Why Roberto Di Matteo Is The Next Pep Guardiola?

The next Guardiola in the making.....

Irrespective of what happens in RDM's tenure over the next two years, RDM will go down in our history books as one of our most successful managers.And that is simply because he was the first Chelsea manager ever to win the Champions League.The fact that he is a Chelsea legend as a player makes it all the more special. So how does RDM qualify as the next Pep Guardoila ?What I write henceforth is just a hypothesis, it may be proved wrong but it has more chances of being correct than wrong.

The world knows what Guardiola did at Barcelona...

When Pep took over Barcelona, he had inherited a de-moralised team which was being utterly dominated by Real Madrid. The team was always finishing second best to Madrid.And it looked like Barca would never be able to turn the tables on Madrid. Enter Pep. Pep was a Barca legend. And he was a midfielder too. The board trusted him.Why ? Simple because he knew the club inside out and understood what the club wanted and what it stands for. The next 3-4 years, we all know what happened.Barcelona today are widely considered to be the best team in the world and Madrid struggle against them. Yes, Madrid won the league, but that was after a gap of 4 years.
And unless Madrid continue it, it'll be just a flash in the pan and Barca will dominate again.

Now take RDM's situation. I am sure you all would have started seeing  the similarities already.
RDM took over Chelsea at a time when we were lost. We had no direction, we had no formation. We had lost the will to play. We had lost the will to fight.Pride was lost and the season was heading for dooms-day. AVB resembled a harrassed person. One who had lost all control and respect of the dressing room. And his philosophy wasn't working.After endless poor results, and that 3-1 defeat in Napoli, It was clear that something had to be done and so AVB left.Enter RDM. THe club legend. The guy who understood the club ideals. The guy who knew exactly what the club wanted. Oh, not to mention, he was a midfielder too (*wink*).

Cool,calm and composed that's how he did things.

He identified the areas where the club faced problems. There have been endless articles on what RDM has done, so I won't repeat them. You already know that.So, he identified the problems and solved them. Her didn't do anything extra-ordinary. He kept it simple.Here's one proof. This one's from King Drogba yesterday only :


" When we were about to play against Barcelona, we watched a lot of video. We knew we were playing the best team in the world.So for us playing this game, especially when we came from Napoli and we should have been out a long time ago, we were lucky to be there but we played hard as well.  So when we watched the video, the manager wasn't showing Messi. At the end, you could see the important players. The ones who scored and created assists, the most consistent guys. With Messi, he just said that he had 61 goals. We all started laughing. We knew we were in for a difficult night but we did our best."

See ? RDM understands the basics of football. He knows how to strike a chord with the players. He won't take drastic measures. He'll just keep it simple. And that's why the players love him.

One more plus point about RDM is that he's highly intelligent. He and Hiddink have been the only two managers post-Roman era who have been sane enough not to challenge Roman's authority.
A GOOD manager is the one who cries for the resources he REQUIRES annd gets the job done, like he should.


A GREAT manager is the one who UTILIZES the resources AVALILABLE with him, however insufficient they may be and still gets the job done.RDM falls in the second bracket manager. So does Pep.If you look at Pep's signings, they have been terrible. Ibramovich, Hleb, Afellay and many others have been duds. But then how has he been successful ?He's used the talent the club already possessed and brought out the best in them.And that's exactly what RDM is doing. I am sure everyone is understanding what I am trying to point out.

Let's hope Robbie takes Chelsea to a whole new level and stays with us for years to come....

RDM has got a contract for 2 years now. So lets see what all can he do in the next 2 years.
One thing is for certain, the old players like Terry, Cech and Lampard will continue to give 200% for RDM and Chelsea. RDM himself is a legend and he knows how to treat legends.So when he has the senior player's support, he'll have control over the dressing room.Players already respect him. The new players will respect him too not only because that he's a UCL winning manager but because also as a manager he's extremely humble and as we all know he's a master of man management.

Everything is in place for RDM to do at Chelsea what Pep did at Barca. We have financial resources. He's inherited a great team and more players are enroute.We got awesome youth. We got a great owner. We got great fans. We all love RDM. The players love RDM.All in all, without repeating what has alreadly been said in many articles, I think RDM could be our Pep Gaurdiola. I hope he is.

#KTBFFH

-RR2 (Chelsea360)

TweetFollow @CFC360Official

Salomon Rondon to Chelsea ?

How good is Salomon Rondon and whether he will join Chelsea

With the transfer of Hulk to Chelsea news going into the back-burner, media and Blues fans alike are keen to know to which other player is likely to wear the Blue jersey next season at the Bridge.
José Salomón Rondón Giménez fits the bill. Are you feeling bored? Wait till you read the next line. DROGBA! Woken up, have you. Yes, Drogba is the player Rondon models himself on, as claimed by Rondon himself.

