It's Rijkaard v Mancini at Chelsea
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The contenders
CHELSEA plan to interview Frank Rijkaard and Roberto Mancini next week.
The Blues have not yet spoken directly to either coach — but they are the front-runners after Carlo Ancelotti announced he is staying at AC Milan.
Chelsea officials decided on a ‘cooling off period’ after Ancelotti’s snub.
With Euro 2008 kicking off tomorrow, they hope to hold talks with the pair without the eyes of the football world on them.
Rijkaard and Mancini were sacked at the end of last season from Barcelona and Inter Milan respectively.
Both rejected the chance to replace Jose Mourinho 16 months ago.
But with potential replacements for Avram Grant dwindling, it has been decided to ask both coaches to prove why they should be the next boss at Stamford Bridge.
Rijkaard has the support of some of Abramovich’s advisors including Chelsea academy director Frank Arnesen and Rom’s football consultant Piet de Visser.
The Dutchman has recently suffered some personal problems, however, and Chelsea are wary they may be dragged to London with him.
Likewise, Mancini has been caught up in allegations that he called a suspected drug dealer during his time at Inter.
Though the coach is not suspected of anything illegal, his mobile number was discovered to have made calls to a police suspect as part of a wider investigation.
That information made it into the Italian media at the time he was sacked and Mancini has threatened to sue Inter if he can prove they were behind it.
Again, Chelsea are extremely wary of employing a manager who brings that kind of baggage with him but are beginning to run out of options.
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i would prefer Frank Rijkaard
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FRANK RIJKAARD PLEASE!
OMG, no Macini!
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haha...i think mancini is better lei...3 titles in a row for inter...
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but yeah they will probably get rijkaard cos rijkaard has champ league title achievement. Something that chelsea desperately needs.
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Originally posted by FirePig:
haha...i think mancini is better lei...3 titles in a row for inter...
u mean 3 free tittles?