Deschamps leads Chelsea race Thursday 20 September, 2007
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Didier Deschamps is the favourite to take the Chelsea job after Jose Mourinho’s shock exit, but Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi are also in contention.
The Portuguese tactician left Stamford Bridge by mutual consent just 24 hours after the Blues’ 1-1 draw with Norwegian minnows Rosenborg in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The ex-Porto hero’s relationship with the club’s owner Roman Abramovich had been tempestuous in recent times with reports of a spat after a 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Mourinho leaves with a glowing record on the Chelsea bench of 124 wins, 40 draws and just 21 defeats fom 185 games – including a 60-game unbeaten run in home Premier League fixtures.
Former Israel boss Avram Grant – who joined as director of football in the summer – will take over temporarily, but the search for a permanent replacement may lead Abramovich to Italy.
The early favourite for England’s most high-pressure job is ex-Juventus man Didier Deschamps. The French boss quit Juventus after securing promotion from Serie B last term and is currently unemployed.
Aside from leading Monaco to the Champions League Final – in which he was beaten by Mourinho’s Porto – Deschamps’s CV is less impressive than his fellow candidates.
However, the ex-midfielder played for Chelsea in their 1999-2000 campaign that saw them lift the FA Cup and is allegedly at the top of a shortlist to replace 'the Special One’.
Meanwhile, whispers in the peninsula suggest that contact will be made with ex-Juventus Coach Fabio Capello, who has made no secret of his desire to work in England.
Since being axed by Real Madrd despite delivering last term’s La Liga title, Capello has chosen to work as a TV pundit rather than re-enter the world of management and has reportedly turned down offers from American MLS sides.
However, the 61-year-old has been recently linked with the Tottenham post as he has arranged meetings in London to discuss his representation there.
Capello stated a month ago that it would take one of Europe’s great to lure him out of retirement and has admitted his dream is to lead Manchester United.
Italy’s World Cup winning Coach Marcello Lippi is also in the frame, but is seen as one of the outsiders despite his glittering past.
The Tuscan has also been linked with Tottenham during his Sabbatical, but has turned down all offers since the triumph in Germany.
Lippi is often ruled out of posts outside Italy because of his reported reluctance to learn another language at this stage in his career.
The next few weeks are set to see the rumour mill work overtime with the media already tracking the movements of Deschamps who has made no statement as yet.
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