Salomon Rondon is a 22 year old Right-Footed, Center-Forward, who plays for Malaga, the Manchester City of Spain. Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani is a Qatari billionaire who bought Malaga CF for a reported €36m a couple of years ago and has big plans for the club that include a new 65,000-seater arena – to be called ‘Qatar Stadium’ – and a training academy covering 120,000 square metres. (source)

If you are a skeptic about Rondon, then continue reading to be proven otherwise. Rondon was the leading scorer for Venezuela in the FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Egypt in 2009, the country’s first appearance in a world cup finals.

Rondon has played two seasons for Malaga so far. In his first season he scored 14 goals which helped them stay afloat in the top tier. In his second season he scored 11 goals. The last goal of his, in the league, helped them clinch the crucial fourth spot in the league table thereby securing a Champions League qualification spot.

“As a person I’ve learned to listen and take advice,” he added. “And as a player, I’d put it like this: I knew how to play football but I needed to polish my game and learn my trade. I feel I’ve improved my finishing, the way I get up in the air, how I hold up the ball and my all-round technique. Having a team-mate like Ruud Van Nistelrooy also helps, though I’ve still got work to do.” Rondon to FIFA. At 22, he seems to have a matured head on his shoulders.

Furthermore, Rondon as a player is termed as an athletically built front-man, who stands 6’1 tall, possesses strength, aerial power and has ability to play with his back to goal and facing it. All those traits were seen in Drogba.

Irrespective of whether the Hulk deal goes through or not, Rondon is a player worth considering for Chelsea. Torres deserves to be on the team sheet as the number one striker. However, Rondon could be a star for the future.

He is only 22. Rondon could act as a back-up striker and could be slowly eased into the setup as age is on his side. If needed Torres and Rondon both can play upfront. Torres can be deadly if given an opportunity to run at the defenders. Rondon is perfect for that. He can hold the ball up with his back to the opposition goal and unleash a Torres terror with a through ball.

Now to the real world, from the imaginary. Will Rondon sign for Chelsea as rumored in certain sections of the media?

There have been contradictory reports. While some reports are claiming, the big spending Malaga wants to sign a big name marquee player before the start of next season, which would make Rondon surplus to requirements and others are claiming the departure of Nistelrooy makes Rondon their star center forward.

Moreover, three different sources are naming three different agents as Rondon's representative. Following are the various reports on Rondon and his Chelsea transfer.

This is the original source that everyone else is basing their story on:
Salomon Rondon is wanted by many teams in the Premier League ~ Mundo Deportivo

It is a Spanish source and basically is telling us that Rondon's agent Pablo Martinez is claiming several EPL clubs including Chelsea and 3 top German clubs want Rondon.

The same source had reported a few days ago that, Rondon's agent is the same person as Juan Mata's. If you recall Mata's agent is his father. This writer tried digging deeper and found out that Juan Manuel RODRIGUEZ MATA is a registered player agent according to FIFA. Furthermore, the report mentioned that Rondon has been pushed down the pecking order with the arrival of other star signings and wants to move on. he has only two years left in his contract and has a buy-out clause of £20 Million.

Lavinotinto was the source quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.

Noticias24 reported as recent as June 15, that his agent Paul Martinez has played down the transfer rumors. He went on to say that these rumors are part and parcel of the transfer season and that Rondon is focused on playing for Malaga next season. Italian clubs such as Juventus and Geneo are also interested in signing Rondon.

Marca had reported on June 11, that Chelsea's scouts were out to watch Rondon in action against Chile in Venezuela's 2014 World Cup qualifier. They claim Chelsea were preparing with an initial bid of €14 Million. They lost that match 0-2 to Chile. The report went on to add that the departure of Nistelrooy meant Rondon is their first choice number 9.

The Salomon Rondon’s agent Pablo Martinez confirmed that he has been in contact with a handful of Chelsea, but that no deal has been mooted yet, with the player weighing up his options. ~ NationalTurk

Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool fight for £20m Salomon Rondon ~ DailyStar

So far, we have had 3 different agents for Rondon, Pablo Martinez, Paul Martinez and Mata's father.

Rondon has two years left in his contract with Malaga and at present his market value is £8 Million. After having read various reports and analyzing them, this writer feels that if Malaga sign a big name striker in the summer, Rondon will leave. If he indeed does have a buy-out clause of £20m, Chelsea would be knocking/tearing down Malaga's door.

Rondon has immense potential. He has performed at the highest level and is only 22. He doesn't need to be loaned out like other youngsters in the Chelsea set up. He can be slotted into the first team straight away. Rondon shouldn't be looked upon as a back-up to Hulk. If possible Rondon and Hulk both must be signed up by Chelsea.

