Sometimes it takes a player years to endear himself to the fans but at times an inspired moment of magic is enough. Roberto Di Matteo scored after just 43 seconds in the FA Cup Final in 1997 against Middlesborough and ended Chelsea’s long wait for silverware. It was enough to become a hero in the fans’ eyes and to etch his name permanently into the Chelsea folklore. It’s more than a decade now since he scored that famous goal at Wembley but people still talk about it as if it happened only yesterday. For us Robbie was a hero, a player who we loved and most importantly he was a great human being. Being a great footballer is just not enough, you got to have some humility and class and this is what separates the legends from the greats. Robbie was a bonafide Chelsea legend.
His career was awfully cut short when he broke his leg in 2000-2001 season playing against St Gallen in a UEFA Cup match. For a player who was at the top of his game at that time we can only wonder how much more he could have achieved if he had played for a few more years. He spent 18 months on the sidelines and finally decided to call it a day in February, 2002. At the time when he was signed by Gullit he was the most expensive transfer signing by Chelsea and during his times here went on to win the FA Cup twice(scoring in both finals), League Cup, Cup Winners Cup, Super Cup and the Community Shield.
Fast forward six years since his retirment from the game, Robbie is making a return to England but this time as a first-time manager of MK Dons. He will succeed Paul Ince who left for the Premier League side Blackburn Rovers this summer. MK Dons are a club on the up and were promoted to League 1 last season as League 2 Champions. With a new stadium and solid infrastructure, the expectations of the fans are high as ever. In Peter Winkleman, they have a chairman who was slated by many when he moved the club from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes but now there are people who are calling him a visionary. MK Dons has proved to be a stepping stone for many budding young managers over the last few years. First Martin ‘Mad Dog’ Allen left it for Leicester and this season Ince is the latest one to make the step up. Di Matteo is another managerial novice but going by the trend or the magical powers of the MK Dons hotseat(whatever you may call it!) you can’t help but feel that we might see him managing at a higher level in a few years if he does well.
Robbie has been out of the game for the past six years but he had been working on getting his coaching badges. He has already acquired the UEFA ‘B’ and ‘A’ licenses so he has the basic qualification required for a manager these days. He would be bringing Eddie Newton, his teammate during his time with Chelsea as his assistant manager. Eddie has been coaching the under 16’s at Chelsea and has done excellent work with the boys, some of whom had figured in the FA Youth Cup. Eddie also partnered Robbie in the Chelsea midfield back in those days though employed in a more conservative role compared to Di Matteo’s attacking role. He was also the second name on the scoresheet that day at Wembley when we won the FA Cup by beating Middlesborough so MK Dons are infact getting not just two FA Cup winners but two Wembley final goalscorers.
It’s great to see Chelsea old boys getting into management, Robbie and Eddie being the latest ones to join the ranks. It is interesting that all of our Italian contingent during the 90’s have tried their hands at management after retirment now. Vialli a decade back with us and Watford, Casiraghi and Zola are incharge of the Italian U21s and now Robbie. I would certainly be keeping one eye on MK Dons’ results this season to see how our boys are fairing in their first managerial challenge.
Good Luck Robbie and Eddie!
His famous FA Cup goal:
