Who Will Coach Chelsea Next Season?

After much speculation, Rafa Benitez has announced that he will not be coaching Chelsea beyond May. The former Liverpool and Internazionale manager said that it was a big mistake giving him the interim manager title when he initially took over from Roberto di Matteo last year.

With Roman's dream person, Pep Guardiola preferring lederhosens and beer steins of Bavaria to the curries and hand-pumped warm ales of West London, who the heck is going to coach at Stamford Bridge, next month let alone next season?

We're pretty much clutching at straws at this point but here are some options for Roman to consider.



Jurgen Klopp, Borussia Dortmund
On paper, Klopp would be the next best thing to Pep Guardiola - under Klopp, Dortmund have played some bright and attractive football and have managed to get the best out of some young emerging stars like Mario Goetze, Marco Reus and now United star, Shinji Kagawa, as well as Polish striker, Robert Lewandowski. However, Klopp did it with plenty of support from the top and in a very good and stable environment. It would be a huge risk for him to go to the volatile and seemingly spiteful environment at Chelsea - and of course there are those unrealistic expectations from the owner to be successful before the word go.

Attractive prospect but for Klopp's sake, it is highly risky and this could not end well. Stay in Northern Germany please, Jurgen. 

Manuel Pellegrini, Malaga
The former Real Madrid manager has had success in recent times with Malaga thanks to a huge cash injection from teir rich Qatari owners. However, Malaga's dream run has hit the skids with UEFA banning the club from European competition due to their failure to pay players and staff on time - even if they finish in 4th, they will miss out on European competition altogether next season. With Malaga continuing to sell players, Pellegrini might feel that this is his time to go. Having experienced the high-pressured high-stakes environment at Real Madrid, Pellegrini could be well equipped to take on the beast that is Chelsea. However, his selection will divide fans - he is not exactly the most inspiring choice for manager and doesn't appear to be any different from potential predecessors, Carlo Ancelotti, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and even Avram Grant.

Safe and boring choice, but Chelsea do need a manager don't they?

Antonio Conte, Juventus

Conte has brought the Old Lady of Turin back into the glory days even if the road back hasn't been that smooth thanks to match-fixing allegations from the past. Conte's served his punishment for that now and is set to lead Juventus to its second scudetto in 2 years. One wonders if Roman has had a good look at Conte having seen his Juve side systematically demolish his European champions earlier in the season. Again, an unproven prospect outside of Italy and Juve's football under him hasn't been the tikka-takka football Roman wants.

The former Juventus captain is likely to be in Turin for a while yet. 

Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid
If rumours are to be believed, Ancelotti is on his way to Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho could be on his way out after a difficult season as reigning champions at the Bernabeu. An impressive 3-1 win in the Copa del Rey at Barcelona may have relieved a bit of pressure on Mourinho to keep his job - if there is any. However, it looks as though Mourinho's time in the capital could be drawing to a close and with word that Mourinho might have patched up his relationship with Roman Abramovich after this acromonious exit in 2007, this would be a very popular move to appease players and supporters. After all, some would say that Mourinho left far  too early just as Chelsea were about to enter a new dominant era.

If we believed every rumour out there, then this would be one appointment that you could bet the mortgage on.