Chelsea’s first Europa Conference League–The Blues will play in the third tier of UEFA competition for the first time in their history following Man United’s FA Cup final victory this afternoon.
Chelsea will play in the Europa Conference League next season despite sitting sixth in the Premier League table following Manchester United’s surprise FA Cup victory over rivals Manchester City.
The Blues secured European qualification for European football on the final day of the campaign as they beat Bournemouth 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to cap a fine end to the season with a five-match winning run. However, just three days later, manager Mauricio Pochettino left the club after just 11 months in charge.
It is believed that the Argentine went to a meeting with co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, sporting director Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart and both sides agreed it was best to go their separate ways. Since then, Chelsea have been looking for someone new to man their dugout for the 2024/25 campaign, with numerous names linked with the post.
Former Brighton manager Roberto De Jarby, Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeness and Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca have been named as options on the club’s current shortlist, with Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna having met with Chelsea officials to discuss a possible deal that would see him leave. Europa Conference League-Tractor Boys after back-to-back promotions from League One to English football’s top flight.
There is also a ‘mystery’ target that the club’s board are interested in, widely speculated to be Sporting manager Ruben Amorim, with the 39-year-old having won titles in Portugal, he fits this profile. Europa Conference League-The Blues owners are said to want a young, possession-oriented head coach in a manager.
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It’s fair to say whoever takes over in the Chelsea dugout, expectations will be high as ownership will be looking to build on the success they started to see at the end of the season. After a torrid 2022/23 campaign that saw four managerial changes and a 12th-place finish in Boheli’s first year at the top, anything less than what they achieved this season will be seen as a major failure in the eyes of both the supporters and the club.
The Europa Conference League, therefore, marks brand new territory for the club and entering it now means they have become the first club in Europe to win four major European titles, having already won the Champions League (2012, 2021), the Europa League. (2013, 2019) and European Cup Winners’ Cup (1971, 1998).
The Blues will now play in a two-leg play-off qualifier for the competition at the start of the new campaign, with dates set for Thursday, 22 August and Thursday, 29 August 2024 against an unknown opponent. Europa Conference League-The draw for the play-off round will take place on Monday, August 5 and will include the likes of La Liga side Real Betis, Europa Conference League-Bundesliga side 1899 Hoffenheim and Ligue 1 club RC Lens.
With the Premier League kicking off just five days before the first leg, whoever becomes the new manager at Stamford Bridge will have an early start to European competition.
Chelsea’s first Europa Conference League:
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