- Aug 16, 2003
- 8,274
- 12,242
I kind of liked the guy and even though one may say now, in retrospect, it was the wrong man I don't back then one could blame Levy for hiring him. He had lots of enthusiasm - together with Steffen Freund (the footballer who can't kick a ball) - and really worked hard but in the end he did not have what was needed to succeed in the EPL. And I don't think he was mature enought to deal with established, "older" players - back then.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
Andre Villas-Boas went into Russian exile to rebuild his reputation after Chelsea and Tottenham but Portuguese boss is thriving at Zenit St Petersburg
Published: 16:21 GMT, 16 February 2016 | Updated: 16:27 GMT, 16 February 2016
A revealing fact about Andre Villas-Boas and his fascinating managerial career is that the stop which was expected to be among the briefest of his journey has turned into the longest. At times, his Russian exile must have felt that way, too.
Here he is, 23 months after joining Zenit St Petersburg, and still at the same club. That is 15 months longer than he managed at Academica, 11 months more than Porto, 14 longer than Chelsea and half a year more than he got out of Tottenham.
On Tuesday night, he returns to Portugal to take on Benfica in the Champions League, five years after relocating his career abroad, riding the success of his time at Porto all the way to the Premier League and one of the best funded jobs in football at Chelsea. He was a bright, young thing then and only 38 now.
But he is a well-worn 38, a young yet old manager who came over from Portugal with tremendous hype and who lasted nine months at Chelsea before clashing with the senior professionals and who left Tottenham talking of ‘promises that were not kept’.
Spurs, for their part, said he was ‘attempting to rewrite history’. Two big jobs, a fair amount of collisions along the way.
So, to Russia without much love in his wake nor on the horizon. He has served a long suspension for physically clashing with a fourth official, rowed with his employers, spoken out admirably against racism in the country and won a title.
It has been up and it has been down and currently exists as a marriage of convenience, with Villas-Boas having once already informed the club he would like to leave only to be told he must wait until this summer.
In one of his first interviews after arriving in Russia, he frequently repeated his belief that ‘football is chaos’. He might have been on to something.
The relationship started well enough, arriving late in the 2013-14 season and stabilising a grumbling dressing room. He became the first manager in Russian Premier League history to win his first six matches in charge, with Zenit missing out on the title by a point. They won it with two games to spare the following season.
But even then, there were dissenters. An extreme, and rather harsh viewpoint, came from Boris Chukhlov, who won the Soviet title with Zenit in 1984 and accused Villas-Boas of ‘anti-football’.
He said: ‘Zenit play boring football. A team full of star names is going out onto the pitch, however, the tactics are too cautious. The side is showing anti-football, which basically boils down to giving the ball as quickly as possible to Hulk or Danny.’
That summer, Villas-Boas told the club’s board he wanted to leave. They said no and he is currently seeing out his contract, which expires in the summer. Arguably a bigger low was an incident in September, when he was banned for six games for a furious altercation with a match official.
Villas-Boas was sent off during Zenit's home loss to Krylya Sovetov Samara and launched into a rant at fourth official Ivan Saraev.
Disciplinary commission head Artur Grigoryants reportedly said Villas-Boas had ‘left his technical area and hit the fourth official in the chest’.
Since then, Zenit’s domestic season has struggled to get going. They sit sixth in the table, seven points behind CSKA Moscow, with the fixtures due to resume in March after their winter break.
Having had two months off from competitive football, Villas-Boas’s side go to Benfica knowing the Champions League has been their saving grace, with five games won from six as they topped Group H.
A good run in the competition might just trigger a return to one of Europe’s major leagues for one of football’s oldest young managers.
