Ex-Spurs boss Villas-Boas faces crucial time in China

BEIJING: Shanghai SIPG coach Andre Villas-Boas faces a critical four weeks that will define his time in China, starting with the AFC Champions League semi-final first leg home to Urawa Red Diamonds tomorrow.

Villas-Boas’ team, boasting the likes of the Brazilians Hulk and Oscar, are in the hunt for the treble in the former Chelsea and Tottenham manager’s first season in China.

Shanghai squeezed into the last four of the continent’s premier club competition on penalties against Guangzhou Evergrande and are also battling Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men for the domestic cup and the Chinese Super League (CSL).

Despite that success Villas-Boas has been on a collision course with Asian and Chinese football authorities, hitting out at an array of perceived injustices and getting a twogame ban in June in the fall-out from an eight-match punishment dished out to Oscar.

If the 39-year-old was pleased at getting into the Champions League semis he did not show it, lashing out at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the referee and accusing Evergrande of staging a series of car accidents to delay his team’s arrival at the stadium in Guangzhou.

Evergrande declined to comment but the AFC are looking into VillasBoas’s post-match comments.

For Villas-Boas, who arrived in China in November 2016 from Zenit St Petersburg, the next few games will decide whether a decent season becomes a very good one -- and could dictate whether he is still in charge at Shanghai next season.

They are second in the CSL with four games left and have narrowed the gap to leaders and champions Evergrande to four points.

Villas-Boas and his side are also still in China’s FA Cup and travel to Evergrande once more for the semi-final on Saturday holding a 2-1 lead from the first leg.

Before that, they host the Japanese side Urawa Reds hoping that their exceptional form at home – where they have not lost in 15 months in all competitions – will again be enough over two legs. — AFP