Andre Villas-Boas won the Porto election and will fulfill his dream of becoming club president, unseating Pinto da Costa, with whom he celebrated success as coach of the football team but has recently been at odds.
At the age of 46, 13 years after the end of an unforgettable season at the head of the “dragons”, marked by the victory of four trophies, including the championship and the Europa League, the candidate of list B won with an overwhelming advantage (79.96% against 19.44%) the leader with the greatest number of titles and longevity in world football, whom he himself calls the “president of presidents”, making a historical “turnaround”.
Villas-Boas wants to honor the legacy of 42 years and 15 consecutive mandates of Pinto da Costa, who led Porto to win 2,585 trophies in 21 sports (68 of which in men’s senior football), driven by a desire for change and a stubborn path.
Luis Andre de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas was born on October 17, 1977 and grew up in a prestigious area of Porto, but his aristocratic family of English origin never opposed his passion for football and engines, perpetuating a youth full of trips to the old Antas stadium in dragon suits. games, the encounter is as chance as it is decisive.
At the age of 16, Villas-Boas had a neighbor with the failed English coach Bobby Robson, who was fired from Sporting and moved to Porto two months later, and with whom he once started talking about tactical aspects. in the house where they both lived.
That moment stripped him of his anonymity and appointed him as assistant to the club’s youth team, while he received coaching licenses and trained abroad, spending five months as technical director and selector for the Caribbean British Virgin Islands.
Returning to the youth ranks of the Blaugrana, at the beginning of 2002 he was invited by Jose Mourinho, who already knew him from the “era” of Bobby Robson (1994–1996) and had just been recruited to União Leiria. Take on the role of observer in the senior ensemble.
Villas-Boas excelled at analyzing opponents and over the next seven years contributed to Setubalense’s success at Porto (2002-2004), Chelsea (2004-2007) and Inter (2007-2009). Previously, thirsting for higher “flights,” he cooled relations with the “special one” and other assistants in order to climb to the benches alone.
Hired by then Premier Division Académique in October 2009, it didn’t take him long to attract the interest of the big boys at just 32, but Sporting’s instability and the Blaugrana’s sudden intervention forced him to his favorite club in the summer 2010.
Pinto da Costa considered Andre Villas-Boas a risky bet to replace Jesualdo Ferreira, a three-time domestic champion in four previous seasons, but he brought the player, who finished third in the 2009/10 First League season, back into the field. the path to success within and outside the country.
The third-youngest coach to become Portuguese champion, he led an unbeaten campaign marked by the largest points difference in history between the top two teams (21) – on a three-points-for-win system – with five rounds to go, celebrating success. over Benfica (2-1) in the dark Estádio da Luz stadium with the lawn irrigation system turned on.
Villas-Boas found ways to stimulate his team in their rivals’ positions, leading them to surpass the decisions of Supertasa Candido de Oliveira against the Eagles (2-0), who denied Porto a second penta of the match. in the previous season and the Portuguese Cup against Vitoria de Guimarães (6-2), thanks to a hat-trick from James Rodriguez.
Radamel Falcao’s precise header clinched Portugal’s Europa League final with Sporting Braga (1-0) in Dublin and helped the Dragons achieve their seventh and final international trophy and fifth European trophy, emulating the 1987/88 quadruple.
At 33 years and 213 days, Andre Villas-Boas became the youngest coach to win a UEFA attacking football tournament, causing Chelsea to pay a €15 million release clause, breaking the transaction record for a coach.
The possibility of leaving the “dream chair” (a phrase he coined during the 2010/11 season, just days before the start of the next pre-season) put assistant Vitor Pereira in charge of Porto and angered a few fans, but little more. the statements would not be watered down.
Villas-Boas traced the early stages of Jose Mourinho’s technical career, but was sacked after nine months, even though he had started Chelsea on their way to winning the FA Cup and the first Champions League in their history.
Next came London rival Tottenham (2012–2013), St. Petersburg Zenit (2014–2016), with whom they won the championship, Russian Cup and Super Cup, the Chinese from Shanghai SIPG (2017) and the French from Marseille (2019). – 2021), among the “dreams” of setting foot on the sands of the Dakar Rally (2018), which ended in the fourth stage with an accident while driving a Toyota.
By bidding a premature farewell to football, he paved the way for his intention to run for the presidency of FC Porto by completing a postgraduate degree in executive management in the United States and taking advantage of the unprecedented challenge of Pinto da Costa, with whom he was at odds in recent years, indifferent to accusations of treason.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.