Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment as the new Chelsea manager has seen him become the latest in a long line of men to have taken charge at Stamford Bridge since the turn of the millennium. Former owner Roman Abramovich had an infamously high turnover of managers during his reign between 2003 and 2022, and that has seemingly continued under new owner Todd Boehly, who has appointed the Argentine to help steer the club back on track after a chaotic first season in charge. Let’s take a look at the 14 previous managers Chelsea have had under Abramovich and Boehly. Claudio Ranieri was the first, taking charge from September 2000 to June 2004. He led Chelsea into the Champions League just before Abramovich’s arrival and was given £120 million to spend in the summer of 2003, overseeing a Premier League runners-up spot with the club’s then-highest ever points tally. However, he was given the axe after almost four years at the helm.
Jose Mourinho was next, arriving in July 2004 and becoming known as the ‘Special One’. He won the Premier League title in his first season in charge with Chelsea conceding just 15 goals in the process, with another league title, an FA Cup and two League Cups added to his collection. Mourinho never lost a home league game during his first spell, but left the club just weeks into the 2007/08 season by mutual consent following tensions between himself and Abramovich. He returned to Chelsea to much fanfare in 2013, guiding them to another Premier League and League Cup title. A disastrous title defence in 2015/16 which saw Chelsea languishing one point above the relegation zone resulted in him leaving the club for a second time, although he remains Chelsea’s most successful ever manager with eight trophies.
Avram Grant replaced Mourinho in September 2007, but his reign turned into a case of what might have been, losing the Champions League final against Manchester United on penalties and the League Cup final to Tottenham. Chelsea also missed out on the Premier League by two points to Manchester United with Grant sacked at the end of the season. Luiz Felipe Scolari was next, becoming the first ever World Cup-winning manager to work in the Premier League having won the trophy with his native Brazil in 2002. He started his Chelsea reign by going 12 unbeaten in all competitions, but a drop off in results and performances saw the Blues fall seven points behind leaders Manchester United in fourth place and he was sacked just two days after a frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Hull City.
Guus Hiddink was drafted into the Stamford Bridge hot seat as interim manager until the end of the 2008/09 season. The legendary Dutchman described winning the FA Cup at the end of the season as one of his proudest achievements and only lost one game in the whole of his first tenure – away at Tottenham. Carlo Ancelotti was hired after guiding AC Milan to two Champions League titles in 2003 and 2007, with Chelsea becoming the first team ever to score over 100 goals in a single Premier League season on their way to the title – with the FA Cup also secured for good measure. His second and ultimately final season in charge saw him sacked just hours after the final league game of the campaign at Everton despite Chelsea finishing second in the table.
Andre Villas-Boas was next, joining Chelsea after they paid a world record £13 million in compensation to release him from his contract with Porto. Pressure began to mount on the Portuguese in February 2012 after a run of poor form, which included a 3-1 defeat away to Napoli in the Champions League last 16 where John Terry, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien were dropped from the starting XI. Having been asked for an explanation over the team selection by club officials on behalf of Abramovich, Villas-Boas was sacked with Chelsea three points behind Arsenal in fifth place. Roberto Di Matteo was promoted from assistant manager to become caretaker until the end of the season after Villas-Boas’ exit and guided Chelsea past Napoli, Benfica and Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barca side to reach the Champions League final – and famously won it. Having also won the FA Cup with victory over Liverpool at Wembley, Di Matteo was given the manager’s job on a full time basis but was sacked three months into the following season after defeat to Juventus effectively knocked them out of the Champions League group stage.
Rafael Benitez was appointed immediately after Di Matteo’s sacking but his appointment was deeply unpopular amongst Chelsea’s faithful due to comments he made about them during his time as Liverpool manager. Despite fan backlash, Benitez won the Europa League and helped the team finish in the top four before publicly criticising the board for giving him the title of interim manager and not taking part in the lap