Former Chelsea manager celebrates wildly on stage after landing dream job

Andre Villas-Boas has been named the new president of Porto after winning the election ahead of Jorge Pinto da Costa, who had been in the position since 1982

Former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has been appointed as the new president of Porto, celebrating his victory with a jubilant display on stage. It is something of a lifelong dream for the boyhood Porto fan, who retired from management in 2022 to focus on his candidacy to become Porto president.

Villas-Boas, who had a brief and challenging stint at Stamford Bridge in 2011, was seen rejoicing in a Porto home shirt and waving a scarf after winning the election. His tenure at Chelsea, where he had previously worked under Jose Mourinho, proved to be ill-fated as he was dismissed by March 2012. The Portuguese coach quickly returned to the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification, before leaving Spurs in December 2013.

Over a decade later, Villas-Boas has returned to the club where he first made his mark. The former manager won a treble with Porto during his sole season in charge and could not hide his delight at being named the club's new president.

He triumphed in the election over long-serving Porto president Jorge Pinto da Costa, who had held the position since 1982. As reported by the Daily Star, Villas-Boas expressed his gratitude, saying: "I want to convey my gratitude to Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa for everything he has given to our FC Porto, the life he gave to FC Porto and guarantee him that it will always be his home.

"I hope to correspond fully to the demands of all Portistas: to win, to lift trophies and to build a sustainable club for the future. We have a long mission ahead of us. It will take arduous work in a house that has to be restructured, sorted out and reorganised."

His opponent was anything but magnanimous in defeat. Da Costa refused to speak after the defeat and delegated any media duties to his assistant Vitor Baia, who said: "Congratulations to the list B on their victory. The members have spoken and the decision is unanimous. Now it's time to prepare for the future and appeal for union. It's the end of an incredible legacy of the most important person in FC Porto's history."

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In an interview with The Athletic, shortly after leaving Marseille in 2021, Villas-Boas had said: “One day, I have the ambition to become the president of Porto." The former Chelsea boss, who was given his first job in football by Sir Bobby Robson, had always envisioned his managerial career lasting up to 15 years. He retired from coaching having held positions at Academica, Porto, Chelsea, Spurs, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Shanghai SIPG and Marseille. In between his time in football, Villas-Boas has also competed as a rally driver.

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