Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas (; born 17 October 1977) is a Portuguese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, who most recently was the manager of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. He is one of a growing number of top-level managers who have never played football professionally and one of the few managers to have never played beyond youth football. Highlights in his career include an undefeated 2010–11 season in the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

with Porto, winning four trophies and becoming the youngest manager ever to win a European title in the process, helping Tottenham to their then-record tally of 72 points in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

during the 2012–13 season (the highest points for a team to finish outside the top four at the time) and three trophies during his spell with Zenit, achieving the fifth league title in the club's history.

Early life and career

Born in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, Portugal, Villas-Boas was the second child and first son of Luís Filipe Manuel Henrique do Vale Peixoto de Sousa e Villas-Boas (born 29 February 1952) and Teresa Maria de Pina Cabral e Silva (born 11 February 1951). He is also the great-grandson of Dom José Gerardo Coelho Vieira Pinto do Vale Peixoto de Vilas-Boas, 1st Viscount of Guilhomil. Villas-Boas has spoken fluent English since childhood, as his grandmother was from

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, England. At the age of 16, Villas-Boas found himself living in the same apartment block as

Sir Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

, who was then manager of

. Following a conversation between the two, Robson appointed Villas-Boas to Porto's observation department. Robson arranged for Villas-Boas to obtain

the FA The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and ...

coaching qualification, the UEFA C coaching licence in Scotland and for him to study the training methods of

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. He obtained his C licence at the age of 17, and his B licence at 18. He received his A licence at the age of 19, and later acquired

UEFA Pro Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are iss ...

under the tutelage of Jim Fleeting. Villas-Boas had a short stint as technical director of the British Virgin Islands national team at the age of 21, before he moved on to a career as an assistant coach at Porto under

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...

. As Mourinho moved clubs to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

, Villas-Boas followed.

Managerial career

Académica

At the start of the 2009–10 season, Villas-Boas left Mourinho's team to pursue a career as a manager, and he soon found a job in the

with Académica de Coimbra, filling a vacancy created by

Rogério Gonçalves Rogério de Sousa Gonçalves (born 1 October 1959) is a Portuguese football manager, currently in charge of Mozambican club Clube Ferroviário da Beira. In a career of over three decades, he had brief Primeira Liga spells at Varzim, Naval, ...

' resignation in October 2009. At the time of his appointment, Académica were at the bottom of the league and still without any wins, but their luck started to change as he introduced a new style, leading them to a safe 11th place, ten points clear of the relegation zone. In addition to that, Académica also reached the 2009–10 Portuguese League Cup semi-finals, losing against Porto at the

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; English: Dragon Stadium) is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third largest football stadium in Portugal ...

to a late goal from

Mariano González Mariano Nicolás González (born 5 May 1981) is a retired Argentine professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. Club career Born in Tandil, Buenos Aires Province, González started his career at Racing Club d ...

. His impact at Académica was immediate, not only because of solid results, but also because of the attractive football displayed by the team, which led to intense media speculation linking him with the vacant jobs at

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

and

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

in the summer of 2010.

Porto

Villas-Boas signed a deal to become the new manager of Porto on 2 June 2010. Two months later, he won his first trophy as a manager when Porto defeated Benfica 2–0 to win the

Portuguese Supercup Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. Villas-Boas went on to immense success with Porto, leading them to an undefeated season in the Primeira Liga—only the second time this had ever been achieved—and winning the title by more than 20 points, having conceded only 13 goals all season. Villas-Boas went on to follow up this success by leading Porto to win both the

Portuguese Cup Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, thus completing a treble in his first season in charge. By doing so, Villas-Boas became the third-youngest coach ever to win the Primeira Liga (behind Mihály Siska in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

and

Juca Júlio Cernadas Pereira (13 January 1929 – 11 October 2007), commonly known as Juca, was a Portuguese football midfielder and coach. Most of his career was associated with Sporting CP, as both player and manager. Playing career The son of ...

in 1962) and the youngest manager ever to win a European competition, at the age of 33 years and 213 days. On 21 June 2011, Villas-Boas tendered his resignation as Porto manager.

