In June 2003, Roman Abramovich became the owner of Chelsea Football Club in west London. His aim taking control of the club was to make it a global brand on a par with footballing dynasties like Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Roman Abramovich makes the decisions at the Bridge

His reign at Chelsea has been an unparalleled success, bringing in multiple championships and trophies. 3 Premiership Titles, 4 FA Cups, 2 League Cup and 1 Champions League Title.

In his pursuit of success he has sought out the top managers in he business, while also showing that, second place will not be tolerated. As a result he has moved swiftly when he feels that his managers are underperforming and not living up to expectation giving Chelsea 9 managers in 9 years of his Chelsea reign.

Manager # 1:

Claudio Ranieri, known as the “Tinkerman” , he was the first manager to be sacked by Abramovich. Sacked in May 2004, despite guiding Chelsea to second place in the Premiership, behind Arsenal and making the Champions league semi final.

Manager # 2:
Jose Mourinho, he called himself the “Special One” at his opening press conference and then justified the name by becoming the most successful Chelsea manager ever. In 3 years he won, back to back premiership titles, 2 League cups and the FA Cup. Power struggle with Abramovich forced his exit in September 2007.

Manager # 3:
Avram Grant, picked up the pieces from Mourinho and guided Chelsea to the Champions league final, where they were beaten by Manchester United on penalties. He was sacked in May 2008

Manager # 4:
Luis Felipe Scolari, the World Cup winning Brazil manager was a hot commodity. He joined Chelsea at a time of upheaval within the club, armed with the task of rebuilding the squad and settling player unrest. He was unsuccessful, having fallen out with several senior players. Abramovich lost his patience and Scolari was sacked February 2009.

Manager # 5:
Guus Hiddink, took over on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. He lost only 1 game, while taking the club to third in the league and losing to Barcelona in he Champions League semi-Final. Hiddink left at the end of the season.

Manager # 6:
In June 2009, Carlo Ancelotti became Chelsea’s 5th manager in less than 2 years. In his first year, Ancelotti was successful doing the double, winning the premiership title and the FA Cup. He was not as successful in his second season, however, where after some internal strife with Abramovich, the team and the season was unsettled, with Chelsea ending up in 2nd place, 9 points behind Manchester United. Ancelotti and Chelsea parted ways in May 2011 by mutual consent.

Manager # 7:

Andre Villas Boas, was next in line, a former Porto coach who shared a lot if similarities with Jose Mourinho. But he didn’t live up to expectations and when the team dropped out of the top four, coupled with his controversial selection policies, he was sacked in March 2012 after 9 months in the job.

Manager # 8:
Roberto Di Matteo, was an assistant to Villas Boas and took over the team when he was sacked. With the team in disarray, he miraculously saved them the season and guided Chelsea to the Champions league victory, going through Barcelona on the way.
He was, begrudgingly, awarded the job by Abramovich, but you knew he was going to be under the microscope. His Chelsea got off to a fantastic start playing the best football in the league. The team hit a rough spot in November picking up only 2 points from a possible 12 and with the team being on the verge of a Champions league exit, he was duly sacked by Abramovich.

Manager # 9:
Rafael Benitez, was hired to replace Di Matteo for the remainder of he season. The Benitez hiring was frowned upon by the Chelsea faithful but only time will tell. Benitez has the season to talk himself into a full-time gig.