Andre Villas Boas
- Category : Football Manager
- Type : GP
- Profile : 4/6 - Opportunistic / Role Model
- Definition : Split - Small (10,31,34)
- Incarnation Cross : RAX Maya 3
Biography
Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas (born 17 October 1977), known as André Villas-Boas and commonly referred to as AVB, is a Portuguese football manager who is currently the manager of Tottenham Hotspur. He spent eight months as manager of Académica, one year as manager of Porto, and nine months as manager of Chelsea. He led Porto to an undefeated 2010–11 season in Primeira Liga, winning four trophies and becoming the youngest manager ever to win a European title in the process. Unusually for a manager at the top level, he has no experience as a professional player.
Born in Porto, Portugal, Villas-Boas was the second child and first son of Luís Filipe Manuel Henrique do Vale Peixoto de Sousa e Villas-Boas (born 29 February 1952) and Teresa Maria de Pina Cabral e Silva (born 11 February 1951). Villas-Boas has spoken fluent English since childhood, as his grandmother was from Stockport. At the age of 16 Villas-Boas found himself living in the same apartment block as Sir Bobby Robson, who was then manager of Porto. Following a debate between the two, Robson appointed Villas-Boas to Porto's observation department.
Robson arranged for Villas-Boas to obtain the FA coaching qualification, the UEFA C coaching licence in Scotland and for him to study the training methods of Ipswich Town. He later obtained his B licence, A licence and UEFA Pro Licence under the tutelage of Jim Fleeting. Villas-Boas had a short stint as head coach of the British Virgin Islands national team at the age of 21, before he moved on to a career as an assistant coach at Porto under José Mourinho. As Mourinho moved clubs to Chelsea and Internazionale, Villas-Boas followed. Villas-Boas had his first job as British Virgin Islands head coach when only 21 years of age in 1998. In 1999, he resigned as manager.
Managerial career
Académica
At the start of the 2009–10 season, Villas-Boas left Mourinho's team to pursue a career as a manager, and he soon found a job in the Primeira Liga with Académica de Coimbra, filling a vacancy created by Rogério Gonçalves' resignation in October 2009. At the time of his appointment, Académica were at the bottom of the league and still without any wins, but their luck started to change as he introduced a new style, leading them to a safe 11th place, ten points clear of the relegation zone. In addition to that, Académica also reached the 2009–10 Portuguese League Cup semi-finals, losing against Porto at the Estádio do Dragão to a late goal from Mariano González. His impact at Académica was immediate, not only because of solid results, but also because of the attractive football displayed by the team, which led to intense media speculation linking him with the vacant jobs at Sporting CP and FC Porto in the summer of 2010.
Porto
Villas-Boas signed a deal to become the new manager of Porto on 2 June 2010. Two months later, he won his first trophy as a manager when Porto defeated Benfica 2–0 to win the Portuguese Supercup. Villas-Boas went on to immense success with Porto, leading them to an undefeated season in the Primeira Liga - only the second time this had ever been achieved - and winning the title by more than 20 points, having conceded only 13 goals all season. Villas-Boas went on to follow up this success by leading Porto to win both the Portuguese Cup and the UEFA Europa League, thus completing a treble in his first season in charge. By doing so, Villas-Boas became the third-youngest coach ever to win the Primeira Liga (behind Mihály Siska in 1939 and Juca in 1962) and the youngest manager ever to win a European competition, at the age of 33 years and 213 days. On 21 June 2011, Villas-Boas tendered his resignation as Porto manager.
Chelsea
Chelsea confirmed the appointment of André Villas-Boas as their new manager on a three-year contract with immediate effect on 22 June 2011. They indirectly paid Porto €15 million (£13.3 million) compensation via Villas-Boas to activate his release clause and free him from his contract with Porto. On 30 July 2011, during the pre-season, Villas-Boas won his first piece of silverware with Chelsea, the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy. Villas-Boas won all of his pre-season fixtures with Chelsea, with the team conceding only one goal in all six games. On 14 August, Villas-Boas's first Premier League match ended in a 0–0 at Stoke City, with Villas-Boas commenting on Stoke's strong defence at home. Villas-Boas then won his first competitive match as Chelsea manager, defeating West Bromwich Albion 2–1 on 20 August. He continued his season with a back-to-back home wins beating Norwich City 3–1. On 18 September 2011, Villas-Boas's Chelsea lost to Manchester United 3–1 at Old Trafford. It was Chelsea's first defeat of the season and Villas-Boas's first defeat in 39 league matches, a run stretching back to his spells as manager of Académica and Porto. On 29 October, Chelsea lost their second derby under Villas-Boas in a 5–3 defeat at home to Arsenal after falling to a 1–0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers. Then three weeks later, his Chelsea side lost a second successive home game in a 2–1 defeat to Liverpool. Days later, he once again lost to Liverpool in a 2–0 defeat in the League Cup quarter-final.
