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Is Spalletti The ‘Other Italian’ On Chelsea’s List?

Seemingly out of nowhere, AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti is the new ‘favourite’ to take over the Chelsea hotseat. Having ticked off all the usual suspects and come away without an ‘exclusive’ the press are now suggesting Spalletti is the ‘other Italian’ Chelsea had their eye on all along.

Whilst Spalletti’s name isn’t one usually circulated amongst contenders for top management posts,  his three year spell breathing new life into Udinese followed by Roma’s apparent resurrection under his guidance,  have seen him establish himself as a highly rated coach in the Peninsula.  The 2006 Serie A Coach of the Year might not have the best command of the English language but appears to have let his football do the talking as he guided Roma to a close second place finish behind eventual winners Inter last season.

You’d have to assume Roma wouldn’t exactly welcome our advances for the coach they see as a fundamental part of their future, although the spiralling debts of their parent company to the tune of £300million might give Roman a bit of leverage.

Spalletti seems to have caught Roman’s eye not only because of his apparent ability to take a club by the balls and turn it around, but also because of his ‘exciting brand of attacking football’. He’s got Champions League experience and last season led Roma to a 4-2 aggregate win over Real Madrid. Add to that his likeability factor, and you can see why he’s ticking all the right boxes – for the press at least.

In fact, the more I read about Spalletti, the more this connection makes sense. The only downside is his habit of losing to United.

 

PROFILE

Former Serie C player, Spalletti’s early management career started with a stuggling Empoli side who he led to two consecutive promotions from Serie C to Serie A. He then made an impact at Udinese, exceeding all expectations in guiding them to a fourth place finish and Champions League qualification. This prompted a chaotic AS Roma to offer him the job of restoring some sort of order in the Capital side.  His impact wasn’t immediate, although halfway through the 2005-2006 season he changed the team’s defensive game and the adoption of Spalletti’s innovative and attacking style of football saw Roma break the Serie A record for consecutive wins (11). He didn’t get Roma to the Champions League that season although made it to the Coppa Italia final, where they lost out to Inter.

Spalletti was named Serie A Coach of the Year for 2006 and subsequently led Roma to the Champions League quarter finals. Unfortunately after a promising 2-1 win against United in the first leg, his possible frailty against Fergie’s men was first exposed with a 7-1 drubbing in the return.  The same season however, Roma became the first team to beat Mancini’s Inter in all competitions. Spalletti led Roma to a 7-4 (agg) Coppa Italia win over Inter that season, following that up last season by stealing their Supercoppa Italiana crown. In the 2007/2008 season Spalletti’s Roma also became the first Italian team to beat Real Madrid over two legs, consequently becoming the first European side to record two victories over Real at the Bernabeu.

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