Andre Villas-Boas
Leading the Marseille revival
“Barcelona are Messi dependent, Juventus are Ronaldo dependent. If we’re Payet dependent, we’re Payet dependent”
Two years ago, Andre Villas-Boas crashed a car into a sand dune while competing in the Dakar Rally. Shaken but with no broken bones, he quit the race and returned to his family in Portugal.
As a metaphor for his coaching career, the accident was apt. The man who had been the youngest coach to win a European competition – the 2011 Europa League with Porto, aged 33 – had hit the buffers and retired hurt.
The clubs he has led during his career would light up any veteran manager’s CV – Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Zenit and Shanghai SIPG – but it is easy to forget that Villas-Boas is only 42, with many years still ahead of him.
And so it has proved this season at Marseille, where he has breathed new life into a club that was struggling to compete not only with Paris SaintGermain, but also the pack chasing the remaining European spots in Ligue 1.
Under AVB, Marseille have established clear blue water between themselves and the rest. As the closest challengers to runaway league leaders PSG they are on course for automatic qualification for the Champions League.
Villas-Boas’ achievements this season are all the more impressive given the financial constraints that he has been working under. The club are running a considerable deficit and the coach received no playing reinforcements in the January window.
Last summer, the signings of Dario Benedetto and Valentin Rongier were paid for by the departures of Lucas Ocampos, Luiz Gustavo and Clinton N’Jie. Another summer arrival Alvaro Gonzalez has been also quietly effective, fitting in alongside young talent such as Rongier, Lucas Perrin and Boubacar Kamara – a centre-back who has been deployed at the base of midfield.
Villas-Boas has also obtained the best from the previously under-performing Nemanja Radonjic and Jordan Amavi, while the form of OM goalkeeper Steve Mandanda has earned the 34-year-old a recall to the French national side.
In the absence of the injured Florian Thauvin, who was due to return in February, Villas-Boas’ clever use of Dimitiri Payet has been instrumental in his side’s revival, with Payet’s outstanding goals against Saint-Etienne and Toulouse helping to solidify OM’s second place in the league.
“Barcelona are Messi dependent, Juventus are Ronaldo dependent. If we’re Payet dependent, we’re Payet dependent,” says Villas-Boas, while also acknowledging the importance of Mandanda, adding. “With these two at this level we can continue to believe.”
At Chelsea, AVB’s youth ultimately counted against him, with critics noting his close relationship with the players. But a more mature coach has emerged in the south of France, with Marseille sporting director Andoni Zubizarretta explaining: “In training he speaks four languages. At press conferences he does not look for excuses or controversies.
“He does not send subliminal
messages to the board. And with me, our exchanges are natural, without anyone grappling for power. If we make a mistake, we make that mistake together. We are certainly more in sync.
“Andre knows where to put his feet. Off the pitch, he has enquired about the youth academy and marketing plans.”
That maturity is could be tested this summer, with financial pressure likely to force the departures of Thauvin, whose contract expires in 2021, and Payet.