- Mar 21, 2004
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Two good interviews
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-up-his-ambitions-for-new-club-Tottenham.html
And another from Daily Mail - similar
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...-football-AVB-kicks-return-swipe-Chelsea.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-up-his-ambitions-for-new-club-Tottenham.html
Andre Villas-Boas lays in to Roman Abramovich while talking up his ambitions for new club Tottenham
Andre Villas-Boas has wasted no time in inflaming the rivalry between Tottenham and Chelsea and risking further alienation from Roman Abramovich.
Villas-Boas unleashed a stinging attack on the set-up at Stamford Bridge, comparing the Russian unfavourably with his new boss Daniel Levy, and suggesting Spurs have a greater history and more potential than the west London club.
When he was introduced this week as Harry Redknapp’s successor, Villas-Boas made it clear he felt let down and ‘’cut short’ by Abramovich, who sacked him in March, barely eight months into a three-year ’project’ at Stamford Bridge.
And when asked why he felt it would be different at White Hart Lane, where he has also signed a three-year deal, the Portuguese manager went back on the attack, claiming the management style and structure at Tottenham was more conducive to success.
He also said he felt the club had a greater sense of belonging, a stronger tradition of attractive football, and were not looking for scapegoats, suggesting Abramovich and his board were less involved and less knowledgeable than Levy and Joe Lewis, Tottenham’s billionaire backer.
Villas-Boas even went so far as to compare Tottenham with Barcelona for their style, and said Chelsea have only had real success since Abramovich bought the club in 2003, investing over a billion pounds in the process.
It will certainly make for an intense atmosphere when the two clubs meet at White Hart Lane in October, with Villas-Boas unlikely to have many friends left in the Chelsea camp.
When asked if Tottenham is a better fit for him than Chelsea, he said: “There is more of a sense of belonging to a club. This is a club full of tradition, which I am still learning about and have to admire.
"Chelsea has its own tradition that has changed dramatically since it was bought in 2003, and there is a sense of belonging here at Spurs which I want to use in a different way.
"They are totally different clubs and propositions, with different ways of being.”
He said that Levy was the main factor in his decision to join Tottenham. “I met the chairman and saw the way he goes about his business at the club.
"He knows what he’s doing, approaching the market in a different way, and is a person of great football understanding – that had the effect of giving me the assurances I wanted in terms of building something.
“I met Joe Lewis as well, a person of great warmth. Along with Daniel they have strong ambitions for the club and I share those ambitions.
"Not only that Tottenham are linked with great football in the past. It is something they have always valued highly.
“You can’t say they are the Barcelona of England, but there is a wonderful history of attractive football, and Bill Nicholson left these messages of football well played and doing things in style, which is what I want to achieve as well.”
Villas-Boas also believes Levy’s reputation as a negotiator par excellence bodes well for him.
This week Jan Vertonghen revealed it was Levy’s personal touch that persuaded the Belgian defender to leave Ajax for Tottenham, a move soon followed by signing Emmanuel Adebayor for a bargain £6 million.
By contrast, Abramovich is famous for paying way over the odds for players who have not worked out, with the £30 million spent on Andriy Shevchenko the most obvious example.
“I think with an owner that is involved on a daily basis at the football club, with his knowledge, that is the main difference,” added Villas-Boas.
“They are not looking for certain scapegoats, and when so many people are striving forward, it makes your job easier.
"The thing is that what we were doing [at Chelsea] in terms of the project, words did not meet the actions, so I think I was cut short.”
But he is also realistic about the expectations and pressure at Spurs. “Of course there are responsibilities that come with this job.
"You don’t expect to be in ninth or tenth place and expect to be in a comfortable position, I accept that.
“When you are so ambitious, there are responsibilities that you have to take, and if it is a failure it is a failure, and I will be the first to assume failure if that is the case.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the club. All of us are emotional, and we all respond in a different way to sentiments of ambition and revenge, but it would be a wrong step if I were to take it that way.
"This club is much more important than me and what I have to do is try to take them to success and not make it a personal issue.”
One player Villas-Boas appears to believe is essential to that pursuit of success is Rafael Van der Vaart, who now appears likely to be staying at the club.
Earlier interest from Schalke and Hamburg has cooled and the Dutch international admitted he is likely to start the season with Tottenham — which will delight new manager Villas-Boas, who is already resigned to losing his other star midfielder Luka Modric to Real Madrid.
