Chelsea have appointed FC Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager in a record-breaking deal. The 33-year-old, who emerged as the front runner for the job after resigning as Porto coach, has signed a three year contract.
Villas-Boas not only becomes the youngest ever Premier League manager but also the most expensive coach after Chelsea paid Porto £13.3 million for the release clause in Villas-Boas’s contract.
Chelsea described Villas-Boas, who led Porto to a domestic double and Europa League glory last season, as “an outstanding candidate for the job”.
“He is one of the most talented young managers and has already achieved much in a short space of time,” said the club. “His ambition, drive and determination matches that of Chelsea and we are confident Andre’s leadership of the team will result in greater successes in major domestic and European competitions.”
Villas-Boas, who replaces Carlo Ancelotti, is returning for a second spell at Stamford Bridge, having worked as an assistant and scout under his mentor, Jose Mourinho. One of his first moves as the new Blues boss could be to sign Porto’s star striker Falcao, the £25million-rated Colombian who netted the only goal in Porto’s Europa League win over Sporting Braga in Dublin.
British media reports suggest Chelsea are paying Villas-Boas, who is their seventh manager in eight years, a salary of £4.5 million a year.
Porto were unbeaten in the league last season with 27 wins in 30 matches, becoming only the second Portuguese club to finish a league season unbeaten, after Benfica in 1972 to 1973. Porto have acted quickly to fill the void left by Villas-Boas by naming assistant coach Vitor Pereira as his successor.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2011.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