Petit is no longer coach of Boavista. News broke that Petit was resigning yesterday, but the decision reached through mutual agreement between manager and club was made official this afternoon.
Despite a poor run of form that has seen the Axadrezados win just one of their last 10 matches, the 47-year-old coach leaves the Bessa with his reputation significantly enhanced after doing a fine job in Porto over the past two years.
The former Portugal midfielder faced an impossible task at Boavista, with the club in financial meltdown. The situation has become so dire that the players have on occasion been forced to take a shower at home after training instead of at the club facilities owing to non-payment of water and gas bills.
That is not to mention overdue wages to players and other club employees, such as the medical staff, which has led to the late cancellation of training sessions.
Failure to keep the club’s finances on an even keel was also a severe handicap in Boavista’s preparations ahead of the 2023/24 campaign with a transfer ban imposed.
Fast start
In such a backdrop, it was something of a miracle that Boavista began the season on fire, reeling off 4 wins and a draw in their first 5 matches to hit top spot in the Primeira Liga, and earning plaudits for their enterprising attacking football along the way.
But the fragile financial situation meant the strong start was unsustainable, with unpaid salaries obviously affecting motivation levels throughout the institution.
With a spate of injuries stretching a thin squad, results took a drastic downward turn. Petit turned down the offer to take over Vitória earlier in the season – Portugal’s fifth biggest club – to try and keep Boavista on the right track, but eventually concluded he faced a thankless task.
Petit is a club icon having been an integral cog in the famous Boavista team that pulled off a shock Portuguese championship triumph in 2000/2001 as a fiercely competitive midfielder. It was only the second time a club outside the traditional Três Grandes of Benfica, Sporting and Porto had won the league.
The historical achievement was the launchpad for a successful career at Benfica and FC Koln, with Petit going on the play 57 times for his country.
Constantly improving coach
Petit is unlikely to be out of work for long.
He was known as something of a fire-fighter in the initial years of his management career, often brought in to struggling clubs fighting relegation to positive affect, saving Tondela, Moreirense and Paços de Ferreira from the drop.
His work at Boavista has shown Petit to be a more expansive and tactically astute coach than many analysts had given him credit for. It will be interesting to see how he performs if given a chance at a club with more stability and a better quality squad.
As for Boavista, the chaotic situation will pile more pressure on president Vítor Murta and owner Gérard López.
The team are currently 10th in the standings but only 5 points above the bottom three teams. Failure to arrest the slide could quickly see the club sucked into relegation trouble.
By Tom Kundert
