Villas-Boas rejects ‘Special’ tag

IT was the question he knew he would be asked; and given Andre Villas-Boas’ reputation for meticulous preparation you suspect the answer had been practised many times in front of the mirror.

Chelsea’s new manager is well aware he bears all the hallmarks of his most famous predecessor: he’s Portuguese, has just arrived in London after winning a European trophy with Porto and has an air of confidence and a sense of comfort in the spotlight that seems eerily familiar. But is he a Special One?

“Listen, I will wait for you guys to give a title to me when I’m successful,” came the carefully-crafted reply that was typical of his debut press conference at Stamford Bridge yesterday. “I hope I am and you give me a good title in the end. But this is not a one-man show. This is a question of creating empathy, motivation and raising ambitions in everybody: the players, the staff around me — all the people in this organisation.

“Maybe I should be called the Group One. I want to group people together to be successful. That’s my objective.”

There is no doubting this is a passionate man about the art of management; a coach who has been studying the guide books since he was a teenager and whose motivational skills are scientifically and sociologically tested. But his lines are so well-learned, so well-honed that it may take a while to discover the real man beneath the textbook.

Admittedly there were signs of Mourinho in his speeches about motivation; but he also hinted at an intention to play attractive rather than pragmatic football and proclaimed a desire to steer clear of managerial mind games, telling Alex Ferguson: “I’m not a confrontational guy.”

So reports he has fallen out with the Special Once since the days when he worked as Mourinho’s opposition scout should come as no real surprise, even if Chelsea’s new incumbent is too diplomatic to say so.

“I wouldn’t like to share my private life, but of course you know that we haven’t spoken for a long time,” said Villas-Boas. “There’s nothing new in there. No hard feelings, but we’re two busy people who move around in this busy football world.”

Whether Villas-Boas can follow and match that legacy remains to be seen.

At just 33 he has only one year’s experience of managing at the top level and will have to control players like Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard who are of a similar age and have achieved far more in their careers.

“I think it’s normal for people to judge my age,” he said. “In the end, it all happened at a very young age for me, just as I started my career as a coach when I was 18 up to this moment. It’s something I take in my stride; it’s normal for me to be questioned.”

Villas-Boas has appointed a back-up team of former Chelsea player and West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo along with Jose Mario Rocha, Daniel Sousa and Steve Holland and in contrast to Mourinho he plans to take a less dictatorial approach.

“We are young and we are very open minded people,” he said. “We want the players to triumph as persons, as social role models. When they do that, they triumph as players as well.’’

The management style isn’t all that will change at Stamford Bridge because there are plans to switch to an intricate pass and move football favoured by Villas-Boas at Porto and perfected so well by Barcelona.

“It’s not just a question of winning, but winning with a certain flair,” he insisted. “Our philosophy is that it should be an entertaining game for the fans. We are proud defenders of the beauty of the game. It makes no sense for us to get into a club like and play dreadful football.”

Luiz-Felipe Scolari, of course, had the same philosophy and Carlo Ancelotti, to a certain extent too, so such a statement is no guarantee of longevity at the club. But at least after seven managers since he was last at Chelsea, Villas-Boas is armed with inside knowledge.

“I’m expected to be successful — to win straight away, on a weekly basis. And there’s no running away from that challenge,” he said. “I’d be surprised to be kept on if I don’t win. Who expects to stay as Chelsea manager if they don’t win anything?”