André Villas-Boas: Special Too - Softcover

Luis Miguel Pereira; Jaime R. Pinho

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1905928084 ISBN 13: 9781905928088

Publisher: Dewi Lewis Media Ltd, 2011

Synopsis

The fascinating story of the making of former Chelsea manager, now Spurs manager, André Villas-Boas. At the age of 16, André Villas-Boas wrote to Bobby Robson, then manager at FC Porto, criticising one of Robson's decisions. Intrigued by the comments and by the fact that they both lived in the same apartment block, Robson replied, challenging the teenager to back up his claim. Villas-Boas provided such detailed statistical information that Robson was impressed enough to offer him a place on the club's youth coaching staff. And so began the meteoric rise of AVB. Under Robson's guidance he achieved his first coaching licence at the age of 17. And at the age of 21 he became head coach of the British Virgin Islands national team before getting the chance to become an assistant coach at Porto under José Mourinho. Mourinho was to later describe Villas-Boas as his eyes and ears , and so it was no surprise that Mourinho asked him to join his coaching team, first at Chelsea, and then at Inter Milan. But, as his experience grew, Villas-Boas was beginning to have his own management ambitions and after a year at the San Siro, much to the annoyance of Mourinho, he left to return to Portugal and take control of Academica, a team struggling against relegation and having not won a match, until Villas-Boas arrived and hauled them back to safety. In June 2010 Villas-Boas moved on to became Porto manager despite the doubts raised about his inexperience. He was an immediate success. That August he won his first trophy when Porto beat Benfica in the Portuguese Supercup. Porto went on to win the league title, undefeated all season and drawing just three games to win the league by an incredible 21 point margin. Just as with Mourinho, the Portuguese Cup and the Europa League followed. It was an extraordinary first full season that did not go unnoticed in the wider football world.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dewi Lewis Media Ltd
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1905928084
• ISBN 13: 9781905928088
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192