Chelsea Fire Villas-Boas

Reports from London say Andre Villas-Boas’s tortured spell as Chelsea manager came to an end Sunday afternoon when the Premier League club sacked the Portuguese after less than nine months in charge.

Andre Villas-Boas

Speculation over the 34-year-old’s future had been swirling in the British media for weeks after a series of poor results and his dismissal came after Saturday’s 1-0 league defeat by West Bromwich Albion.

“Unfortunately the results and performances of the team have not been good enough and were showing no signs of improving at a key time in the season,” the London club said in a statement on their website (www.chelseafc.com).

The Stamford Bridge outfit have won three of their last 12 Premier League games and are in danger of missing out on qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

They are trailing 3-1 in their round-of-16 Champions League tie against Napoli ahead of the March 14 second leg, while they sit fifth in the Premier League table with 46 points from 27 games.

“The club is still competing in the latter stages of the Uefa Champions League and the FA Cup, as well as challenging for a top-four spot in the Premier League, and we aim to remain as competitive as possible on all fronts,” the statement said.

“With that in mind we felt our only option was to make a change at this time.
“With immediate effect Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed first-team coach on an interim basis until the end of the season.”

FACTBOX: Andre Villas-Boas
Born Oct. 17, 1977 in Porto, Portugal.

EARLY CAREER
* Played at amateur level in regional leagues, and according to one of his coaches was a busy midfielder who showed an early interest in tactics. Never played professionally, opting instead to take coaching courses while he completed a university degree in humanities.
* As a 16-year-old Porto fan, Villas-Boas contacted the club’s then manager Bobby Robson and questioned his team selection. The former England coach was impressed with the teenager’s passion, helped him to take coaching courses and introduced him to his assistant Jose Mourinho.
* He stayed at Porto after Robson moved to Barcelona and coached at youth level until taking a job as coach of the British Virgin Islands national team in 2000.
* He returned to Porto in 2001 and became a scout under then new head coach Mourinho in 2002.
* He followed Mourinho to Chelsea in 2004, working as an opposition scout at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups under Mourinho.
* Villas-Boas then followed Mourinho to Inter Milan, where he stayed for one season, in which they won the Serie A title, before leaving in 2009.

COACHING CAREER
* He joined Portuguese club Academica as head coach in October 2009 with the club bottom of the Portuguese championship and without a win.
* He helped Academica to climb away from the relegation zone to finish 11th.
* He joined Porto as head coach in June 2010 on a two-year deal and signed a one-year contract extension in December 2010 that included a 15-million-euro release clause.
* He made a winning start by beating champions Benfica 2-0 to win the Portuguese Supercup.
* Combining defensive solidity, midfield possession and creative flair in attack, Porto became the first team since 1978 to finish the season undefeated.
* Villas-Boas became the youngest coach to win a Uefa competition when Porto defeated Braga 1-0 to clinch the Europa League and he completed a treble by winning the Portuguese championship and cup.

CHELSEA
* Villas-Boas left Porto to become manager at Chelsea on 22 June, 2011.
* The London club paid £13.3 million to trigger the escape clause in his contract and made him the seventh Chelsea manager since Russian owner Roman Abramovic bought the club in 2003.
* He faced a daunting task in replacing Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who had won the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in charge, and in rejuvenating an ageing squad who had ended the previous season trophyless.
* The Portuguese came under increasing scrutiny as Chelsea’s form slumped while media reported a rift with several senior players.
* He was heavily criticised for leaving out established first-team stars Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole as Chelsea suffered a 3-1 defeat to Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash.
* A 3-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers the following weekend bought him a brief stay of execution but his demise was assured when Chelsea lost 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

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