Interim Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink is adamant that he will be leaving at the end of the season to concentrate on the Russia job.

Chelsea fans who had been hoping the Dutchman would decide to stay must now start contemplating a fourth manager in two years.

Frank Rijkaard is unemployed and the style of football his Barcelona side managed when winning the Champions League in 2006 would definitely go down well at the Bridge, especially after some dour displays in recent times.

On the downside, the Dutchman had a little run in with Chelsea when they met Barca in Europe a few years back while his agent has said he is enjoying a break from the game.

Roberto Mancini also has great pedigree and would seem available having been sacked by Inter Milan at the end of last season despite leading them to a third straight scudetto. (more…)

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was told his position was secure after the 2007 European champions finished fifth in Serie A last term and missed out on this season’s Champions League.

However, two defeats in their opening two league matches have put him under pressure again. The arrivals of Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko were designed to help stop the rot but Milan’s main problem last season was a static midfield and the issue remains unresolved.

Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini have a habit of standing together in a line near the centre circle and rarely does one of them break forward. This means the front three have to do all the running.

Ancelotti may have to reconsider his tactics if he wants to stay in a job, especially with a much-loved former Milan player looking freely available to take over.

Frank Rijkaard left Barcelona after things went sour at the Nou Camp but his 2006 Champions League-winning side played the sort of wonderfully attacking football the San Siro now craves.

The Dutchman would have to bury the hatchet with Ronaldinho and re-energise an ageing defence but Italian media see him as the ideal candidate.

Ancelotti needs to act fast, or hope Rijkaard is snapped up by another team.

PHOTO: Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti gives instructions to his players during the game at Genoa, Sept. 14 REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito

Henk Ten Cate’s sacking by Chelsea won’t make the headlines that greeted the departures of Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant, but it could be significant in Spain as well as in England.

Ten Cate, the 53-year-old Dutchman, was little known in Barcelona when he was appointed as Frank Rijkaard’s assistant in 2003. He soon won a reputation as a hard taskmaster in training and a disciplinarian when it came to man management. He was also praised as a clever tactician but he was content to keep a low profile in the media.

When he left to take over at Ajax in 2006, after the Champions League final win over Arsenal, a few columnists noted how Barcelona would miss him, but it’s fair to say his exit was hardly mourned by the public.

They certainly miss him now.

There’s an article on the El Mundo Deportivo website this mourning noting his departure from Chelsea and just about every comment says the same thing — Please, please, please can he come back to Barcelona.

It’s not hard to see why the fans are aching for his return. In the two years since he’s been gone Barcelona have become a shambles. Senior players like Samuel Eto’o came out to criticise the coach and Ronaldinho appeared to lose all motivation as the club’s internal discipline went to pot. It’s hard to see Ten Cate tolerating all that.  

The question now is whether Barcelona’s new coach Pep Guardiola will want him at his side, and if so, whether Barcelona will be able to persuade him back. If they can, Chelsea’s decision to sack him might turn out be the best news Barca have heard in two years.

As for Chelsea, I wonder if this makes it more or less likely that Rijkaard will be their new coach. What do you reckon?

PHOTO: Ten Cate holds up the European Cup during Barcelona’s Champions League celebrations, May 18, 2006. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino