With the players on his side, this is the real Andre Villas-Boas

Spurs have been moulded in their manager’s image, says leading Portuguese footballer writer Goncalo Lopes
P66 Andre Villas-Boas
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Goncalo Lopes7 May 2013

The work of Andre Villas-Boas at Tottenham is being followed very closely in Portugal. At the moment, all the critics as well as his fellow Portuguese coaches are full of praise for him.

We knew that he had to succeed at Tottenham, especially after his failure at Chelsea — which was due mainly to the pressure placed upon him by senior players, after it became clear that he wanted to bring down the average age of the squad.

We believe here in Portugal that, regardless of where Tottenham finish at the end of the season, he has proved himself equal to the task. He has managed to win over the fans, the players and also many of those who had initially opposed him thanks to Spurs’ style of play.

When they are at their best, this Tottenham side remind us of Villas-Boas’s Porto, where he was so successful during his single season before joining Chelsea in 2011. Under Villas-Boas, Spurs have been prepared to show their claws and, above all, they have played exciting football. This is the man who was compared to Jose Mourinho. The Villas-Boas who delighted Portugal is back.

After his failure at Chelsea he learned a lot, especially to listen to the more experienced players, because the Premier League is different from its Portuguese equivalent. Brad Friedel, William Gallas, Scott Parker and Gareth Bale were those in whom he placed trust to win the backing of the other players, something that he never had at Chelsea.

With the players on his side, Villas-Boas has moulded a team in his own image, aggressive and desperate for victory. They are a team who play to win against any opponents.

Over here, we believe that with one or two players of a higher level, like Joao Moutinho, Nuri Sahin and Leandro Damiao, three players AVB wanted, Spurs could have fought for the title. His big goal is to now lead Tottenham into the Champions League. He also knows that to buy players like Moutinho or Leandro, and also to keep Bale in the long term, he has to achieve that objective. The game against Chelsea is crucial and he has always known it.

Despite this, AVB has never conveyed the pressure of this match to the players. He simply started to prepare for the clash after the Southampton game was over. It is not about revenge: he wants to win the game simply to help Tottenham reach the Champions League.

If Spurs can win, though, we have no doubt that it will be even sweeter for Villas-Boas. If there is one club that he would like to beat, it is Chelsea. It is not to gain revenge, but to prove to those who sent him away from Stamford Bridge that they were wrong to do so.

The great qualities of Villas-Boas are his humility and his ability to study football relentlessly. When he left Chelsea, he made sure he watched matches and training sessions in many different countries, to study new methods and new tactics, wishing always to learn more and more.

This is his main advantage over most coaches — the desire to continue learning, rather than simply teaching, also because he is still very young. And his youth could be, for now, his weakness. But time will prove that the mistakes he made at Chelsea will enable him to grow into a top coach.

In Portugal, we are also anticipating eagerly the possibility of Villas-Boas and Mourinho meeting again in England next year. Both have different styles, and each insists he does not follow the work of the other. But it will be interesting to see how the reunion will go after the departure of Villas-Boas from Inter Milan in 2009. The relationship broke down and friendship ceased to exist.

There is still mutual respect, but their teams have never met since AVB left Inter, and these are duels that everyone in Portugal is looking forward to. For us, Mourinho, is still on a different level, and it will be difficult for Villas-Boas to reach that standard, but he has the strength to try to improve.

So we believe that with Mourinho in the same country, Villas-Boas could become even better, and perhaps take a job at another top club in England, or in Italy or Spain. Next year, however, he will be at Tottenham, and he is prepared to do even better.

He is already working towards that aim — and has told chairman Daniel Levy and the board that new players are needed to make the progress required.

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