Roberto Di Matteo is an Italian former professional footballer and manager who is admired for his profound knowledge of football. The man undoubtedly made his mark during his career days as an Italian professional footballer, playing with several big clubs during that time and winning many fans for himself.
Following his retirement as a footballer, he went on to begin a football managerial career. He has had successful stints as a manager with clubs like Chelsea as well as West Bromwich Albion. We have gathered some facts about the man for your reading pleasure. Find out all about him below.
Roberto Di Matteo Biography
Roberto Di Matteo was born on the 29th day of May in 1970. He was born in Schaffhausen, a historic town in Switzerland and was raised with his sister, Concetta who had a visual impairment. The identity of his parents remains quite vague at the moment.
Like most football stars, Roberto developed a strong desire to play football from when he was still a little boy. He was reportedly inspired by the famous football stars whom he often saw on television at the time. He went on to actively chase after his dream of becoming a soccer star.
Roberto Di Matteo Football Career
Roberto Di Matteo’s professional football career started in 1988 when he joined the Swiss side Schaff hausen. After he debuted with the team, he went on to make 50 appearances, netting two goals before taking his leave from the club.
Upon leaving Schaff hausen, Roberto joined Aarau in 1991 and helped the team to win the Swiss Nationalliga A title in 1993. He featured in 33 games for Aarau before making a move to Lazio. While with Lazio, Roberto earned a regular starting shirt, playing in the mid-field and impressing fans. He eventually became recognized as one of the finest midfielders in the whole of Italy at the time. With Lazio, Roberto made 87 league appearances, netting 7 goals for the team before joining Chelsea in 1996.
Roberto’s skills and efforts helped to resuscitate Chelsea from the slumber in the 90s. He is credited with helping the club to finish at 16th place in the league of that season which was the highest position that Chelsea has reached since 1989. Again he became instrumental in helping the team to the playoff of the 1997 Cup finals where he scored the fastest goal in Wembley within 42 seconds of the match as he helped Chelsea to win the title.
In the following season, Roberto continued to be impressive in the team as he netted 10 goals with several assists, thus, helping the team to win the league cup as well as the cup winners cup, which happened to be their first European title since 1971.
However, in the 1998-20 season, Roberto went off the pitch due to the injury he sustained in the wake of the season, but as soon as Roberto regained his fitness and joined the team, he became instrumental in helping the team to claim the FA Cup by scoring the winning goal in the finals.
Again in 2000, Roberto was struck by triple leg fracture in the UAFA cup match against St. Gallen therefore, he became sidelined for over 18 months. He then decided to retire from active football at the age of 31.
During his career with Chelsea, he recorded 175 appearances and scored 26 goals before bowing out,
International career
Apart from his club career, Roberto Di Matteo has had an impressive outing with his national team. The former footballer made his international debut for Italy in December 1994. He went on to make 34 appearances for the Italy national team from 1994-1998, orchestrating the mid-field and netting 2 goals.
Managerial career
Following his retirement from football, Roberto Di Matteo found solace in being a sports manager. He started his managerial career with Milton Keynes Dons on the 2nd of July 2008. When he left Milton, Roberto got another appointment to manage West Bromwich Albion on the 30th of June 2009 and succeeded in leading the team to reach the second place in the championship in his first season with the club. In his subsequent season, he managed to become the Premier League manager of the month in September 2010. However. he was later laid off by the club.
In the aftermath of his dismissal from Albion, Roberto was appointed as the assistant coach of Chelsea. He later became the caretaker manager of the club after the manager Andre Villas-Boas was sacked. As the caretaker manager, Roberto was able to bring Chelsea back on form as the team started recording several winnings. Eventually, Roberto led Chelsea into winning the 2012 FA Cup.
Roberto reached the peak of his managerial career when he led Chelsea into winning their first Champions League title in May 2012, This win made Chelsea the first London club to win the champions league. As a result of his outstanding managerial role, the club later saw the need to officially make Roberto the first team manager on a permanent basis, and no longer as a caretaker in June 2014. However, due to subsequent dwindling performances, Roberto was relieved of his duties as the manager of Chelsea on the 21st of November 2012, even though the club continued paying him until June 2014.
Roberto eventually got appointed by FC Schalke as their head coach on the 7th of October, 2014 but he resigned on the 26 of May 2015. He was later hired as the manager of Aston Villa on the 2nd of June, 2016 but his series of abyssal performances led to his dismissal on October 3, 2016.
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Roberto Di Matteo Personal life, wife, children
Roberto Di Matteo is a happily married man at the moment. The former footballer is married to a woman identified as Zoe Di Matteo. Their union is blessed with 3 amazing children.
According to reports, the happy family now lives at Leamington, Warwickshire, UK.
Net worth
The former player and coach is quite a wealthy man as he has raked in quite a large fortune from his two careers. At the moment, his current net worth has been pegged at about £6,76million by different sources.
Height, weight
Roberto stands at a height of 5 ft.10 inches (1.78m) but his actual weight is still being reviewed.
Complete profile of Roberto Di Matteo
| Roberto Di Matteo | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Roberto Di Matteo |
| Date of Birth | 29 May 1970 |
| Age | 50 years |
| Zodiac Sign | Gemini |
| Nationality | Italian, Swiss |
| Birth place | Schaffhausen, Switzerland |
| Profession | Former Professional footballer and Football Manager |
| Playing Position | Midfielder |
| Clubs | 1988–1991 Schaffhausen 1991–1992 Zürich 1992–1993 Aarau 1993–1996 Lazio 1996–2002 Chelsea 2008–2009 Milton Keynes Dons 2009–2011 West Bromwich Albion 2011–2012 Chelsea (assistant) 2012 Chelsea 2014–2015 Schalke 04 2016 Aston Villa |
| Father | Fiorindo Di Matteo |
| Mother | Gianna Di Matteo |
| Siblings | Concetta Di Matteo |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse/Partner | Zoe Di Matteo |
| Girlfriend | NA |
| Kids | 3 |
| Religion | NA |
| Estimated Net Worth: | £6,76million |
| Source of net worth | Football and Manger career |
| Height | Feet- (5ft 10 in) Meters- 1.78 m Centimeters-178cm |
| Weight | 74 kg |
| Eye color | NA |
| Hair color | NA |
| Social media |
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