However, whether this deal takes place is not entirely dependent on Chelsea's willingness to sign Rondon. Malaga is aiming to develop a squad that can compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona. Financial strength is not an issue for Malaga. Having said that, Malaga will be tempted to sign a big name striker who has proven himself in the Champions League. If that happens, expect Rondon to leave Malaga. As a Blues fan, this writer would be hoping his favored destination is SW6.

As always please share your thoughts with us and KTBFFH.

TweetFollow @CFC360Official

For Updates

The Way Forward: Chelsea's Aims For 2012-13

Last season was one of mixed emotions. We witnessed a remarkable turnaround under Roberto Di Matteo & managed to win the Champions League & the FA Cup. However, we finished 6th in the Premier League, clearly not good enough by our standards.

I think the main reason we had such a season was because the club seemed too busy rebuilding under Andre Villas-Boas & he didn't focus on the results. When Di Matteo was handed the job on an interim basis, he focused exclusively on results, which worked wonders for the club. Nevertheless, Chelsea fans would not want to witness another season like 2011-12, even though it actually ended well. 
Let's take a look at what the club should aim for next season:-

2009-10: The last time we won the League

1) Win The Premier League- No doubt this would be Roberto Di Matteo's top priority for next season. Chelsea last won the League in 2009-10, when Carlo Ancelotti was in charge. We came close in 2010-11, but were never really contenders for the League last season. Most people thought the club would be lucky to make 4th place, & they were right. Winning the Champions League ensured that finishing 6th didn't cost us, but Robbie would want to ensure that we avoid such a situation again. Winning the FA Cup & the Champions League last season showed the world that we are still a force to be reckoned with, but we must win the League next season to further prove that point.

How we'd love to see such sights again... 

2) Win The Champions League- By winning the Champions League last season, Chelsea became the 1st team from London to win the trophy. We would love to win it again. However, since the European Cup was renamed the "UEFA Champions League", no team has ever been able to successfully retain the trophy. Many thought Barcelona would be able to pull it off last season, but they were knocked out in the semi-finals by us. Retaining the Champions League would be a massive achievement. What's more, fans of clubs like Liverpool & Manchester United fans will no longer be able to bang on about how they have more "history" than us!

Islam Feruz

Lucas Piazon

3) Give Youth A Chance- Probably not the most glamorous of objectives, but an important one nonetheless. Chelsea is absolutely teeming with talented young players, but they never seem to even make the bench on a regular basis, never mind the starting XI. I hear Chelsea fans constantly going on about how we should buy this player & that player, but most people seem to forget that we have players like Lucas Piazon, Nathaniel Chalobah, Todd Kane, Milan Lalkovic & Islam Feruz (to name a few) patiently waiting in the wings. It's extremely important that we give these players a chance to impress, or risk losing them to other clubs. 



Please do comment we love to hear from you guys KTBFFH till then!


TweetFollow @CFC360Official

PRE SEASON BUILD UP: SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

PRE SEASON BUILD UP: SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC.

Chelsea return to the United States once again with multiple memories of successful pre-season campaigns at the land of living in the past decade. Last was in 2009 when we won the World Football Challenge after competing against the likes of Milan giants (AC Milan and Inter Milan) and other great American teams. I may be a little superstitious but I think United States is a great place to start our season considering the success we had there before.

 

The Champions of Europe are currently scattered across the world. Midfield maestro Super Frankie Lampard is enjoying the holidays with his fiancée. Summer signing Eden Hazard is travelling through Europe. David Luiz is having a great time at his homeland and many of the blue heroes are representing their respective nations at the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. But they will all meet up once again at Cobham early July. To prepare for the new season. With Roberto Di Matteo confirmed as our permanent manager and a few new signings, we will be nothing but all set for the pre-season campaign. And we look at our first opponent. Seattle Sounders.

Introduction

Seattle Sounders was established in November 2007 and competes in the Major League Soccer. Despite the club’s young age, they have been enormously successful with numerous trophies in their cabinet. They have won the US Open Cup thrice (2009, 2010 and 2011). And with a MLS Supporters’ Shield in 2011 they have also won many minor trophies. The Seattle based club’s majority owner is Hollywood producer Joe Roth.

Honours

 

As mentioned before, they have been quite successful over the few years. The first trophy they tasted was the US Open Cup in 2009, beating D.C. United. They have literally owned that trophy with winning it three times consecutively in 2009, 2010 and 2011. They won their first MLS Supporters Shield in 2011. They have also won many fan based minor cups namely Heritage Cup (2010, 2011), Community Shield (2011, 2012) and regional Cascadia Cup in 2011. They haven’t yet won the MLS League. But considering the success they had over the few years, one could never write them off from winning it soon.

