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| Monday, 20 June 2011 09:29 |
Andre Villas-Boas leaves Porto for ChelseaLondon club pay big for 33-year-old coach  It was reported on Monday morning in Portugal that Chelsea had contracted FC Porto coach Andre Villas-Boas. The London club are willing to pay the release clause of 15 million euros and have offered a huge-money contract to entice Jose Mourinho’s former assistant (at Chelsea among other clubs) to Stamford Bridge. Article update The news hit FC Porto like a bombshell. Andre Villas-Boas had repeated on several occasions that he intended to remain at the Estadio do Dragao for the coming season in order to lead his home-town team into the Champions League. But all indications suggest Roman Abramovich has been successful in his attempts to persuade the 33-year-old to take on the challenge of seeking Champions League glory at the helm of the With no further official statements from either Porto or
Most of the sports papers also speculate Villas-Boas wants to take striker Falcao and midfielder Joao Moutinho with him to It subsequently emerged that Villas-Boas sent a fax to FC Porto resigning as head coach, stating that he is to pay the buyout clause himself and that there is no going back on his decision.
Porto responded to the fax quickly, officially informing the Portuguese Stock Market that it had received the resignation request and that the "contract would be rescinded upon payment of the amount stipulated therein", i.e. the 15 million euro release clause. Article update Later on Tuesday FC Porto officially announced that Vitor Pereira has been appointed the new first-team coach on a two-year contract. Pereira joined Porto last summer as an assistant to Andre Villas-Boas. He was previously the coach at second-tier Santa Clara, narrowly missing out on promotion to the top flight in two successive seasons. Pereira said: "Andre did a superb job here and I thank him, but I was also part of that success. This team will continue to win and can still grow more." FC Porto has also officially announced that it has received the release clause of 15 million euros, stating that the money was paid by Andre Villas-Boas himself. by Tom Kundert
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It's a very clique team, with Terry being the biggest problem. It was Terry that went to Abram in regards to releasing Mourinho. Drogba was not part of that group.
Abram wants to keep an experienced senior laden squad, but that could prove to be a problem. Scolari never got any respect from the players, and Hiddink did more so due to Abram than anything else. Even Ancelotti was enable to make certain onfield decisions. He tried to replace Terry and couldn't. He also didn't ask for Torres.
This could become an expensive venture for Chelsea, but overall AVB will come out ok. He will cash in (3 year deal was imperative) and be able to move elsewhere without many problems. Yes, big squads might shy away, but he's cashed in so a rebuild isn't out of the question. Especially at his age.
As for Porto, they have been able to retool fairly quickly. I don't think that they would lose as many players as its been mentioned. If they do sell it will be at a premium which should allow a quick fix.
As much as Pereira is an unknown, he does have experience with the players. A very smart choice if you ask me.
In the short run, this will definately hurt Porto, but not as badly as Braga was hurt by Paciencia's departure. Porto has the finances to pull through. It also helps that Porto gets the automatic CL Group Stage spot, which will allow the manager time to settle in before european play begins.
I think this move really helps level the playing field next season even more. Sporting are going to be back in the race and Benfica will want revenge, and now Porto have lost their best coach since Mourinho left. Luckily for Porto, they still have great talent, unless AVB decides to "raid the pantry" so to speak.
Like many others, I'm pretty shocked that he just took off like that and I hope it doesn't come back to get him. This move could be both good and bad for Portuguese football. If he succeeds at Chelsea, then it's a good thing, however Porto might have challenged for the CL next season and might not stand a chance now so that would obviously be a step back. I just don't want to see him get eaten alive by Roman Abramovich. This could be the next step in what turns out to be a brilliant career for him, or the point where it all went wrong for AVB. I hope it's the former.
Exactly.
Just like all Chelsea managers he'll always be compared to Mourinho in the UK media regardless if he's doing well or badly.
Good luck AVB you're going to need it
I'm not a Benfica fan (in fact, I highly dislike the fact that our championship orbits around 3 teams; I'd rather have a more balanced and competitive championship like the german), but I highly respect that part of the clubs history and it makes me mad to see someone trying to make those lies real by writing them over and over.
He didn't learn any thin from JM or Sir Bobby.They never upset fans never ever like this.OMG this is pathetic.shameless.I don't think any one should trust him any more.
As much as I dislike Porto I can feel for their fans as this is a massive public slap in the face. After Benfica dominating the news headlines at the start of the summer, I expect to hear about the drama at Porto and what happens with these players that originally wanted to leave but stayed because of AVB. Those players must feel massively betrayed.
Also Porto have already chosen their new coach. It will be Villas Boas's assitant and former Santa Clara coach Vitor Perreira
Now moving on...I hope Vitor Pereira does a good job and maybe makes his own path. If he can not bring us titles then I think Machado would be a great replacement. We need to get a move on fast though, and I have full faith in PdC to do so. If Hulk wishes to leave goodbye, Falcao goodbye, Joao goodbye...have wonderful careers, you will be missed but FCP, undoubtedly being hurt this upcoming year will unite again and keep winning (since 1893). I just wish for the day Porto is compared to Real Madrid...but lately I'm thinking that will never happen, we just do things differently. Dragaoes will come and go, but Portistas will remain united only to winning.
Forca Porto!
Time will tell if he's the right man, but at least he knows the club well and will be familiar with the set up and the players.
I'm not sure about his credentials as a first team coach, but we'll see. At least we have acted quickly, very quickly. Hopefully not too quickly.
I'd rather we look for someone who knows the Portuguese game well, as they have been managers who have traditionally done well with us. Sir Bobby was a one-off.
So no Dutch flops like Riijkaard or Van Basten please.
I'd really like us to go for Manuel Machado. The guy knows his stuff and has done a great job at Nacional & Guimaraes in recent years.
Respectfully
Carlos Queroz
Then you got Lampard who sucks nowadays.. this team wont match Man Utd for a while.
Porto has a strong group and though slight improvements can be made.. they dont really need any changes. They could probably beat Chelsea next year if AVB stayed. They would be the most favorited underdogs to win the whole thing.
I am curious to see how they'd do in the super cup vs. Barcelona in a couple months. I think one more year would have brought up the player values and coach.
But if they want to sell all they prized possessions like Benfica who could have been a force had they not sold everyone then so be it and get embarassed next year.
1 euro? Anyone?
City is bigger than Porto, Benfica or Sporting? Historicaly, NO. They may have more money due to ownership, and are trying to build a historical club, but that hasn't happened yet. Let's just say that 2 CL trophies wouldn't get it done. That takes years to build. They may get/have immediate success, but not historical. Yet, anyway.
I am surprised of the money being dumped into so-so clubs with smaller followings. Zillionaires buying Blackburn (???), Malaga (???), and even City. Also don't dismiss QPR who was promoted to the Premiership.
By the way the City owner admits to buying them due to always picking them when he played Playstation. Crazy.
Please don't include Barca in the "Thank God" club list you made. They spend as much as any club in Europe. Just take a look. Milan spends a ton as well. Arsenal doesn't and their revenue has been dropping steadily.
Big clubs have to spend in order to make money. The guaranteed CL groups stage money, goes a long way.
By the way, the Glazers have done nothing but win at Man United. just because green and yellow scarves were sold, it only means someone else was profiting from stupidity.
I'm also glad that Portuguese players want to play in other leagues. It means that they are driven and want to be the best and grow. No I don't think that they all wanted to stay their whole careers in Portugal. And that's not a bad thing.
As Portuguese we should be proud at how far we've come as a footballing nation. We are highly respected and have great history. Just because we are a small nation of 10 mil (or so) and are a selling league, that does not makes us a joke. Be happy that other leagues/teams come looking for our players. If not, we would be nothing.
That leads me to the possibilities that either a) Porto never were interested in Domingos, or b) this really was a surprise to Porto and now they are left without a dance partner. I think option a) is more likely.
If the anticipated exodus from Porto goes forward, with some players being brought along by AVB and others going elsewhere, they are going to bring in huge transfer fees for Porto which will allow them to buy new players. Let's not fool ourselves that somehow this will be a lost season for Porto.
If he does badly the media here will try and destroy him, and his reputation could be in tatters. Chelsea want instant success and if he doesn't deliver he will be looking for a new job soon. Because of his limited experience, not many big clubs will look at him if he fails at Chelsea, and he will have to rebuild his repuation at a smaller club.
If he stayed at Porto for another season he would have gained some CL experience, knowing he would only have to reach the quarter finals to maintain his reputation. But now if he only gets to the quarter finals with Chelsea, he could be out of work pretty quickly.
I reckon he'll be there for no longer than 2 years before he is sacked. This is Chelsea we are talking about, not Arsenal, where winning nothing for 6 years doesn't matter as long as you play pretty football.
I get AVB leaving, for the money alone. His stock had a better chance of going down instead of up, after last season.
That being said, I was hoping that this Porto squad could have even improved and made a run at the CL.
I am also surprised that Chelsea, would go a pluck AVB from Porto, especially since he has no CL history to speak of. I know that Abram knows him, but you would have thought that Chelsea/Abram would have wanted someone with CL experience. Granted Ancelotti had it, and it wasn't good enough for Abram.
Chelsea is at a crossroads. Drogba is on his way out, Lamps has looked shot and Terry has been average at best. Those three have been the clubs spine and will need to be replaced which won't be easy due to popularity. I still think that Drogba is better than Torres, although he's older. And they clearly can't work together on the field.
This will be a blow to Porto, especially if Falcao leaves with AVB.
I do find it funny how quickly Porto fans have buried AVB.
Let me also add that they shoudln't dismiss the thought of Porto going out a snaging Paciencia from Sporting.
He may have signed a 2 year deal, but it has no buyout clause. That only means that Sporting would just be compensated somehow.
Does anyone else see Paciencia coming out and resigning from Sporting due to the incredible dream he couldn't pass up.
Not out of the question.
Bryan- you were on your best behavior for quite sometime, and I know that my comment was kind of probing. However, considering that Porto and AVB kept Braga from winning the ONLY trophy they have ever legitimately had a shot at, i dont understand your position. As a Braga fan, you should be happier than even us benfiquistas that AVB is gone. But since we all know that your agenda is to be anti-benfica above and beyond all else, these pitiful and childish comments are to be expected. Have fun watching Braga sink like a stone this year, and returning to the middle of the pack where they truly belong.
"I've lived experiences outside and can say that I'll not relinquish this chair for anything. About the players, they all have individual ambitions. Now we can not override individual ambitions to collective goals. This is the most important"
(03/02/2011)
"I am very happy here, as this is the club of my heart"
(06/04/2011)
"The Premier League is one of the most exciting in the world. Many of its clubs would envy the titles that FC Porto has won over the years (...) I always dreamed of coaching FC Porto, it's my team, that's the club of my city "
(21/04/2011)
"If I stay 15 years at the club I love, fine for me"
(30/04/2011)
"My future is integrally connected to FC Porto. I do not know the official interest of any of the clubs"
(11/05/2011)
"I am happy at FC Porto, I love the city where I grew up and my club"
(17/05/2011)
PdC:
"AVB assured me that he wants to continue. He's a Portista like me. He asked me to keep the team for next year. Even if someone hit the clause he does not want to leave."
(23/05/2011)
Chelsea not paid the clause, it was AVB himself who paid the 15 million clause and communicated the end of the contract with the club by fax (!). Did not even have the courage to speak directly with President (the person who bet on him when he was still an unknown).
Do we need "Porto fans" like this? This is not only "money thing" or a "better league", this is about character and ethics of a person. How can change his mind in 5 days and run away one week before starting the pre-season, putting at risk an entire season and a team full of dreams and ambition? This could have been the better team since 87.
He spoke and convinced some players (Falcao, Hulk, Alvaro Pereira ...) to stay in Porto with him next year to play the CL next season... what are their feelings now?
In fact, I'll respect much more Mourinho than AVB because of this attitude. After winning the UEFA, Mourinho chose to stay at least a year and to keep the team (players like Deco and Carvalho, adding McCarthy) to play Champions and for the gratitude to the club (Mou has never been an avowed fan of the club like was AVB). Of course I'll not expect that VB would stay too long, but at least don't play with the faces of the Board, Players and Fans until 5 days before the pre-season, forcing the club to plan the new season over the knee.
This was even worst when they announced Scolari before an important match of Portugal in the WC (against France I think). Someone in Chelsea must think that they can joke with Portugal like it was the third world.
For the same reasons, I wish the same luck as I wished to Scolari at Chelsea. NONE; and I hope he does not even try to return to Porto, not even to watch a friendly match in Dragao. We deserve much more respect than any money in the world. We are a Club, we do not promote individuals.
In fact, and being honest, AVB had already broken a pre agreement with SCP last year saying he wanted to play at the club of his heart. We all believed that and we laugh about SCP. Look now, maybe Chelsea was he’s true unknown club? We as on this “dreams chair” maybe will be in his “dreams throne”.
It was one of the biggest disappointments that I've had in football. Maybe because we thought he was a really Portista like PdC or us… like he said. I am sure that sooner or later would have his time to go on a bigger glory than Mourinho. AVB fell into the trap of money very soon and is completely right that is no longer welcome in Porto. This was not only a loss for Porto. It was for the entire portuguese football that never in life will be competitive like the major leagues.
Number 40: Yes, of course Chelsea is a bigger club than Porto. Even today Man City with 2 FA Cups and one League Cup are much bigger than Porto and Benfica together. Real soon we'll see Malaga and PSG, with the new Sheik owners, much bigger than all the portuguese league together. Is this football? Thank God there is still some real clubs like Barcelona, Liverpool, Man U (without the Glazers), Tottenham, Roma, Napoli, Milan, Ajax …
BTW: can someone tell to Mr Platini if he's worried about the number of foreign at Chelsea or the French Arsenal; the corruption on FIFA (WC in Qatar?) and the amount of dirty money that some club owners have? Last week he seemed very concerned because Porto has many foreigners. We all know that Cristiano Ronaldo, Figo, Rui Costa, Paulo Futre, Nani, Deco, Meireles, Quaresma, Carvalho, Pepe, Moutinho, Veloso, Simao … their dream life would be playing in Portugal their entire careers…
Porto might not be as strong this season, so hopefuly Benfica can do well next season..But to be honest I can see Sporting doing well next season with Domingos in charge.
People who are saying Chelsea are a bigger club than Porto are correct, but only because of MONEY not trophies!
Porto have won the champions league twice have Chelsea won it? No. So in that sense Porto is the bigger club. But money in football nowadays does the talking, thats why Manchester City are a big club all of a sudden.
Hopefuly sooner or later football clubs will be more even in terms of Money!
As a Fan of Portuguese football I would of wanted this Porto to play in the Champions, and show that regardless of money and size this league can play some good football (Benfica killed us in the Champions league).
Hopefully Sporting wins the league, Porto does well in the Champions league and Braga can retain good form and maybe even pimp out benfica for a 3rd place spot.
Good luck Porto! Get stuffed Andre !! You have lost all my respect!
You sound like a Liverpool fan when you go on about history, its all well and good but it means nothing in the long run.
Lets be fair Portuguesegese league isn't up there with Englishlish, Spanish or even the Italian league, so when a person gets the option to move up in their job they do, you would McDonald's gave you an extra star.
And he calls himself a Porto fan? Yeah right...
No true Portista would walk out on his club after just 1 year.
I don't want to see him back at Dragao ever again, but no doubt our paths will cross at some point.
Hopefully Porto will knock Chelsea out of the Champions League next season. Chelsea might have money but they don't have our history.
I’m not too confidant about my team Benfica either, we’re not the same team of 2009-10 and the new signing’s are not good as the one’s who left like Luiz and Di Maria.
So that leaves Sporting with a good new manager, fresh new players and they don’t have the pressure of Porto and Benfica. So I think Sporting have chance to be Portugal’s successful team next season
FDP!!!!!!!!!
