Who next after Mourinho?

Former Chelsea manager is out of work since being sacked by Real Madrid at the end of 2014/15 season. He earlier managed the Blues from 2009 till 2011 during which he replaced the interim manager Guus Hiddink. In May 2010, he led the team to Premier league title beating Manchester United by just one point achieving the rare feat of being the only man other than Mourinho to win the league with Chelsea. The following season, Ancelotti was sacked failing to guide the team to any major title but not before guiding the team to a second place and quarterfinals in the Champions league. After guiding Real Madrid to Champions league win in 2014, he opted to spend a year out of the game. But, the Italian has admitted his desire to come back to work. If reports are to be believed, Ancelotti might take charge at Bayern Munich following Pep Guardiola’s alleged rift with the team management. In complete contrast with Mourinho, Ancelotti has the reputation of being well-liked within the dressing room and more importantly for Roman Abramovich, he has a calmer personality with officials.

As per recent reports, Guus Hiddink is in prime spot to replace Mourinho and is likely to be appointed interim manager. The Dutchman managed Chelsea after sacking of Portuguese coach luiz Felipe Scolari, Hiddink took the team to semi-finals of Champions league where they eventually lost to Barcelona in a controversial match. During his tenure of three months, he only lost one match to Tottenham Hotspur. He has the highest win percentage of any Chelsea manager (with at least two games managed) ever and is favourite to lead Chelsea again. Hiddink’s name came up few hours after the club sacked Mourinho. More recently, Hiddink was in charge of a disastrous Euro 2016 qualification campaign for the Netherlands where the Oranje failed to qualify for a tournament that had been explanded to 32 teams. At 69, he might not prefer a job at a pressure cooker of a club but in a temporary role, he’s a good choice.

Even before Mourinho was given the pink slip, reports in Spain suggested that defending champions were negotiating with the former Spurs boss Juande Ramos. His last achievement as manager was winning the league Cup with Spurs in 2008. The Spaniard is out of work since leaving Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk at the end of the 2013-14 season. During his stint at Real Madrid, he led the club to a 17 game unbeaten run after taking over in the middle of the season — something Chelsea seek too.

One of the most sought after managers in world football, Pep Guardiola is likely to head to the English Premier league after reportedly deciding to reject an improved contract at Bayern Munich with his contract expiring in the summer. There would be a long queue of suiotrs for the 44-year-old Catalan with Manchester City, United as possible contenders too. Pep has delivered his own brand of football and achieved lot of success at Barcelona and now at Bayern. Sources close to Guardiola indicate he is not happy with the current state of the squad at the Bavarians and has made his intentions clear to Bayern’s executive Karl Heinz Rummenigge. At both Barca and Bayern, he took over a strong squad and a legacy left by his predeccsors but not many would question his ability to build a team at Chelsea — if he were to head to london. But the more likely destination for Guardiola would be either United — due to their long standing interest or City — with his friendly relationship with Txiki Begiristain, member on City’s board.

The former Argentina midfielder has made his reputation as one of Europe’s top coaches after guiding Atletico Madrid to a league title and a Champions league final spot. In the process, he’s broken the hegemony enjoyed by Real Madrid and Barcelona at the top of the Spanish charts. Much like Mourinho, he gets the best out of his players while expecting the most out of them. Presently, Atletico are behind Barcelona in the league table only on goal difference. With league and European title won with former club, he may consider a move abroad.