If Roman Abramovich expects attacking football from Avram Grant, he may be in for a shock. If there has been a constant in Grant's career, it is the practical nature of his sides. Grant's appointment as Chelsea manager provoked a mixed reaction in Israel, where he has spent most of his career, some seeing it as evidence of his skills and others predicting he would fail.

Eyal Lachman, the Hapoel Acre manager and a close friend, said: "He's got a football brain and deep understanding of the game. He deserved it. He was in line with new trends in European football and is much valued by top managers. He can cope with the professional and mental demands of any job. I'm sure he'll do well. He's got so many opponents in Israel because of his qualities. Only grey, mediocre people are loved by all."

Never a professional player, Grant began as a youth coach at Hapoel Petah Tikva, winning the national championship and then becoming head coach. He led the modest club to second place in the league before moving to Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of Israel's biggest clubs. Grant halted a long decline and Maccabi, playing aggressive - some would say brutal - football, won the championship in 1992 and 1995. The fans nicknamed him The Magician.

After four years, Grant left the club. His return in 1996 after one year at Hapoel Haifa was controversial, with his successor at Maccabi, Dror Kashtan, being sacked despite having just won the double to clear his way. This time the magic had gone.

A move to Maccabi Haifa, the powerhouse of Israeli football, in 2001 got his career back on track. There, he had an outstanding team that contained Yossi Benayoun, most of the Israeli national team, Yakubu Ayegbeni and a host of other foreign internationals. They won the championship in 2001 and 2002 but exciting play was at a premium. To his credit, Grant brought out the best in his stars and turned Benayoun from an erratic midfielder into the finest Israeli player of his time. He gave Benayoun the leading role at Haifa and later in the Israel national team when he became the manager in 2002.

Under Grant, Israel drew their 2006 World Cup qualifying games against France, Switzerland and Ireland, almost making the finals. It was not pretty. The fans were divided: some thought he did exceptionally well not to lose to the Europeans, others said he was lucky and unambitious.

One man, however, was impressed. "Grant met Roman Abramovich at the right time," said an Israeli journalist. "Unlike the rest, he wasn't looking for a job or money at the time and he was a successful manager of the Israeli national team. Abramovich is a warm Zionist. Grant can be charming and engaging and schmoozed his way and they became close friends."

Abramovich planned to take over Hapoel Tel Aviv and intended to install Grant there but the deal fell through.

With the help of Pini Zahavi, Grant got the role of director of football at Portsmouth, where he mainly took care of training sessions and helped with the transfer policy.

From there, he became director of football at Stamford Bridge.