Chelsea FC is one of the biggest clubs in England and is arguably the best club in London as well. The club has had its fair share of ups and downs as it has won the top-flight of English football six times. But that doesn’t tell the entire story, as five of the six league titles came after 2003 after current owner Roman Abramovich took over.
The Russian billionaire has changed the face of the club by investing huge amounts in the club. Chelsea have yet gradually turned into one of the title threats in England. After 2003, the club has almost always managed silverware every season, which is due to the recruitment of players and good managers.
The Blues have had some great managers over the years, who have helped the club get its success. Let us now have a look at some of the best managers Chelsea have had in the Premier League era.
#3-CARLO ANCELOTTI –
Carlo Ancelotti joined Chelsea in the June of 2009 and won his first silverware with the club in August itself. The Italian led Chelsea to a win in the Community Shield by beating arch-rivals Manchester United. Ancelotti joined Chelsea when the club was in turmoil and had changed four managers in the space of just 21 months.
Ancelotti was happy with the squad that he had inherited from the previous manager and was determined to excel with those players. Chelsea played a very extravagant style of football with Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba at the heart of things. Don Carlo, as he is nicknamed, led Chelsea to a double in his first season in London and Chelsea also broke the record for the most goals in a Premier League season.
In his second season at Chelsea, the players were half as prolific though, as the club ended the season without silverware. To close the gap with eventual champions Manchester United, he signed Fernando Torres for a British record fee. Even a second-place finish in the Premier League couldn’t cave Ancelotti his job as he left at the end of his second season at Chelsea.
#2-ANTONIO CONTE –
Antonio Conte was put in charge of the Chelsea side at the beginning of the 2016/17 season, after managing the Italy National side earlier. That summer Chelsea signed some very important players like N’golo Kante, Marcos Alonso and also David Luiz back from PSG. Conte delivered what he had promised as Chelsea won the Premier League in his first season at the helm.
Conte used a 3-5-2 system at Chelsea to great effect, just like he had done with Juventus and the Italian National side. The system was too much to handle for the Premier League sides as Chelsea used more men in the midfield. Conte used the skills of the Chelsea players very well and Costa became a beast under him.
The Blues didn’t feature in the Champions League in Conte’s first season which helped the manager concentrate entirely on the league. In his second season at the club, Conte lifted the prestigious FA Cup but could only take Chelsea to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League, which saw him being sacked.
#1-JOSE MOURINHO –
Jose Mourinho has managed Chelsea over a couple of stints, the first one from 2004 to 2007 and the second stint from 2013 to 2015. Mourinho, in both his stints at Chelsea, first tightened the defence and then concentrated on the attack. His first stint at Stamford Bridge was arguably better than his second stint because of the better attacking and defensive shape of Chelsea.
He won the first two of his Premier Leagues that his Chelsea side competed in and it was mostly because of his tactics and signings. Only after Mourinho’s arrival at Chelsea, most of the Premier League sides used the 4-3-3 formation as they could not cope up with Mourinho’s 4-3-3 with the traditional 4-4-2. Over his two seasons, he made some great signings in Drogba, Fabregas and Essien.
Including both the seasons, Mourinho has bagged a total of three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, three Football League Cups and an FA Community Shield.
