The sacking of Graham Potter means that Chelsea will temporarily be led by a man who has never taken charge of a first-team game before.
Potter's assistant coach Bruno Saltor has been named as interim boss, with his first game being the visit of Liverpool on Tuesday night. By his own admission, this is the first time the former Brighton star will have ever picked a starting line-up.
He is relatively new into coaching, having only taken his first job when he retired from playing in 2019. Here, Mirror Football brings you all you need to know about Chelsea's interim manager.
Playing career
A right-back by trade, Bruno came through Espanyol's academy, though only featured once for the Catalan side before joining Lleida in 2003. After three years with Els Blaus, he joined Almeria and was instrumental in their first ever promotion to LaLiga.
He also played a key role as they finished eighth in their first campaign in the Spanish top-flight and easily avoided relegation in their second. A three-year spell at Valencia followed, but it was Brighton where Bruno made his name.
The Spaniard joined the Seagulls in 2012, going on to make more than 200 appearances for the South Coast side. He was twice named in the Championship team of the season and captained the club to promotion in 2017.
Bruno continued to be a regular starter in their first campaign in the Premier League, making 25 appearances in total. A hamstring injury in the opening game of the following season saw him lose his place in the team and he retired at the end of that campaign.
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Coaching career
Upon his retirement, Bruno was handed a role in Graham Potter's backroom staff, with the Englishman taking over in the summer of 2019. He was appointed as senior player development coach, a role he held for three years.
Bruno then followed Potter to Stamford Bridge, taking a job as one of the Englishman's assistant coaches. With Potter's number two Billy Reid also leaving the Blues, Bruno was named interim boss.
Preparing for Liverpool
The clash with Liverpool will be the first time that Bruno has picked a team himself. And the Spaniard has called for the Chelsea squad to put their focus fully on the game, rather than on who becomes their next manager.
“I have been coaching for four years and have been coaching under Graham. Obviously, he has been the manager and he always had the last word. It’s quite clear that it’s not been the case [Bruno picking a team]. Tomorrow [Tuesday] is going to be the first time," he said.
“Obviously, it's been a difficult 24 hours for all of us, for the staff, for the families, and now we just have to deal with the situation. It's really important to focus just day by day, how much we can affect every day, what we can control.”
