Over 18 months ago the most sought after coach in world football, Andre Villas Boas on the back of a remarkable season at Porto took the hot-seat at Chelsea. Fast forward 8 months later, AVB as he has became known as, joined the scrapheap of managers which have been dispensed by Roman Abramovich. His appointment at Tottenham last summer was one that brought sceptical comments as to why Daniel Levy decided to give the "Chelsea reject" as some Spurs fans would have viewed to take over from the very popular manager in Harry Redknapp. Despite "'Arry's" flirtation with the England job during the previous season he still commanded a lot of respect and likeability from the Spurs fans.
It was hard not to given his achievements at the club, bring Champions League football/European Cup football to White Hart Lane is over 4 decades. Not since the great double winning side of the sixties had Spurs fans seen the sort of progression that became false dawns over the course of that time. Off the bat AVB had big shoes to fill, including the loss of Luka Modric who went to Real Madrid. The signings of Dembele, Lloris and Vertonghen have clearly added to the core of a side who unluckily ended up out of the Champions League due to Chelsea winning the trophy in Munich.
Other additions to the squad in Dempsey and Sigurdsson, questions remain for me what both bring to the side but compared to the 3 above their impact has been less noticed. The form of Bale, Caulker, Defoe(although now injured), Lennon and until he got injured recently in Sandro have been down to the man management and style of football AVB has imprinted on the side already. The goal return of Bale and Defoe - 21 goals between them already this season is a major plus where both of them only managed that tally in 61 games.
Their win at West Brom last Sunday was a massive win for Spurs but for AVB and where he is heading with this side. Spurs teams of the past would have choked with the chance to make the slip up's of others benefit them. Take away the fantastic finish of Bale and the steel he has instilled in the side to continue to play in the same way surely if I was a Spurs fan regardless of the scoreline is something to respect and brilliant to watch.
Sir Bobby Robson put his reputation on the line all those years ago when only 17, AVB on the recommendation of Sir Bobby enabled him to get into Lilleshall. Where the youngest student in the class earned his coaching badges. We know the rest from there, from been under the wing of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Inter to forging his own career firstly at Academica. At Academica, a club severely threatened by relegation and not having won a single league game when he took over in October 2009.
Cue 7 months later, his work at Academica didn't go unnoticed, at 11th place finish and a cup semi-final appearance only narrowly losing to his heroes Porto in the process. Later that summer he took over at Porto and lead them to a historic treble season, he replicated the same haul that Jose Mourinho had done less than a decade earlier.
For me as an outsider, his record at Academica and then heading to Porto show Andre Villas Boas is a talented manager and unlike the British media who view his time at Chelsea a failure. They only need to look at the mess that club is in since he was relieved by Roman Abramovich. Furthermore, his success at Spurs thus far is proving a lot of those critics wrong. Like any new manager when they take over a club some hiccups occur(recent defeat to Leeds in the FA Cup).
Despite that, in my opinion he is finding his redemption and Spurs will be the massive winners because of it. Daniel Levy didn't believe the stories surrounding his time at Chelsea and some Spurs fans are now finally coming around to that same thinking, it took time(despite the massive win at Old Trafford) AVB has dispelled any doubts. Good on him too.
