It took 9 years for Roman Abramovich to realise his dream of being a European Champion, however his next target will be even more difficult to achieve and there's only one man who can make that dream a reality, Pep Guardiola.
You would have thought that after winning the 'Holy Grail', Abramovich would have moved quick to secure a deal for current Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, but Abramovich was reportedly unhappy that the club he has spent over a billion pounds on was such massive underdogs against Barcelona.
The style of football under Di Matteo has been 'Italian', defensive and counter-attacking, which is successful, Chelsea won the domestic double under Ancelotti this way and won the FA Cup and Champions League under Di Matteo this way.
However, it's now not enough to simply win, which to me, seems to show how far the club have progressed. Under Mourinho, it was all about winning, but now it's about winning with style. Roman is reportedly giving the next manager a £100 million transfer kitty to bring some of the best young attacking talent to Chelsea next season, and with that, not only does he want to win, but he wants to win well.
Abramovich wants his Chelsea team to be feared like Barcelona, to command football matches and play the type of football that leaves the fans purring, and although Di Matteo has won the big one, he won't be able to achieve this transition.
Sadly for Abramovich, Guardiola isn't yet ready to return to management, he promised Barcelona he was taking a year out, and that is what he will do. The least Di Matteo deserves is a one-year contract and that is what he will get, but he would have to drastically alter the tactics and philosophy on the pitch if he is to stay any longer.
The infrastructure is in place, the youth talent is coming to fruition, and his manager is a year away, at times Abramovich has got things badly wrong, but more recently the club have spent wisely and are focusing on things like a new ground rather than a new squad.
One day Chelsea might go into a Champions League semi-final and have 80% possession, but until then Abramovich will never be satisfied.
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