Di Matteo has not been in management since 2016
FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill and board member Packie Bonner were joined in the stands by the former Chelsea and Aston Villa boss on the night John O'Shea looked to beat Switzerland to further his case for remaining in the Irish squad. Roberto DiMatteo.
The association has been in the lengthy process of appointing a new manager and coaching staff since opting not to offer Stephen Kenny a new contract. Lee Carsley has been the front-runner, but that momentum seems to be stalling. Gus Poyet could be among them, especially after his Greek side failed to reach the final hurdle of Euro 2024 qualification on Tuesday, losing on penalties to Georgia.
After Ireland's 1-0 loss to Switzerland, interim head coach O'Shea was clearly keen to stay in the game for longer. “My gut feeling is that I'm ready and capable of being a manager,” he said.
O'Shea, who had 118 caps for Ireland and had coaching experience with the Ireland Under-21s, the senior team and English clubs Reading, Stoke and Birmingham, was just missing one key ingredient that would take him to the top. His two games as interim manager were his first in a starring role managing a team. Reporters at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night tried to trace his next move with the FAI. He said:
“I think that's obviously something we'll talk about later. For me, the whole focus is on these two games, enjoying the moment, learning from it and really understanding it, understanding how I respond to situations and games, And find out if I want to do more”.
However, Brian Kerr told Virgin Media the FAI does have “someone else” in the top job. This brings us back to Roberto Di Matteo, but the association sought to clarify whether he was present for the friendly.
FAI clarifies Roberto Di Matteo's visit to Lansdowne Road
Although Roberto Di Matteo has 34 caps for Italy, has Italian parents and spent three seasons with Lazio in Serie A, his relationship with the Swiss team has a long history.
He was born and raised in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen, where he played for the local football team as a teenager before going on to play for two other clubs in the country. Lazio got the call when he was 23 years old. He moved to Chelsea in 1996, where he won five major trophies before retiring at the age of 32. During his playing career he has earned his coaching badges.
His first head coaching jobs were at Milton Keynes Dons and West Brom before he was given the opportunity to return to Chelsea in 2011 as assistant to Andre Villas-Boas. In March 2012, Chelsea fired Villas-Boas and Di Matteo replaced him. -Recipient Manager. Impressively, he led the Blues to the FA Cup and their first Champions League title.
But it wasn't enough to save him as they made a poor start to the next season. In November of the same year, he was transferred and Rafa Benitez became interim head coach. He won four trophies in 262 days as Chelsea manager, winning seven of his first eight games in 2012/13 and being replaced by Chelsea in third place in the league.
Di Matteo spent one season with Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga and took over when the team was in 11th place, helping them qualify for the Europa League. However, both sides were disappointed, with the club winning just two of their final 10 games of the season and missing out on a Champions League spot. Di Matteo resigned and his last spell in charge was brief – four months at Aston Villa in the Championship.
When photos of Roberto Di Matteo at the Aviva Stadium began circulating on Tuesday night, FIFA revealed to members of the media watching the game that his presence was purely coincidental and had nothing to do with the manager they were looking for.
The estrangement from the FAI was not enough to fuel speculation about Di Matteo, with his odds of taking over as Ireland manager falling from 80/1 to 20/1. Di Matteo's experience as a player, head coach and technical advisor (a role he held in South Korea last year) may see him move into a higher role than national team head coach.
Ahead of the game, former Ireland player Damian Delaney spoke to Virgin Media about John O'Shea taking over as manager under more senior figures such as Gus Poyet. Perhaps we could see a similar arrangement between O'Shea and Di Matteo.
There is an FAI board meeting today (Wednesday), so more information may soon become clearer.
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