Chelsea

confirmed the appointment of André Villas-Boas as their new manager on a three-year contract with immediate effect on 22 June 2011. They indirectly paid Porto a world record

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

15million ( £13.3million) compensation via Villas-Boas to activate his release clause and free him from his contract with Porto. On 30 July 2011, during the

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, Villas-Boas won his first piece of silverware with Chelsea, the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy. Villas-Boas won all of his pre-season fixtures with Chelsea, with the team conceding only one goal in all six games. On 14 August, Villas-Boas's first

match ended in a 0–0 at

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

, with Villas-Boas commenting on Stoke's strong defence at home. Villas-Boas then won his first competitive match as Chelsea manager, defeating

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

2–1 on 20 August. He continued his season with a home win, beating

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

3–1. On 18 September 2011, Villas-Boas's Chelsea lost to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

3–1 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. It was Chelsea's first defeat of the season and Villas-Boas's first defeat in 39 league matches, a run stretching back to his spells as manager of Académica and Porto. On 29 October, Chelsea lost their second

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

under Villas-Boas in a 5–3 defeat at home to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

after falling to a 1–0 defeat to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. Then three weeks later, his Chelsea side lost a second successive home game in a 2–1 defeat to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Days later, he once again lost to Liverpool in a 2–0 defeat in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

quarter-final. On 11 February 2012, pressure began to mount on Villas-Boas as Chelsea dropped out of the top four in the Premier League following a 2–0 league defeat against Everton. Villas-Boas responded by cancelling his squad's day off and called them in for an inquest, which provoked several senior players to question his tactics in front of owner

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian Russian oligarchs, oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club ...

. On 21 February 2012, during a Champions League match against

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Villas-Boas left

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder and is currently a member of Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland's coaching staff. He was ...

and

Ashley Cole Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English football coach and former player who is currently a first-team coach at Premier League club Everton. As a player, he played as a left-back, most notably for Arsenal and Chelsea. Cole is consi ...

on the bench. Chelsea lost 3–1 and the club's technical director asked for an explanation of the team selection on behalf of Abramovich. On 4 March 2012, following a 1–0 league defeat against West Brom which left Chelsea three points adrift of

in the battle for fourth place in the

, Villas-Boas was relieved of his managerial duties by Chelsea, with assistant manager

Roberto Di Matteo Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. During his playing career as a midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau before joining Lazio of Italy and Chelse ...

being appointed as caretaker manager on an interim basis until the end of the season. On the Chelsea website, it read, "The board would like to record our gratitude for his work and express our disappointment that the relationship has ended so early."

Tottenham Hotspur

On 3 July 2012, it was announced that Villas-Boas had been named

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

head coach after successful talks with the club, replacing

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...

and signing a three-year deal with the North London football team. Villas-Boas' first competitive game in charge of Tottenham came on 18 August 2012 in the opening day of the

season, losing 2–1 to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

away from home. His first competitive win came on 16 September 2012, a 3–1 victory away to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. On 29 September 2012, Villas-Boas became the first Tottenham manager to win at

in 23 years after his side beat

3–2. Villas-Boas took charge of his first

North London derby The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main rivals, and the derby is co ...

against

on 17 November 2012 at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

. Despite taking the lead early on, goalscorer

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Togolese Championnat National club Semassi. He previously played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Ho ...

was sent off just eight minutes later, and Tottenham eventually lost 5–2. Villas-Boas earned his first piece of personal Tottenham silverware when he won the Manager of the Month award for December. The team managed to pick up vital points in order to pursue their top four ambition. Promising big scorelines away from home such as against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

along with home wins against Swansea City and Reading, left Tottenham in third place going into the new year. One set back was a tough trip to

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

, where Spurs were leading up until the 90th minute, before two late Everton goals in as many minutes, snatched victory away from the North London side. In February 2013, he guided Tottenham to the last 16 of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

after a last minute goal from Mousa Dembélé, securing a 1–1 draw against

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...

at the

Stade Gerland The Stade de Gerland (known for sponsorship reasons as Matmut Stadium de Gerland and otherwise known as Municipal de Gerland or Stade Gerland ) is a stadium in the city of Lyon, France, which serves as home to Top 14 rugby club Lyon OU. It has a ...

