One former Chelsea assistant takes over from another at Kilmarnock FC

After almost a decade as Antonio Conte’s right-hand-man, through spells at Siena, Juventus, the Italian national team, and Chelsea, Angelo Alessio is striking out on his own. (Conte’s other usual assistant, his brother Gianluca, has followed along to Inter as well.)

“I also want to make it very clear I never had a fight with Antonio. This was my choice to split. It was something I had been thinking of for a while. After eight years as an assistant manager, I decided to show a little courage and decided to return to management.”

-Angelo Alessio; source: Daily Record

On Sunday, he signed a three-year contract to become the head coach at Scottish Premier League outfit Kilmarnock FC, who finished third last season behind Glasgow powerhouses Celtic and Rangers and will be contesting the Europa League playoffs in short order.

Alessio takes over from another former Chelsea assistant manager (and Chelsea legend!), Steve Clarke, who accepted the head coaching position at the Scotland national team at the end of the club season. Clarke served as assistant to José Mourinho (the first) and Avram Grant before finding (brief) success as a head coach at West Brom and Reading, then joining Kilmarnock in 2017. In his two seasons at Killie, Clarke set consecutive club records for highest ever finishes (5th then 3rd) and also won the SFWA Manager of the Year award in 2017-18. He has one win and one loss in his first two Euro 2020 qualifying matches.

Combined, Alessio and Clarke were instrumental in three of Chelsea’s five Premier League-winning seasons in the last 15 years. While this is Alessio’s first job as a manager in some time, he brings a wealth of experience and an ambitious, winning attitude with him to Scotland. Maybe we can help him out with some loanees?

“It is a real honour for me to be named Kilmarnock manager. I’ve spent a lot of time researching and gathering information about the club and everyone I spoke to had nothing but positive things to say about Kilmarnock. I can’t wait to get to work with the players and staff on the training pitch and building on the strong foundations left by Steve Clarke.

“I don’t set limits. I am convinced I can deal with any difficulties I encounter in my journey.”

-Angelo Alessio; source: Daily Record

Best of luck to him, and to Clarkey as well!