Roberto Di Matteo - Chelsea career in pictures
- Published
Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo was sacked by the club on 21 November 2012 after just 262 days in charge at Stamford Bridge
The Italian began his Chelsea career in 1996, joining from Serie A side Lazio for a then club record fee of £4.9m
In the 1997 FA Cup final victory over Middlesbrough, Di Matteo scored Chelsea's first goal after only 42 seconds - then a cup final record
And the 29-year-old midfielder helped Chelsea lift the FA Cup again in 2000, scoring the only goal of the match in a 1-0 win over Aston Villa
Managerial spells at MK Dons and West Brom between 2008 and 2011 brought Di Matteo back into English football following the end of his 14-year playing career
Di Matteo was appointed assistant to new Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas on 29 June 2011
However, the partnership was not to last and on 4 March 2012, following the dismissal of Villas-Boas, Di Matteo was named interim first-team coach until the end of the season
Di Matteo's reign started well with wins over Birmingham City, Stoke City - and Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League
The former Italy international repeated his FA Cup-winning success as a player, beating Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley on 5 May
And he made history the same month as Chelsea came from behind to beat Bayern Munich on their own ground in the Champions League final, securing the club's first European crown
Di Matteo was finally named permanent Chelsea boss on 13 June, signing a two-year contract
But recent results have been poor and, like his predecessor, Di Matteo struggled to get the best out of £50m striker Fernando Torres
And a 3-0 defeat away to Juventus that leaves Chelsea at risk of exiting the Champions League at the group stage sealed Di Matteo's fate