Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti has followed in the footsteps of fellow countryman Gianfranco Zola, the manager of West Ham United, by moving to the English Premier League.
Ancelotti's main objective is to end Chelsea's three-year wait for the league title and, more importantly in the eyes of club owner Roman Abramovich, to steer the club to their first Champions League triumph.
A massive challenge lies in wait for Ancelotti next season as he aims for European glory, something his illustrious predecessors, Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri, Josè Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink, all failed to achieve during their time with Chelsea.
At Stamford Bridge, Ancelotti has inherited a strong and settled squad comprising several ex-perienced internationals. This is a positive thing because the team will not go through a period of transition but it can also be tricky for the incoming boss in that the players may still be strongly attached to previous managers.
Last summer, Scolari, Brazil's World Cup-winning coach in 2002, took over the hot seat at Chelsea amid high expectations.
Many tipped Scolari to lead the Blues to success on the domestic and European fronts, but it was not meant to be.
After a promising start, Chelsea began to falter and looked a far cry from the side that challenged for so many honours in previous years.
Scolari's dismissal earlier this year was reportedly orchestrated by the team's old-guard players who had remained loyal to Mourinho, the Inter coach.
Ancelotti's first major task at Stamford Bridge is to win the faith and loyalty of his players, especially his key personnel like goalkeeper Petr Cech, team captain John Terry (provided he stays put), Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba.
Big spenders Manchester City have been tempting Terry to join them but according to Ancelotti, the Chelsea skipper can emulate Milan legend Paolo Maldini who spent over 25 years with the same club.
So far, Chelsea have not been particularly active in the transfer market. Ancelotti was willing to offload Portuguese duo Ricardo Carvalho and Deco to Inter but the two clubs failed to reach an agreement.
Yuri Zhirkov, formerly of CSKA Moscow, Daniel Sturridge (Manchester City) and Ross Turnbull (Middlesbrough) represent the 2009 FA Cup winners' only signings so far.
By Ancelotti's own admission, Chelsea need to increase their pool of central midfielders to improve their potential. Chelsea clearly have several top-class players in their squad but if past seasons are anything to go by, the team badly needs a creative playmaker.
No surprise that Ancelotti is believed to have made an attempt to sign Andrea Pirlo from his previous club Milan.
The 50-year-old will have to contend with two main stumbling blocks next season, namely the Champions League bans imposed on Drogba (three matches) and Jose Bosingwa (two matches) and, perhaps more worryingly, the participation of several key Chelsea players in next year's African Nations Cup, due to be held in Angola. The likes of Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou are all expected to be involved in the African Nations Cup.
This is another reason why Ancelotti must increase the depth of his squad.
Dutch coach Hiddink, who was in temporary charge of Chelsea in the second part of last season, was said to be keen on rejuvenating the squad had he accepted the Chelsea job on a permanent basis as most of the senior players are already in their thirties.
However, Ancelotti is not ready to lose some of his senior squad members in exchange for up-and-coming players. After all, the ex-Reggiana, Parma and Juventus coach mostly relied on proven veterans during his successful eight-year reign at Milan.
Chelsea's main challengers for the coveted Champions League are expected to be Spanish giants Real Madrid, who will host next May's final at their Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and reigning European champions Barcelona. Manchester United, Liverpool and possibly Bayern Munich, are also potential contenders.
In England, the Blues' main rivals for the Premier League title are likely to be the same as in previous seasons, namely defending champions Manchester United, who have won the last three titles, and Liverpool who are desperate to end their long wait for the championship.
Ancelotti has the clout and experience to do well in England with Chelsea. As things stand, Chelsea still need two, possibly three, quality additions to become a real force to be reckoned with.
Ancelotti knows what winning trophies entails. One hopes that he is given adequate time to prove his immense credentials.