. Spurs won the tie 3–2 on aggregate, after a 2–1 win at home the previous week. Following a 3–2 away win at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, Tottenham's third win from three Premier League matches that month, Villas-Boas picked up his second piece of personal Tottenham silverware of the season as he was awarded the Manager of the Month award for February, along with

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...

who picked up the Player of the Month award for February as well. On the final day of the Premier League season, Tottenham sat a point behind North London rivals,

, knowing that in order to qualify for the 2013–14 Champions League, they had to win and hope that Arsenal failed to win. Tottenham won against Sunderland, but did not qualify due to Arsenal's 0–1 win at Newcastle United. Even though Tottenham finished a point behind the Champions League playoff spot, they set a new club record by finishing with 72 points. This was also the highest points tally ever achieved by any club in the Premier League to consequently not finish in the top four, until Arsenal finishing in fifth with 75 points in 2016-17. In the close season, Villas-Boas claimed he was approached by both

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

to fill their managerial vacancies but insisted he rejected these offers to remain with Spurs for a second successive season, something which he had not previously done as a manager. Following the sale of star player Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record fee of £85.3 million, Villas-Boas was active in the transfer market before the start of the

2013–14 Premier League The 2013–14 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season of the Premier League, the top-flight English professional league for men's football clubs, and the 115th season of top-flight Eng ...

season. Key acquisitions included defensive midfielder

Étienne Capoue Étienne René Capoue (born 11 July 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Villarreal. He is a French youth international, having earned caps at under-18, under-19, and under-21 level, ...

, midfielder

Paulinho Paulinho is a Portuguese nickname for people named ''Paulo'' (Paulo -inho, little Paulo). People known as Paulinho include: Music *Paulinho da Costa (born 1948), Brazilian percussionist *Paulinho da Viola (born 1942), Brazilian sambista *Paulinho ...

, striker

Roberto Soldado Roberto Soldado Rillo (; born 27 May 1985) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Segunda División club Levante UD, Levante. After emerging through Real Madrid CF, ...

, the versatile

Nacer Chadli Nacer Chadli (born 2 August 1989) is a Belgian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Belgian First Division A club K.V.C. Westerlo on loan from Turkish Super Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir and the Belgium national footbal ...

, ball-playing defender

Vlad Chiricheș Vlad Iulian Chiricheș (; born 14 November 1989) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for club Cremonese and captains the Romania national team. Primarily a centre-back, he can also be deployed as a right-back or a defensive midfield ...

, winger

Erik Lamela Erik Manuel Lamela Cordero (born 4 March 1992) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Sevilla and the Argentina national team. Lamela began his career at River Plate and in 201 ...

and playmaker

Christian Eriksen Christian Dannemann Eriksen (born 14 February 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team. He is renowned for his vision, technique, passing, and fr ...

. Departures from the club included

Tom Huddlestone Thomas Andrew Huddlestone (born 28 December 1986) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder and coach for Premier League club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United. Having progressed th ...

Clint Dempsey Clinton Drew Dempsey (; born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward and midfielder. During his career, he played in the Premier League for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur and in Major League Soccer ...

Steven Caulker Steven Roy Caulker (born 29 December 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Born in England, he represents and captains the Sierra Leone national team. Caulker started his profe ...

and

Scott Parker Scott Matthew Parker (born 13 October 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the head coach of Club Brugge in Belgium. Parker began his career at Charlton Athletic, and ...

