Chelsea Football Club have undoubtedly enjoyed the best spell in their history the past few years, since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought The Blues back in the summer of 2003. Yet all of this success hasn't prompted the instatement of a long term manager, with the newest man to fill the managerial hot seat at Stamford Bridge, Andres Villas-Boas, being the seventh since the Russian took over.
Abramovich is not the easiest of men to please with big name managers falling by the wayside despite the recent success some of them have managed to bring to the club. However, it would seem that he's pretty confident in the abilities of his latest appointment, after having to fork out a record £13.25 million to trigger the release clause in the former Porto man's contract.
And who can blame him, with that being the latest in a long line of records Villas-Boas has broken over the last twelve months. The most notable being in becoming the youngest manager to ever win a European trophy, the Europa League at the age of 33 years and 213 days. He also went 36 games unbeaten in Portugal, breaking former mentor and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's record of 33 matches without a loss.
Villas-Boas unsurprisingly bears remarkable similarities to Mourinho, with them both being from Portugal he worked under ‘The Special One’ at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan, instilling similar approaches to the game. There is also the fact that they are two of the few successful managers that have not had playing careers before entering into management. Another thing the fellow countryman have in common is the influence the late, great Sir Bobby Robson had on their careers.
At the age of sixteen Sir Bobby moved into the same apartment complex as the new Chelsea boss on being appointed Porto manager back in 1994, and after a few exchanges with the young Porto fan, his grasp of the English language and views on the Porto squad at the time led to him becoming part of Robson's coaching staff. The Porto boss helped the young Villas-Boas earn his first coaching badges, having to bend the rules due to his age, and just a few years later he became coach of the British Virgin Islands at just 21 years old!
Scouting and coaching roles at Porto, Chelsea and Inter followed until 2009 when he took on the job at bottom of the table Academica de Coimbra back in Portugal. Not only did he rescue them from the drop, he steered the side to a respectable 11th place, a full ten points off of relegation. He got them playing the attractive football that him and Mourinho have become so well known for.
His success at Academica led to him landing the Porto job the following season. And in the short twelve months he spent at the Portuguese giants he won four trophies, winning the league, cup, Europa League and Portuguese Super Cup, something even Jose didn't manage during his stint with the current champions.
The youngster definitely has the potential to be the man who finally lives up to Roman Abramovich's expectations, with his already packed resume speaking for itself, but many great managers have come and gone over the past few years despite the titles they have brought to the Bridge. The last season has seen Chelsea fall into the shadow of the mighty Manchester United somewhat, and with the chasing pack ever improving the West Londoners need a great leader more than ever, and I think they may have found him.