EIGHT YEARS, EIGHT MANAGERS... BRAN’S LOWDOWN ON THEM ALL

AVRAM GRANT At the start I felt like I would never play for the club, but I used the time to learn and adapt. Your brain has to work quickly. Even though I didn’t play, I enjoyed the moment.

LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI Completely different style of management. Based on motivation. He was very good. I learned a lot.

GUUS HIDDINK The guy who gave me my first big chance. I grew from a small baby to a big man. He was amazing for me and I really appreciate everything. The two goals against Liverpool (in the Champions League) changed my career.

CARLO ANCELOTTI He gave me confidence, what I really needed. I was very close to him. I thought I would like to finish my career with him. He was so nice, so good. But in football things change.

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS It was different. Everyone here was comparing him with Jose. For the guys who didn’t work with Jose before it was something new, a new style of training, a new philosophy. It didn’t work because we didn’t adapt to that.

ROBERTO DI MATTEO He was the most successful manager when you see the trophies. Robbie did a great job for all of us. He was smart, he saw the situation. We were feeling together, we knew we could win something big for the club.

RAFA BENITEZ He was the manager who really tried to change our way of thinking. We won the Europa League, and it was my goal (against Benfica), the most important of my career. So many emotions. It was like a night from your dreams.

JOSE MOURINHO (below) He is a Special One, the Perfect One. Completely different from anything else. I had a feeling he could see three games ahead. He made decisions that made you go: ‘Wow. Is this real? Nobody can see that.’ Tactical things, preparation. We were motivated. We were really something.