VILLAS-BOAS IN MANAGEMENT
Academica
October 2009-June 2010
30 matches; win percentage 36.67
Porto
June 2010-June 2011
58 matches; win percentage 84.48
Portuguese League 2010-11; Portuguese Cup 2010-11; Europa League 2010-11
Chelsea
June 2011-March 2012
40 matches; win percentage 47.50
Tottenham Hotspur
July 2012-December 2013
80 matches; win percentage 55.00
Zenit St Petersburg
March 2014-present
84 matches; win percentage 61.90
Russian Premier League 2014-15
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
Andre Villas-Boas went into Russian exile to rebuild his reputation after Chelsea and Tottenham but Portuguese boss is thriving at Zenit St Petersburg
- Andre Villas-Boas set to return to Portugal in the Champions League
- His Zenit St Petersburg side have been paired with Benfica in last-16
- After poor spells with Chelsea and Tottenham, AVB went to Zenit
- His Russian exile has last 23 months, much longer than expected
- He guided Zenit to the Russian title last year and is a popular figure
Published: 16:21 GMT, 16 February 2016 | Updated: 16:27 GMT, 16 February 2016
A revealing fact about Andre Villas-Boas and his fascinating managerial career is that the stop which was expected to be among the briefest of his journey has turned into the longest. At times, his Russian exile must have felt that way, too.
Here he is, 23 months after joining Zenit St Petersburg, and still at the same club. That is 15 months longer than he managed at Academica, 11 months more than Porto, 14 longer than Chelsea and half a year more than he got out of Tottenham.
On Tuesday night, he returns to Portugal to take on Benfica in the Champions League, five years after relocating his career abroad, riding the success of his time at Porto all the way to the Premier League and one of the best funded jobs in football at Chelsea. He was a bright, young thing then and only 38 now.
But he is a well-worn 38, a young yet old manager who came over from Portugal with tremendous hype and who lasted nine months at Chelsea before clashing with the senior professionals and who left Tottenham talking of ‘promises that were not kept’.
Spurs, for their part, said he was ‘attempting to rewrite history’. Two big jobs, a fair amount of collisions along the way.
So, to Russia without much love in his wake nor on the horizon. He has served a long suspension for physically clashing with a fourth official, rowed with his employers, spoken out admirably against racism in the country and won a title.
It has been up and it has been down and currently exists as a marriage of convenience, with Villas-Boas having once already informed the club he would like to leave only to be told he must wait until this summer.
In one of his first interviews after arriving in Russia, he frequently repeated his belief that ‘football is chaos’. He might have been on to something.
The relationship started well enough, arriving late in the 2013-14 season and stabilising a grumbling dressing room. He became the first manager in Russian Premier League history to win his first six matches in charge, with Zenit missing out on the title by a point. They won it with two games to spare the following season.
But even then, there were dissenters. An extreme, and rather harsh viewpoint, came from Boris Chukhlov, who won the Soviet title with Zenit in 1984 and accused Villas-Boas of ‘anti-football’.
He said: ‘Zenit play boring football. A team full of star names is going out onto the pitch, however, the tactics are too cautious. The side is showing anti-football, which basically boils down to giving the ball as quickly as possible to Hulk or Danny.’
That summer, Villas-Boas told the club’s board he wanted to leave. They said no and he is currently seeing out his contract, which expires in the summer. Arguably a bigger low was an incident in September, when he was banned for six games for a furious altercation with a match official.
Villas-Boas was sent off during Zenit's home loss to Krylya Sovetov Samara and launched into a rant at fourth official Ivan Saraev.
Disciplinary commission head Artur Grigoryants reportedly said Villas-Boas had ‘left his technical area and hit the fourth official in the chest’.
Since then, Zenit’s domestic season has struggled to get going. They sit sixth in the table, seven points behind CSKA Moscow, with the fixtures due to resume in March after their winter break.
Having had two months off from competitive football, Villas-Boas’s side go to Benfica knowing the Champions League has been their saving grace, with five games won from six as they topped Group H.
A good run in the competition might just trigger a return to one of Europe’s major leagues for one of football’s oldest young managers.
VILLAS-BOAS IN MANAGEMENT
Academica
October 2009-June 2010
30 matches; win percentage 36.67
Porto
June 2010-June 2011
58 matches; win percentage 84.48
Portuguese League 2010-11; Portuguese Cup 2010-11; Europa League 2010-11
Chelsea
June 2011-March 2012
40 matches; win percentage 47.50
Tottenham Hotspur
July 2012-December 2013
80 matches; win percentage 55.00
Zenit St Petersburg
March 2014-present
84 matches; win percentage 61.90
Russian Premier League 2014-15