Ruud Gullit: Portrait of a Genius. Harry Harris

football has been a graveyard for foreign managers. Their track record is a litany of disaster. In recent years Dr Joe Venglos at Aston Villa and Ossie Ardiles at Newcastle and then Tottenham have flopped. Gullit broke the mould, as has Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

      But Chelsea’s managing director, Colin Hutchinson, explained that Gullit’s management role is not typical. ‘English football is entering the era of the coach. It is the Continental way and Chelsea are pioneering this with Ruud working in a classic Continental set-up. He identifies the players he wants and I try to get them. We were fortunate that Ruud had a year in the Premier League as a player to get to know the English game and fellow Blues before taking over as player-manager. It would have been too much to have asked him to play, coach and manage when he first arrived in London from Sampdoria.

      â€˜Had Ruud turned down the player-manager role, Chelsea might still have gone Continental. Arsene Wenger was a possibility, although indications were that he would not be available until well into the season. Sven Ericksson, who has had European success with Malmo, Benfica and Sampdoria, was another prospect.

      â€˜Premiership squads will continue to be multi-national. The next big invasion could be from Continental coaches, which would be another step on the road to helping raise standards and the technical quality of the English game. If that makes our clubs a stronger force in European competitions, then it will be for the good. Until England’s clubs start winning European cups we won’t be seriously considered as the number one league in the world.’

      Gullit has helped to transform English football by incorporating a host of ideas from Italy, where he was the world’s number one with AC Milan. Look at his pre-Chelsea career and you can easily deduce why many of his players say they have learned so much from him. Gullit’s honours include World Footballer of the Year (1987); European Footballer of the Year (1987); European Championships winner (1988); European Cup winner (1989, 1990); Italian League title winner (1988, 1992, 1993) and Dutch League title winner (1984, 1986 1987); 66 caps for Holland and scorer of 16 international goals. Gullit also wins the praise of football’s top players. George Weah, World Footballer of the Year in 1996, recalls meeting him when they both played for the Rest of the World XI in Munich. ‘He was very pleasant and respectful. He spoke to me like a son or a brother. He was full of encouragement and came across as a superb role model for us all. I really admire him as a player. Like Eric Cantona, Ruud always speaks the truth. He never hides from it and that has earned him huge respect worldwide.’ In his first season as a player in England, Gullit was quick to win the respect of the UK fans. He was named 1996’s Best International Player in the UK by readers of the football magazines World Soccer, Goal, 90 Minutes, Soccer Stars and Shoot.

      His innovations have been a breath of fresh air for the traditional English game, and he has implemented them without any grey flecks appearing on his famous dreadlocks. This isn’t to say that Mr Super Cool doesn’t experience any emotion. ‘I think the very best time is the relief of scoring a goal or watching the celebrations of the players after scoring.’

      While Kevin Keegan and other high-profile bosses were struck down by burn-out, it was a stress-free zone for Gullit, who in the summer of 1996 managed from the bench in an Armani suit and no socks, and in the winter of 1996/97 with fashionable apparel, including a bobble hat to keep not only his head warm but also his dreadlocks dry.

      Voted Britain’s Best Dressed Man, Ruud was signed up for his own designer label Ruud Wear. The BBC negotiated a two-year contract after his roaring success with Des Lynam and Alan Hansen during Euro 96, and he signed a lucrative TV commercial deal to advertise M&Ms.

      In his first six months in charge he bought and sold 12 players for a transfer turnover of more than £18 million. He imported Gianluca Vialli, Gianfranco Zola, and Roberto di Matteo and Frank Leboeuf for a cost of £12 million and sold old favourites such as John Spencer, Terry Phelan and Gavin Peacock. Ruud also sold Paul Furlong and youngsters such as Anthony Barness and Muzzy Izzett, with Mark Stein and David Rocastle loaned out.

      The players Gullit recruited sent the wage bill soaring to £15 million a year. Accounting for the lion’s share were the £25, 000-a-week salaries of the Italian superstars, who are among Chelsea’s nouveaux-riches and regularly dine at San Lorenzo’s, Princess Diana’s favourite Kensington eatery.

      By Gullit’s own admission the 1996/97 football season was a ‘roller coaster year’. But how the fans loved it. The average home game attendance was 27, 600 – the best for nine years. Season ticket sales for 1997/98 have set a record for the third year running. The next stage of the Bridge development is a lavish £25 million new West Stand with 15 millennium suites, 34 boxes, 14, 000 capacity and more than 2, 500 places for meals on match days. The current capacity of 28, 500 will rise to 35, 000 in the 1997/98 season and ultimately 43, 000 when the complex is complete. Clearly, Chelsea are building towards becoming the Manchester United of the South. Captain Dennis Wise said: ‘We used to play in front of 13, 000, but this year it has been totally different. It has been 28, 000 every week, and that’s how it should be at Chelsea. As a result we’re more where we should be as a club.’

      Mark Hughes is a man of action and few words. He said: ‘Perhaps in the past Chelsea hoped to be involved in a competition at their climax. Now we expect to be. That’s progress.’

      Chelsea Football Club were once synonymous with racism. It was infested by the National Front, the home of soccer bigotry. The Shed was its symbol, a breeding ground and recruitment centre. It was not alone, of course. There were several other terraces in English football plagued with violent and unsavoury fans, whose racism was demonstrated by antics such as throwing bananas onto the pitch and imitating monkey noises.

      Chelsea’s few black players were hardly welcome. So, it was hell for black opponents, targeted much to the embarrassment of black and white Chelsea players alike.

      Ken Bates presided over years of racial tension. ‘Paul Cannoville was our first black player and our own fans would throw bananas at him when he warmed up at the side of the pitch. Now we have the first black manager in the Premiership.’ Bates battled against racism, and Gullit has helped his campaign. ‘With us, it was a question of give a dog a bad name. Yet it was happening at other clubs. Blackburn, for example, never signed a black player; nor did Liverpool for a long time. But don’t believe that racism has left the Bridge, it hasn’t – it has just been contained. Gullit has had an effect, a marvellous effect, but he’s not the Messiah!’

      Maybe not, but his influence is apparent. Fans used to shave their heads in homage to unpalatable and dangerous right-wing groups … now they shave their heads in worship to Vialli.

      In his own forthright and inimitable style, Bates discussed the club’s Big Fish at the Bridge over an exquisite Italian meal of lobster and sea bass at a fashionable Chelsea restaurant, L’Incontro in Pimlico Road. ‘Hoddle bought Gullit, but Hoddle couldn’t have bought the players Gullit has! Four years ago we would have been on par with the likes of QPR and Crystal Palace. Hoddle produced that quantum leap by transforming the club into a Little England. Gullit has made it a Little Europe. Gullit has made people realise that English clubs can look beyond the white cliffs of Dover.’

      Bates finally got it right in his choice of manager after John Hollins, Bobby Campbell and Ian Porterfield. At the time of Gullit’s appointment he was asked how it felt to be not only starting his first season as manager but also the highest-profile black manager in the English game. There wasn’t a flicker of emotion as he responded: ‘Whether you are black or white, what is important is talent. My father, who studied economics at night school, told me that I would have to work harder than others for what I would achieve. For me, that was the stimulation. I took it positively. I felt proud of who I was, of the colour, everything. Of course, I am aware that I’m black and that I stand out. But I use it to my advantage. I view it positively. If you feel attacked by your difference, then it is you who has the problem.’

      Former Chelsea boss David Webb believes Gullit is destined for the top in management. Webb, still