“With Van der Vaart, at the moment I am absolutely counting on him,” said Villas-Boas.
“It’s a totally different situation from Luka, who has been chased by different clubs in the past two seasons and is continuing to drag interest. We have to make sure the club’s interests are met, and it’s up to the chairman to decide that.”
And another from Daily Mail - similar
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...-football-AVB-kicks-return-swipe-Chelsea.html
Andre Villas-Boas praised the legacy left by Bill Nicholson at Tottenham as he took a swipe at Chelsea, the club who sacked him after just eight months as manager.Spurs’ new head coach remains bitter about his departure from Stamford Bridge and, in a thinly veiled attack on the shortcomings of his former club, highlighted the tradition and style — and approach of the chairman, Daniel Levy — at White Hart Lane.‘There is more of a sense of belonging at this club,’ said Villas-Boas. ‘It has a lot of tradition, which I admire. Chelsea have tradition, too, but it changed dramatically since 2003 when it was bought. That’s why the sense of belonging is bigger here.
‘Tottenham are also linked with great football over the years with a wonderful history back to Bill Nicholson. It’s been football played in the right style. ‘I also like the way the chairman goes about his business at this football club. He knows what he’s doing and has given me an assurance that we’re building something here. He is involved on a daily basis at the club and that is the main difference with before. ‘Tottenham have extremely competent people at the club and everyone knows that they must all play their part in achieving success and not look for scapegoats. It will make my job easier.’Villas-Boas’s pointed remarks underline how angry he remains at Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, whom he has also accused of ‘quitting on him’.The Portuguese had a brief to implement an attractive style and overhaul the Chelsea squad when he joined last summer and insists he was prematurely dismissed.But he knows he needs to deliver trophies for Tottenham, whose last piece of silverware was the Carling Cup in 2008, if he is to avoid another short-lived stint in the Premier League. Villas-Boas said: ‘2008 is a long time ago for a club of this stature to win a trophy with its ambition and capabilities.‘We have a new training ground and, in time, we will have a new stadium. We have wonderful work left by Harry [Redknapp] to continue, but the club decided to move on and that is why I am here.‘Now we have to shorten the gap towards the top. One thing is certain. There are responsibilities with my job. I can’t expect to be in ninth or 10th and be in a comfortable position here.‘It is demanded that we do better. This is obvious after Harry left the club after finishing fourth. The measure of success here is trophies. It’s a responsibility I have to take. If it fails, it fails.’In the four-and-a-half months since his dismissal from Chelsea, Villas-Boas spent time reflecting on his experience at Stamford Bridge and travelled the world to enhance his football education.
He now knows what is required of him as a manager of a leading Premier League club.
‘I’ve thought a lot about what happened to me at Chelsea,’ he said. ‘I am very grateful for both the professional and personal experience I had. You can only learn by mistakes and by experience. I know I can do better and I will because I believe I am a better coach and person for it. I have reflected a lot and also watched games in Germany and Italy, Spain and Brazil.
‘It would be easy now to respond to sentiments of ambition and revenge, but it would be wrong if I took it that way. The football club is more important than myself and I must not make it a personal mission.
‘What I have learned about managing in England is that individual players who do things well deserve public reward, whereas I never praised or criticised an individual. Instead, I always talked about the collective.
‘The experience made me more meticulous about taking the next step in football. I am very privileged to be able to take time in choosing my next job. I am grateful to Tottenham to present me with this opportunity. I come here much better prepared now.’
It is imperative that Villas-Boas gets Spurs off to a good start, especially with the fans uncertain whether swapping Redknapp for the man seen to fail at bitter rivals Chelsea will work.
Keeping Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart would help and, although the new boss fears the former will leave, he expects the latter to remain a Spurs player.
Speculation that the Portuguese star Joao Moutinho, who plays for Porto, could be coming to White Hart Lane also appears a little wide of the mark.
‘I’m counting on Van der Vaart,’ he said. ‘It’s a different situation to Luka. He’s been chased by clubs for two seasons, but we have to make sure the club’s interests are met. Moutinho is a great talent but he’s at a club that doesn’t sell cheaply.
‘We have a difficult start at New- castle but then two home games so, hopefully, we can repeat last season when Harry had a tremendous start.
‘There will be some fans reluctant after Harry’s departure, so it is important that we build on his success and move forward, not back.’