On 11 February 2012, pressure began to mount on Villas-Boas as Chelsea dropped out of the top four in the Premier League following a 2–0 league defeat against Everton. Villas-Boas responded by cancelling his squad's day off and called them in for an inquest, which provoked several senior players to question his tactics in front of owner Roman Abramovich. On 21 February 2012, during a UEFA Champions League match against Napoli Villas-Boas left Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole on the bench. Chelsea lost 3–1 and the club's technical director asked for an explanation of the team selection on behalf of Abramovich. On 4 March 2012, following a 1–0 league defeat against West Bromwich Albion which left Chelsea three points adrift of Arsenal in the battle for fourth place in the Premier League, Villas-Boas was relieved of his managerial duties by Chelsea, with assistant manager Roberto di Matteo being appointed as caretaker manager on an interim basis until the end of the season. On the Chelsea website it read: "The board would like to record our gratitude for his work and express our disappointment that the relationship has ended so early." ″
Tottenham Hotspur
On 3 July 2012, it was announced that Villas-Boas had been named Tottenham Hotspur Head Coach after successful talks with the club, replacing Harry Redknapp, penning a three-year deal with the North London football team. Villas-Boas' first competitive game in charge of Tottenham came on 18 August 2012 in the opening day of the Premier League season, losing 2–1 to Newcastle away from home. His first competitive win came on 16 September 2012, a 3–1 victory away to Reading.
On 29 September 2012, Villas-Boas became the first Tottenham manager to win at Old Trafford in 23 years, after his side beat Manchester United 2–3. Villas-Boas took charge of his first North London derby on 17 November 2012 at the Emirates Stadium. Despite taking the lead early on, goalscorer Emmanuel Adebayor was sent off just eight minutes later, and Tottenham eventually lost 5–2. Villas-Boas got his first piece of personal Tottenham silverware when he picked up the Manager of the month award for December. The team managed to pick up vital points in order to pursue their top four ambition. Promising big scorelines away from home such as against Fulham, Aston Villa and Sunderland along with home wins against Swansea and Reading, left Tottenham in third place going into the new year. One set back was a tough trip to Goodison Park, where Spurs were leading up until the 90th minute, before two late Everton goals in as many minutes, snatched victory away from the North London side.
In February 2013, he guided Tottenham to the last 16 of the Europa League after a last minute goal from Mousa Dembélé, securing a 1–1 draw at the Stade Gerland. Spurs won the tie 3–2 on aggregate, after a 2–1 win at home the previous week. Following a 3–2 away win at West Ham, Tottenham's third win from 3 Premier League matches that month, Villas-Boas picked up his second piece of personal Tottenham silverware of the season as he was awarded the Manager of the Month award for February, along with Gareth Bale who picked up the Player of the Month award for February as well.
On the final day of the Premier League season, Tottenham sat a point behind North London rivals Arsenal, knowing that in order to get into the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League, they would need a win and hope that Arsenal would either draw or lose. Tottenham managed to secure a late dramatic win against Sunderland thanks to a sensational strike by Gareth Bale, but their victory was marred by Arsenal's 1–0 win at Newcastle. Even though Tottenham finished a point behind the Champions League playoff spot, they set a new club record by finishing with 72 points. This was also the highest points tally ever managed by any club in the Premier League to consequently not qualify for the Champions League.
In the close season, he was approached by Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid to fill their managerial vacancies. Villas Boas, however, rejected these offers to stay with Spurs and stay with the club for a second successive season; something which he has never done before as a manager. Villas-Boas was active in the transfer market before the start of the 2013–14 Premier League season. Key acquisitions included defensive midfielder Etienne Capoue, midfielder Paulinho, striker Roberto Soldado, the versatile Nacer Chadli, defender Vlad Chiriches, forward Erik Lamela, and playmaker Christian Eriksen. Departures from the club included Tom Huddlestone, Clint Dempsey, Steven Caulker, Scott Parker, and Gareth Bale.
Personal life
Villas-Boas has been married since 2004 to Joana Maria Noronha de Ornelas Teixeira, and has two daughters, Benedita (born August 2009) and Carolina (born October 2010). He speaks English fluently, having been taught by his paternal grandmother Margaret Kendall, whose mother moved to Portugal from Cheadle, Cheshire, England, to start a wine business. Her brother Douglas Kendall served as a wing commander for the RAF during the Second World War. Villas-Boas' paternal great-uncle José Rui Villas-Boas was the Viscount of Guilhomil, a title initially bestowed on his father José Gerado Villas-Boas by King Carlos I in 1890. Villas-Boas' brother João Luís de Pina Cabral Villas-Boas is a Portuguese stage and television actor. He had a bit-part in the costume drama Mistérios de Lisboa (Mysteries of Lisbon). Villas-Boas is a keen motorcyclist who owns five motorbikes and is part-owner of a dozen sports cars. In June 2013, Villas-Boas revealed that he would end his managerial career within a decade to compete in the Dakar Rally.