Andre Villas-Boas has been out of a job for a while now.
But if you believe some reports, he could be heading to one of the world’s biggest teams in the not so distant future. Villas-Boas, who was fired as Tottenham Hotspur manager in December after things unraveled pretty rapidly at White Hart Lane, has been linked as a candidate to take over at FC Barcelona as Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino comes under more scrutiny.
In his first season in charge at the Nou Camp rgentine boss Martino has guided his side to the Spanish Cup final, looks set for a berth in the last eight of the Champions League and Barca sit just three points off top spot in La Liga. But fans and pundits have criticized Blaugrana heavily this campaign.
If Martino is shown the door this summer, many suggest AVB would be on Barca’s shortlist and the 36-year-old would be one of the favorites to take charge. Conveniently, Villas-Boas has been chatting with Spanish outlet Marca about his plans to manage abroad next season and to one day return to the Premier League as coach.
This is what AVB has to say about one day managing Real or Barcelona.
Is all this chat a bit ‘pie in the sky’ for a manger who has been sacked by Chelsea and Tottenham in the Premier League?
After leaving Spurs, AVB suggested he was undervalued at White Hart Lane and the young manager certainly has a high opinion of himself. But as a young buck amongst the wise old heads of Europe’s elite managers, that was how AVB had to act. With his coaching methods pruned across many years as an understudy to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, and then taking FC Porto to an incredible season in 2010-11 when they won three trophies and were undefeated in the Portuguese league, Villas-Boas clearly knows what he’s doing.
But Tottenham and Chelsea’s fans will tell you otherwise, as the young manager certainly got plenty of things wrong during his time in charge of both London clubs. Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League and languished towards midtable with hi in charge, while Spurs finished fifth last season thanks to the superhero efforts of Gareth Bale... then AVB blew the $132 million Spurs got for him (along with Franco Baldini) on less than impressive foreign imports.
Should he get the chance to manage Real or Barca in the near future? Or should AVB re-establish himself as one of Europe’s brightest managerial talents with a smaller club on the European continent first? I’d say the latter, but the way this guys career has gone, seeing him roaming around the technical area at the Nou Camp isn’t too far fetched.