. On 16 December 2013, Tottenham announced that Villas-Boas had left the club "by mutual consent." The dismissal, with Spurs lying seventh in the Premier League and having won all six Europa League group games, followed a series of disappointing domestic league results that included a 6–0 defeat away to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and culminated in a 0–5 home defeat to Liverpool. Villas-Boas left the club with the highest percentage of league wins of any Tottenham manager in the club's Premier League era.

Zenit Saint Petersburg

On 18 March 2014, Villas-Boas signed a two-year deal with

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

, replacing Luciano Spalletti, and took the reins the day after the club's Champions League round of 16 second leg against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

. A month later, he went on to become the first coach in

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

history to win his first six matches in charge. He continued to pursue the title but on 3 May, Zenit lost their first points in a 1–1 away draw with

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three oc ...

being followed by a 2–4 loss at home to

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

which dictated the league advantage to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

. In the final fixture of the Russian Premier League on 16 May, Zenit won 4–1 away against Kuban Krasnodar but it was not enough to win the title, as CSKA defeated Lokomotiv and were crowned champions one point ahead of Zenit. However, the St. Petersburg club clinched a place in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round. In the 2014–15 season, Zenit qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage by beating

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL also maintai ...

in the third round qualification and

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

in the playoffs. On 17 May 2015, Villas-Boas led the club to the fifth league title in its history, clinching it after a 1–1 draw against

FC Ufa FC Ufa (russian: ФК «Уфа», ba, Өфө, Öfö) is a Russian football club based in Ufa that will play in the second-tier Russian First League in the 2022–23 season. History During the summer of 2010, Rustem Khamitov, the second Preside ...

with two games left to play. On 10 September 2015, Villas-Boas announced he would return to Portugal because of his family and therefore be leaving Zenit at the end of the 2015–16 season after turning down a contract extension. In the 2015–16 Champions League Zenit finished top of the Group H, being eliminated by Benfica in the Round of 16. On 2 May 2016, Zenit won the Russian Cup by beating CSKA Moscow 4–1 in the final in Kazan, this was the Portuguese's last achievement for the Russian side, leaving at the end of the season and with

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently head coach of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv. He is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Lucescu is also ...

appointed the new manager.

Shanghai SIPG

On 4 November 2016, Villas-Boas became the manager of

Shanghai SIPG Shanghai Port FC (), previously named Shanghai SIPG, is a professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Pudong, Shanghai, and their home sta ...

, replacing

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...

for the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

club. Despite not being able to win any major silverware during his stint at the club, Villas-Boas has been credited with turning a relatively inexperienced side into a true championship contender. Bolstered by the talents of Brazilians

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

as well as star Chinese attacker

Wu Lei Wu Lei (; born 19 November 1991) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port and the China national team. Wu is the all-time top goalscorer for Shanghai SIPG with 169 goals. He is ...

, his only season at the helm saw SIPG finish second in the league, losing to rivals Shanghai Shenhua in the final of the Chinese FA cup, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League, the club's best result in the competition to date (as of November 2019). Villas-Boas' stint at SIPG was also marred by a number of controversial remarks he made throughout the campaign, some of which were in response to star midfielder Oscar's controversial 8-match suspension for kicking the ball at an opponent during play. He also repeatedly lambasted match officials for favouring eventual league champions

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

, notably following a game between Guangzhou and

Yanbian Funde Yanbian Funde F.C. () was a Chinese football club. The team was based in Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin province where their home stadium is the Yanji Nationwide Fitness Centre Stadium that has a seating capacity of 30,000 ...

where Guangzhou defender Liu Jian scored following a handball gifting Guangzhou a crucial victory. By the time of his departure from SIPG, he was yet to serve out his suspension for these remarks. In November 2017, Shanghai SIPG announced Villas-Boas left the club by mutual consent after he refused to extend his contract for another year.

