ADRIAN KAJUMBA: Bruno Saltor was mentored by Graham Potter but now the Brighton legend is in the hotseat at Chelsea… and it will be a big test for the calm character who plans training
It was a big enough decision for Bruno Saltor to agree to leave his beloved Brighton to join Chelsea when he had the chance to stay.
His head must now be spinning following the whirlwind events which have left him in charge of the Stamford Bridge club.
The 42 year-old has been installed as Chelsea’s interim manager following Sunday’s sacking of Graham Potter and will address the media on Monday afternoon ahead of his first game in charge against Liverpool.
With what is left of the season, Chelsea’s hierarchy felt they had a better chance of salvaging it with the Spaniard in charge having reached the point where their faith in Potter had finally run out.
It is a huge opportunity for a man who did not contemplate the idea of being a manager while he was a player but warmed to the idea once he started coaching.
Bruno Saltor (right) must have a spinning head after the whirlwind events that saw his mentor Graham Potter sacked as Chelsea manager on Sunday and the Spaniard named as interim boss
Former right back Bruno joined Brighton from Spain in 2012 and helped them to promotion
He finished his career at the club in 2019 as a legend before becoming a coach for the Seagulls
But there might be a tinge of sadness about the circumstances in which this chance has come the way of Bruno, a former right back in Spain before he joined Brighton from Valencia in 2012.
Potter was Bruno’s mentor and gave him his big coaching break at Brighton, where he played for seven years before finishing his career in 2019 as a legend, being honoured with a mural in the city.
He started out as a senior development coach at Brighton, working under Potter – who saw enough coaching quality in Bruno to trust him to prepare many of Brighton’s training sessions.
Brighton wanted to keep Bruno when Chelsea came calling for Potter but the former, described as a calm character and good human being, opted to leave with the latter for Chelsea, along with Billy Reid, Bjorn Hamberg, goalkeeper coach Ben Roberts and recruitment specialist Kyle Macaulay.
It is an unusual situation that has seen the group separated.
While a manager departing tends to result in all of his backroom team leaving with him, as they are under contract some have remained behind to help Chelsea through their latest transition period.
Assistant manager Reid has departed with Potter but Macaulay, Hamberg and Roberts have remained.
It is not yet clear exactly how long they will be at the helm and led by Bruno, aiming to pick up the pieces from a man he will forever be indebted to.
The 42-year-old moved from Brighton to Chelsea alongside manager Potter (left) in September
The calm ‘good human being’ now has a huge opportunity to lead the Blues this campaign