That comment epitomizes the typical naive Benfiquista that embarrasses Benfica around the world. If you want to deny Porto's accomplishments by simply passing it off as bribes, not only do I have to question your judgment, I have to question your intelligence.
Is Porto's lack of success the previous season due to Villas Boas not being at the helm or was it because Hulk was banned for the better part of the season? I think it's too early to judge how good a coach this young man is.
Whatever happens, I still believe Porto will be even stronger next season.
Winning trophies in Portugal makes you a saint. Winning them at Chelsea is expected...every year. So if he is landing in London, he better hit the ground running.
A rising Arsenal, i take it you mean the team that went from finishing 3rd to now finishing 4th, LOL.
Tageingging Chelsea squad, talk about taking too much notice of the media.
I hope like NJ says this is just a ploy to get Hiddink, but there is no smoke without fire so we'll see.
If he does leave I would be willing to take a gamble on Manuel Machado. I think he's very underrated, and he would get a chance to really stick it to that cretin that is Jorge Jesus. Ok he's not young and up and coming like AVB & Domingos is, but at least it means he might stick around for a few years and do a decent job like Jesualdo did.
Dont worry Portitstas, as all is not lost. Even w/o AVB, Hulk, Falcao, etc., Porto can STILL win the CL- they just have to bribe the referees like they did last time!!!! hahahaha
REALLY?
Let's see win nothing and get killed financially, and by the fans, or win and be an European force? Ummmm.
Why would you want to keep players that don't help you win?
Go ask Sporting fans if they are happy with last season's approach?
We are a selling league and that means managers as well. Winning is all that matters and financial security comes with that winning. Of Course selling your assests makes it harder to, but Porto has been great doing it.
I still think that it won't happen.
Abram had a bad falling out with Mourinho and AVB is a Mourinho disciple.
For my opinion since AVB left FC Porto, I think Falcao and also Hulk will leave Porto now that the KEY is Broken.
I was hoping to see the success I saw in 2003/4 but seeing this made me think otherwise.
Lets Hope there is a Good Plan after this move at least.
All we've heard is that Porto was going to reinforce the club even more and go for the Champions League. If AVB should leave, it would damage those efforts greatly.
I understand that we are a selling league, and I've been a strong if not supporter, at least a realist to it, but I really wanted to see this squad make a run.
That being said, this is the "Silly Season" and a million different rumors will be thrown out there.
Falcao is now being linked with the move.
I actually don't believe it, and if anything it could be Chelsea's way in putting pressure on the Turkey Federation in regards to releasing Hiddink. Or even on Hiddink himself and his possible salary demands.
I am not a Chelsea supporter, but I would wish AVB all the success in the EPL. Finishing 2nd to Man United isn't so bad.
Hopefully this doesn't tear up the team.. as a lot of the players really liked him.. some might choose to leave now.. wouldn't like to see that except for the douchey one.
I wish AVB all the best at Chelsea.
Pinto da Costa and Jesualdo Ferreira structurally made this Porto team. This dates back about two years or so. The ginger dynamo took Jesualdo's team and made them unstoppable.
Pinto da Costa and his staff are behind the transfers. Porto are a fiscally and athletically uber sucessful club. The necessary measures will be taken to maintain status quo. That is the Porto way.
Good for Andre to tackle the EPL, he will suceed. His English is impeccable and the Brits love him.
This will open up a massive opportunity for someone to lead Porto and it will hopefully make it easier for for SCP to win the title.
As proud Portuguese football enthusiasts, we can never have enough Portuguese coaches heading EPL teams.
Boa Sorte Andre, and this makes me happy beacuase I am SCP, but I also support CFC.
If he goes then it could destabalise the club for the rest of the summer now, with big name players potentially leaving.
Anyway, enjoy your one season at Chelsea, because if you don't win the Premier League or Champions League there's a fair chance you'll be sacked, and maybe you'll come crawling back to Porto this time next year?
For such a young manager this is a very big challenge, a risky one. He is only slightly older than some of the big names in the Chelsea team, like Drogba, Terry, Lampard, Anelka
The perfect replacement would have been Domingos, but we lose out there too.