With this development pleasing quite alot of Chelsea lovers, i want to tell you how this 33 year old man kept coming to my attention and so i thought to do a bit of reading up on this young Portuguese manager and was suitably impressed and intrigued by the similarities in Boas's path into football was to the 'Special One'.
Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas was born on the 17th October 1977. Andre Villa-Boas's childhood was just like any other Portuguese child. He played sports but did not excel certainly not at Football anyway, and anybody predicting that this young Portuguese boy would make a ('Potentially' anyway) Top Manager would have been questioned by even the most imaginative person. In fact, Andre's path into Football was as complicated if not more so than Jose Mourinho's path !
It all started when Sir Bobby Robson, who was Manager of Porto, moved into the same Apartment block that Andre and his family lived. Andre Villa-Boas was a 16 year old Porto fan, so for the Manager of his team to be living in the same Apartment block was a big deal to him. Robson, was just beginning his career at Porto but had achieved success at Ipswich, England and PSV Eindhoven and had even had a short stay at Sporting Lisbon where he had surprisingly been sacked despite having Sporting at the top of the league.
Andre despite having admiration for Sir Bobby, questioned his decision to leave striker Domingos Paciencia on the bench too often for Andre's liking. Andre, had even asked Sir Bobby for a position at Porto, which Bobby had kindly declined, but young Villas-Boas was persistent. When he sent Sir Bobby a letter again questioning his wisdom in only using Paciencia as a substitute, Sir Bobby asked him to back up his argument with facts which Villas-Boas did in emphatic fashion ! Robson, was so impressed with the quality of Villa-Boas's data and in depth analysis to back up his argument that he gave him the role of trainee youth team coach.
Villas-Boas's love of the game was evident to Robson who ensured that he nutured the youngster in order to help him flourish. Robson sent Andre Villas-Boas to Lilleshall in England to undertake his coaching badges. Being only 17 years old, Andre was the youngest student, by some margin, undertaking his Coaching Badges. Andre Villas-Boas gained his UEFA C license agaed just 17. Sir Bobby then used his contacts in the game to give Boas some experience and arranged for him to spend some time at Robson's former club Ipswich Town working with George Burley. Andre's grandmother who was English also aided Andre by teaching him the English Language which ensured he became fluent in English, which also aided his progression as he was able to communicate on a wider level.
When Andre returned back to Porto after his 'Work Experience' he was offered a job in the British Virgin Islands working for their Football Association. This step was made easier as a direct result of his excellent communication skills and his command of the English Language. Once settled into his new surroundings Andre undertook a coaching position with the British Virgin Islands Football Association. Andre spent 18-months over there before he returned to FC Porto, where he was offered a coaching role with Porto's under-19 side. The job offer incidentally was made by the new man in charge, his name ; Jose Mourinho ! Not long into Villas-Boas's new employment, Jose identified a different role for him and remembered Villas-Boas's attention to detail that had impressed Sir Bobby Robson so much. Jose promoted Andre to the role of opposition scout.
Andre thrived in the role of 'Opposition Scout' or the more creatively entitled 'director of opposition intelligence'. His attention to detail meant he left no stone unturned and allowed Mourinho to tailor his plans for the opposition perfectly as a result of the data that Andre provided. Part of Villas-Boas's role would be to scout Porto’s upcoming opponents and provide dossiers for Jose and his players.
Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas enjoyed a successful partnership at Porto, the highlight of which was winning the UEFA Champions League in 2002. When Jose left Porto for Chelsea he took Andre Villas-Boas with him. He has performed the same role at Chelsea and Inter. Like Jose though, Andre Villas-Boas was supremely ambitious and wanted more than just to be a scout.
In October 2009, Andre left Inter Milan to become manager of Academica in Portugal’s top flight. His only season at Academica saw them finish in 11th place in the division. To the surprise of a number of people, Porto’s president Jorge Pinto da Costa made an approach for Villas-Boas as he wanted Andre to become Porto’s latest manager. Villas-Boas agreed to join Porto and left his role as Academica boss and replaced Jesualdo Ferreira as Manager of Porto.
As I did mention earlier, Andre like Jose Mourinho has become a manager without any playing career of his own. This fact is almost unheard of in the World of Football. Both pay great attention to detail and their analysis of upcoming opponents probably sets them apart from a lot of managers around the World.
Andre really has walked a similar path to Jose that path has led him into Football Management. Both have been assistant managers at top clubs and both managed to secure managerial jobs in the Portugese Top Division with little previous experience which in itself is no mean feat ! Mourinho managed Lieira and done well securing their highest ever league finish, whilst Villas-Boas's first attempt saw him avoid Relegation with Academia. Which was certainly one of the reasons why people raised eyebrows when Porto came calling.
The similarities between Villas-Boas and Mourinho are almost uncanny. Whilst Jose is a master of psychology and playing mind-games, possibly his greatest strength comes in motivating his teams. Jose always seems to be loved by his players who carry out his gameplan to a tee. Jose has also shown demonstrated that he is a great tactician and this is evidenced in the organisation of his teams. Villas-Boas has certainly displayed some of the above qualities that Mourinho possesses but he states very clearly that he is his own person.
Certainly Andre demonstrated his own tactical ability last season as Porto swept all the teams aside. Whether or not Andre possesses the same charisma and whether he manipulates the media in the same way Mourinho does remains to be seen. However, he does possess the same supreme confidence in his own ability as well as the same will to win that Jose has in abundance.
Andre required those attributes when he took over at Porto from Jesualdo Ferreira. Ferreira's record at Porto had been excellent and this only increased the pressure on Villas-Boas. Ferreira after all had won 3 successive titles in his 4 year stint at Porto. Despite that tremendous record, Ferreira paid for his job when his Porto side could only manage a 3rd Place finish.
That supreme confidence was required and was demonstrated in abundance by Villas-Boas when he was with Porto. Last season saw guide Porto to a title treble, winning both the league and league cup as well as the Europa League. Porto ended last season unbeaten with 27 wins in 30matches, becoming only the second Portugese club to finish a league season unbeaten, after Benfica 1972/73.
A quirky fact from the Europa League Final was that Braga where managed by Domingos Paciencia, the former Porto Striker who Villas-Boas had written to Sir Bobby Robson about all those years previous ! At the end of the match Villas-Boas displayed the classy side of his nature by thanking both Jose Mourinho and in particular Sir Bobby Robson for guiding him in his career. That for me was a really nice touch and demonstrated some humility that is sometimes found wanting in the Professional Game nowadays.
People are making noises that Andre will become the new Jose Mourinho and the similarities are there for all to see. I think that Villas-Boas will want to be judged in his own right and as a mini Mourinho! He has certainly made a very good start to his Managerial career and I am sure there are worse managers to be compared to these days.
I wait to see him do more exploits in Chelsea though i can only hope the fans would be patient with Villa-Boas.
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