“Chelsea sign a Portuguese manager from Porto, who has just won the Primeira Liga, a Portuguese cup and a major European title.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
André Villas-Boas was announced today as the new manager of Chelsea Football Club, following in the footsteps of his former Porto colleague, Jose Mourinho. In doing so he became the manager with the highest transfer fee in history, with Chelsea paying £13.3 million in compensation to Porto.
However, Villas-Boas is no Mourinho. He has only had two years of managerial experience in league football, and at the age of 33 he surely has a lot to learn before he can compete with the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson in the Premier League.
Statistically, he is probably the best manager in the world. His record stands at one season with Porto, four titles and a win percentage of 84.48% from 58 matches. Then you look at the team. Porto have never finished outside the top three of the Primeira Liga, winning the Portuguese top division a total of seven times. That added to 15 domestic cup titles and three European titles paints a picture of domination. Porto are arguably the easiest team to manage in football.
It seems Chelsea are hoping for lightning to strike twice; throwing away belief in trusted managers and allowing the future of the club to be determined, ultimately, by luck.
The jury is out on Villas-Boas as to whether he can succeed at Chelsea. My prediction, he’ll be gone within the next two years.
| André Villas-Boas - Chelsea's sixth manager in four years |
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