Stadium

The Seattle Sounders FC play their home matches at the CenturyLink Field in Seattle. This is also the home of Paul Allen’s Seattle Seahawks. Paul Allen is the owner of the stadium and the Seahawks. He is also a minority owner of the Sounders. That’s why they get the stadium on match days without paying a fee. The stadium is called “The Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field” for Sounders FC’s matches. It is a 67,000 capacity stadium and was designed to play both American Football and soccer. It has an artificial FieldTurf pitch certified by FIFA with a 2 star rating.

2012 Season

 

They are in contention for three major tournaments this season (four if they qualify for the MLS Play-Offs). They are the MLS League, US Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League. They are currently sitting on fourth in the MLS League, 25 points which is 7 points less than the leaders Salt Lake with a game in hand. Their current top scorers are David Estrada (5) and Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero both with 4. Maury Rosales and Alex Caskey lead the assist table with 3 each. Chelsea should keep an eye on these guys. But nothing our European Heroes cannot handle. They have played 15 games in the MLS league winning 7 of them and losing 4 and drawing 4. Beating Toronto FC 3-1 was their biggest home win and losing to Columbus Crew was their heaviest home defeat. They could be really stubborn at their home. 

Latest three and next three fixtures

·         Drew 1-1 at Chivas USA on 26^th May 2012. (A)

·         Lost 4-1 at Montreal on 16^th June 2012. (A)

·         Drew 1-1 to Kansas City on 20^th June 2012. (H)

·         Portland on 25^th June 2012. (A)

·         New England on 30^th June 2012. (A)

·         Salt Lake on 4^th July 2012. (A)

Seattle Sounders FC has a strong squad, small but a successful history. I think these guys can give us a fight. But we are Chelsea. We are the European Champions. Lads, I think we’ve got a crunch game to start our pre-season. We take on them on 18^th July 2012 at their home CenturyLink field stadium. Let’s hope we get our transfer market shopping finished and our squad including the new signings jell together as a team before the game. I am hoping for a big win. I will return to bring you about our next opponent Paris Saint Germain soon, but until then KEEP THE BLUE FLAG FLYING HIGH.

By: #LimCFC

TweetFollow @CFC360Official

Still No Bids For Hulk?

The Hulk transfer saga goes on and on and on..........

Porto's number 12 and Brazilian's ace future is still dubious. Chelsea,PSG are the two clubs who have been hotly linked with Hulk. Along with them Madrid,Arsenal and Spurs are also somewhere in the mix.
Hulk earlier this month admitted he is interested in moving to Stamford Bridge this summer. He told Sky Sports-

"Chelsea are the current European champions and would please any player and I'm no exception," he said and he added "I'd be happy if the transfer happened." 

Exclusive reports from football411.com read as follows-
Real Madrid, Paris St Germain and Arsenal have all been linked with the Brazil ace, who looks set to stay at Estadio do Dragao next season as suitors seem to be put off by his club's massive asking price.

Hulk has since dangled a carrot in front of the Blues after recently telling the media they are the only team he would like to play for besides Dragoes.The Portuguese giants remain adamant no bids have been tabled for their prized talisman, although they do seem keen to let him go.

"At the moment, Porto have not been contacted by any club to discuss the sale of our player," FC Porto president Pinto da Costa told Sky Sports.


"There are no offers on the table. That is the truth, despite what the papers say about Chelsea and PSG. Those stories are simply ridiculous rumors. If you believe what they say, Hulk has already left us."

If you want to read the in depth report about Hulk and his ownership related clauses I would request you to read this

If Hulk does really come he might even fill the void that Didier has left.....

Well could it be possible that the Blues haven't yet made any official contact to Hulk's agent or to the Portugese champions? The way I see it Porto don't want their one of the most prized assets to leave them yet. They are very keen to keep him and don't want to publicize otherwise it could complicate matters even more for the Portugese champions. Yes the Blues would have contacted Porto for Hulk but looks like the Porto don't want to disclose it yet or agree that the negotiations are still going on.

If Porto do sell him I'm sure they would want to properly cash on him. And I think Hulk deserves that big price tag. He's undoubtedly one of the most prolific strikers out their. Chelsea will have to battle hard if they want the Brazilian striker to become a BLUE. Hulk is the solution to all of Chelsea's attack related problems and will be a huge hit if he comes to the Bridge. With himself admitting that Chelsea is the only club he's interested in otherwise he might just stay at Porto. Now it all comes down to Roman I believe, if our Russian inherent  wants the the rebuilding to be done to the core and wants to add more depth to the squad so that Chelsea can cope up on all stages be it Domestic,European or the World Championships he'll have to pay big.

The transfer window is yet open and the Blues should look at all the options available if somehow they don't manage to acquire the services of Porto's tailsmanic striker.

Well till then KTBFFH as always....

TweetFollow @CFC360Official