15 years ago, Peter Odemwingie helped West Brom achieve something they’ve not done since
In 2009-10, West Brom achieved promotion back to the Premier League under the leadership of Roberto Di Matteo.
In his first season in charge, Di Matteo led Albion to a second-placed finish in the Championship behind Newcastle to secure automatic promotion.
Chris Brunt was one of the modern-day West Brom legends who was a part of that promotion-winning side, which Di Matteo had to add to in the summer transfer window if he wanted to keep his team in the Premier League.
And he did just that by signing Peter Odemwingie from Lokomotiv Moscow.
Delight for West Brom duo Peter Odemwingie and Roberto Di Matteo
Before the 2010 summer transfer window closed, it looked like a long season ahead for West Brom as they lost 6-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
After a topsy-turvy August, Di Matteo’s side went on an unbeaten streak in September.
The Baggies picked up seven points from a possible nine this month.
Brunt‘s goal was enough to secure a 1-1 draw against Tottenham at The Hawthorns on 11 September and they then came from a goal down to beat rivals Birmingham City 3-1 in the Black Country on 18 September.
West Brom’s biggest result this month, though, came on 25 September when they beat Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates.
On 1 October 2010, it was confirmed that Di Matteo won the Premier League Manager of the Month Award for his side’s form.
It was double delight for West Brom as summer signing Odemwingie picked up the Player of the Month award after a goal against each of Birmingham and Arsenal.
Odemwingie is the only West Brom player to ever win the Premier League Player of the Month award, having also won it in April 2011 and February 2012.
Steve Clarke, Tony Pulis and Darren Moore have also won Manager of the Month, but none won it at the same time as a player, as the Baggies managed in 2010.
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What happened to Roberto Di Matteo after West Brom sack and what is he doing now?
Ex-West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace sacked Di Matteo just over four months after he won the Manager of the Month award, replacing him with Roy Hodgson, who laid the foundations for Albion’s longest ever run of consecutive seasons in the Premier League.
While that decision was ultimately justified, Di Matteo went on to be caretaker manager of Chelsea for the final few months of the 2011-12 season, winning the 2012 FA Cup final before lifting the Champions League title with a penalty shoot-out against Bayern Munich.
Di Matteo was replaced by Rafa Benitez eight months later after a poor start to the following season.
He’s since been in charge of German side Schalke, West Brom’s local rivals Aston Villa and in January 2023, he was appointed as technical advisor for South Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Di Matteo returned to West Brom in 2022 as a manager in the unofficial testimonials for Brunt and James Morrison.
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