Antonio Conte has become the seventh man to be named the permanent Chelsea manager by Roman Abramovich since the Russian bought the club in 2003.
Given that Jose Mourinho has been installed at Stamford Bridge on two occasions, Conte's long-term appointment is the eighth of Abramovich's reign.
Here’s a look at the differing fortunes of those Blues bosses.
JOSE MOURINHO 2004-07
Abramovich’s first pick to lead a new moneyed revolution at Chelsea was Portuguese coach Mourinho — a board decision which changed everything for the King’s Road club.
In three unforgettable years the former Porto boss won two Barclays Premier League titles, the FA Cup once and the League Cup twice. And then, all of sudden, in late 2007 he was gone — for a while.
AVRAM GRANT 2007-08
Grant represented a radical departure from the Iberian intrigue and sound-bite savvy boasted by Mourinho and Chelsea fans took a while to accept the understated Israeli was their new leader.
He will be remembered as the Blues’ nearly man as he guided a star-studded team to second place in the league, to a Champions League final defeat to Manchester United and to League Cup runners-up medals.
LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI 2008-09
After the disappointment of the Grant campaign Abramovich once again landed a coaching heavyweight in the shape of Scolari, who had won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002.
But somehow Big Phil’s project never managed to get off the ground and he left London under a cloud after just seven months, with Guus Hiddink taking over on an interim basis for the first time.
CARLO ANCELOTTI 2009-11
Abramovich was still smarting from Chelsea’s near miss in the 2008 Champions League final and therefore turned to an Italian who had, with AC Milan, won Europe’s biggest prize twice in a decade.
Ancelotti was a stabilising influence and delivered an overdue third Premier League title as well as the FA Cup. Chelsea came no close to winning the trophy they really craved, however, so he departed.
ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS 2011-12
Once more Chelsea turned to a Portuguese who had achieved big things with Porto. No, not that one.
In many ways Villas-Boas promised to be Mourinho Mark II but his fleeting tenure was ultimately a huge disappointment and a player revolt sped up his inevitable premature exit from Stamford Bridge.
ROBERTO DI MATTEO 2012
Abramovich had no choice but to turn Di Matteo’s caretaker spell into a permanent deal after the former Italy midfielder, against the odds, landed the elusive Champions League trophy in Munich.
His FA Cup success in the summer worked in his favour, too, but increasingly poor results slowly but surely counted against Di Matteo and he was ditched after a heavy European defeat to Juventus.
JOSE MOURINHO 2013-15
Di Matteo’s short-term replacement Rafael Benitez fought against his frosty reception from the Chelsea faithful to win the Europa League, but Abramovich only ever had eyes for one old flame.
Mourinho, who had worked for Inter Milan and Real Madrid, was ushered back into the club with open arms and bagged another league title at the first time of asking. But the controversial behaviour that dogged his original regime, and some really terrible results, forced his second removal in December.
ANTONIO CONTE 2016-
The outgoing Italy boss has finally confirmed his next destination by signing a three-year contract with Chelsea.
Three times a Serie A-winning coach with Juventus, the formidable man manager has been tasked with shaking up a Blues squad that have gone from champions to also-rans inside 12 months.
