Villa-Boas knows all about Chelsea
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Shanghai Daily, June 30, 2011
Andre Villas-Boas expects to be fired by Chelsea if he fails to engineer instant success in his first year as manager of the English Premier League club.
Villas-Boas was hired last week as Chelsea's seventh manager in eight years under the club's ruthless Russian owner, Roman Abramovich.
"What you expect from this club is to be successful straight away," Villas-Boas said yesterday.
"I will be surprised to be kept on the job if I don't win.
"The expectations of the club are at the maximum - no doubt we have a compromise with a certain amount of trophies. The managers who have sat in this chair have been challenged for the trophies. There's nothing that the owner told me that I didn't know, to challenge for the trophies in every area."
Villas-Boas quit Porto after leading the side to three trophies last season, including the Portuguese league and the Europa League, in his one year in charge. His contract was terminated after the club received payment of 15 million (US$21.5 million) to trigger his release clause.
"It was a difficult separation. It's something that was felt hard in Portugal. My commitment was 100 percent to Porto and it will always be my club," Villas-Boas said. "I always felt well in Porto ... but everyone feels the need for a new challenge.
"The move to Chelsea was based on a very lucrative move ... Porto was able to beat their offer. Porto made an extremely competitive offer to stay."
Villas-Boas is often compared to compatriot Jose Mourinho, who he worked under as a scout at Chelsea from 2004-07 and then with Italian side Inter Milan.
In Mourinho's first media conference at Chelsea, he declared himself to be the "Special One." Villas-Boas' entrance was not so grand.
"The title, I will wait for you guys to give it me.
"I hope I am successful and you give me a good title in the end. This is not a one-man show - it's about creating empathy and raising ambitions with everyone around me. Maybe I should be the "group one."
The 33-year-old Portuguese coach said his approach will be "winning with a certain amount of attacking flair."
His assistant will be former Italy midfielder Roberto Di Matteo, who played for Chelsea from 1996-2002.
Di Matteo was sacked as West Bromwich Albion manager in February.
With both men known for preaching possession football with an attacking, expansive style, it's a good indication of the approach the London club is set to adopt next season.
