Roberto Di Matteo revealed how crucial it is to communicate with the club management and what it feels like when a coach gets sacked. "It's extremely important to have a direct line with them. When it comes to the players, I always tried to maintain a good relationship, but I probably underestimated the importance of my relationship with the management. When they tell you that you've been let go, it's depressing. As a newcomer, we were never in the relegation zone, except after the first match, but otherwise we were always out of it. So I was surprised when they called me and said they wanted a change," the Italian coach recalled during his conversation with Petr Čech.
He also shared his coaching philosophy and how he works with big stars. "I base my coaching mainly on a human approach. First, I want to get to know the person. I want to know what they like, what they don't like, what kind of family they have, what their background is, and so on. You can talk to someone from Europe in a certain way, but with someone from Africa or South America, it's different, because these are simply different cultures. Only then comes the professional side," said Di Matteo.
"As a player, everyone used to ask me what it's like to be in a dressing room full of stars. I always said: Yes, they may be stars, but they're people. Most of the time, those you think are big stars and might be arrogant are actually very humble and really think about their work and how to be the best," he added.
The full TV version of this episode of the Big Pete documentary series will be available on CANAL+ Sport and the CANAL+ streaming service in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Poland, Myanmar, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, and Hungary, and on SuperSport in South Africa and Switzerland.