his UEFA 'A' Coaching License. He is currently qualifying for his UEFA Pro License. His overall record with The Dons was 27 wins, 11 draws and 14 defeats. Born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, to Italian parents on May 29, 1970, he started his playing career with his hometown club, scoring twice in 50 appearances over three years. He then spent a season each with FC Zurich and FC Aarau, where he won the Swiss Nationalliga A title before completing a move to Lazio in 1993. A technically-gifted midfielder, he scored seven times in 87 games over three years and helped them finish as Serie A runners-up in 1995. During his time with the Rome giants he won the first of his 34 caps for Italy. He scored twice for his country and played in the Euro 1996 and World Cup 1998 tournaments. Di Matteo joined Chelsea for a then-club record £4.9million in July 1996 and enjoyed a dream home debut as his 86th-minute strike secured a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough. He became one of the driving forces of the Blues' resurgence in the late 1990s, notching nine goals in his first season and ten the following term. And he wrote himself into FA Cup history by scoring the then-quickest ever goal in a final as his 43-second strike - only bettered by Everton's Louis Saha last season - set up a 2-0 win over Boro in 1997. His Wembley love affair continued as he scored in Chelsea's 2-0 League Cup victory over Boro in 1998 and in 2000 netted the last cup final goal under the Twin Towers in a 1-0 win over Villa. He also won a European Cup Winners' Cup winners' medal with Chelsea in 1998 - the club's first European honour in 27 years. All this made him a firm fans' favourite at Chelsea but his playing days were cruelly cut short by a horrific injury in September 2000 when he suffered a triple leg fracture in a UEFA Cup tie against Swiss side FC St Gallen. He spent 17 months trying to battle back to fitness but was forced to hang up his boots in February 2002. Di Matteo made 175 appearances, including 20 as a substitute, and scored 26 goals for Chelsea, working under managers Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri. In total, he made 345 career appearances, including 23 as a substitute, and scored 36 goals. After his retirement he set up home in London and maintained close links with Chelsea.
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