Filipe Coelho remains at RC Strasbourg Alsace as an assistant to Gary O’Neil, however, he could easily have followed Liam Rosenior in making the move from the Meinau to Chelsea earlier this year.
Rosenior, after 18 successful months with Strasbourg, moved to Stamford Bridge at the start of January. The Englishman, who had guided Le Racing into the UEFA Europa Conference League, replaced Enzo Maresca at the helm of the Premier League giants. The Italian’s relationship with the club broke down swiftly, leaving Chelsea needing to quickly find a replacement.
Given the link between Chelsea and Strasbourg, Rosenior quickly emerged as the favourite for the role. However, he was not followed to London by Coelho. The Portuguese coach is very familiar with West London, having managed the Blues’ U21 side. He left that role in July 2025, taking up the role of an assistant at Strasbourg.
As he told A Bola, he didn’t want to uproot his family again. “I was close to going to Chelsea when Liam left and accompanying him in London, but family is a very important pillar and it didn’t make sense to take my family away from a good adaptation to life in France to return to London [at that point]. I arrived five months ago, and I want to keep going,” Coelho said.
He added, “I feel that the moment to be a head coach will come. I’m not in a hurry and I’m enjoying it. Having arrived at a club like Chelsea, where I was close to Enzo Maresca, and now being able to benefit from the expertise of Liam Rosenior and Gary O’Neil, it’s an incredibly rich resumé, and I’m fine-tuning the last details to be more than prepared when the time comes.”
The former manager of the Chelsea U21 side added that he wouldn’t rule out managing in his native Portugal. “It’s a league that means a lot to me. It’s my country. Returning to my country is always on the table,” said Coelho.