Marseille

On 28 May 2019, Villas-Boas signed a two-year contract to be the new manager of

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

, replacing

Rudi Garcia Rudi José Garcia (; ; born 20 February 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr. Early life Rudi Garcia's father, José, was a Spanish expatriate who played ...

. In the 2019–20 Ligue 1 season, Marseille finished second after the season was ended early due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, thus qualifying for the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defeat ...

for the first time since 2013–14. On September 13, 2020, he became the first Olympian coach in 9 years to lead his squad to a victory (0-1) in

Le Classique Le Classique (, The Classic) is the rivalry between French professional football clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille. The duo are the two most successful clubs in French football, and the only French teams to have won major Eur ...

against

. On 2 February 2021, Villas-Boas announced in a press conference that he had offered his resignation to the club's board due to his dissatisfaction with the club's recruitment policy, namely them signing

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

player

Olivier Ntcham Jules Olivier Ntcham (born 9 February 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Swansea City. Born in France, he represents the Cameroon national team. Ntcham was born in Longjumeau, a southern ...

on loan the previous day against his wishes. A few hours later, Marseille announced the suspension of Villas-Boas as manager with immediate effect, with the club branding his public criticism of the club "unacceptable" and confirming that disciplinary hearings against Villas-Boas will take place.

Motorsport career

On 29 November 2017 it was announced that Villas-Boas would compete in the 2018 Dakar Rally driving a

Toyota Hilux The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although they ...

and co-driven by former motorcycle class frontrunner

Ruben Faria Ruben Faria (born 30 July 1974 in Olhão) is a Portuguese rally-raid and enduro motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally in which he finished as runner-up in 2013. Career Faria made his Dakar Rally debut in 2006, w ...

. He withdrew from the rally after crashing into a sand dune on the fourth stage in Peru and injuring his back. On 16 and 17 March 2018, he participated in another off-road rally, the Baja TT do Pinhal, driving a Can-Am Maverick X3. Following his departure from Marseille in 2021, Villas-Boas made his maiden appearance in the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

between 20 and 23 May, competing in the

WRC3 The FIA WRC3 is a support championship of the World Rally Championship. The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the parent series and crews usually compete immediately after WRC2 entrants. Entry into WRC3 is limited to cars th ...

category of the 2021 Rally de Portugal. Driving a

Citroën C3 Rally2 Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

alongside co-driver Gonçalo Magalhães, the pair finished 12th. Villas-Boas has said that he is unlikely to make a WRC return, and intends to compete again in the Dakar Rally.

Personal life

In 2004, Villas-Boas married Joana Maria Noronha de Ornelas Teixeira, with whom he now has two daughters, Benedita (born August 2009), Carolina (born October 2010) and a son, Frederico (born May 2015). He speaks

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

fluently, having been taught by his paternal grandmother Margaret Kendall, whose mother moved to Portugal from Cheadle,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England, to start a wine business. Her brother Douglas Kendall served as a wing commander for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His paternal great-uncle José Rui Villas-Boas was the Viscount of Guilhomil, a title initially bestowed on his father José Gerado Villas-Boas by King Carlos I in 1890. Villas-Boas' brother João Luís de Pina Cabral Villas-Boas is a Portuguese stage and television actor. He had a bit-part in the costume drama ''Mistérios de Lisboa'' (''Mysteries of Lisbon'').

Managerial statistics

Honours

Porto *

: 2010–11 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

: 2010–11 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: 2010–11 Zenit Saint Petersburg *

: 2014–15 * Russian Cup: 2015–16 *

Russian Super Cup The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Russian Cup winners. If the Premie ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual * CNID Breakthrough Coach:

* CNID Best Coach:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

* Globos de Ouro Prémio Revelação:

* European Coach of the Season: 2010–11 *

Premier League Manager of the Month The Premier League Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League manager each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to ...

: December 2012, February 2013 Hayden Thurston’s Head Trophy 2022