Chelsea FC New Coach Andre Villas-Boas Will Succeed at Stamford Bridge

What to make of Andre Villas-Boas’ appointment as new Chelsea manager?

Let me start by saying that I strongly believe that Carlo Ancelotti was wrongly sacked. Not only did Carlo deliver the double in his first season in charge at Chelsea, but more importantly, he was successfully reshaping the team’s identity.

Roman Abrahamovich demanded style and success from his team, Ancelotti delivered, to a certain extent. The Italian made the team pleasing to watch while winning.  He seemed to have the perfect combination toward the end of the 2009-2010 season and carried the team’s impressive form about half way into the 2010-2011 season. 

Carlo deserved more time, he had what it took to bring Chelsea to the next level.

Moving on to the current topic, Villas-Boas' appointment seems to stir passions at the moment. Some view the 33-year-old coach as too young and inexperienced to lead a team of Chelsea’s caliber, while others believe he has the winning mentality and tactical acuteness required to bring success back to the Bridge.

I certainly belong in the second group. Villas-Boas only had one full year of coaching experience at Porto, however, he won everything possible in that season. In fact, other than Pep Guardiola, I can’t think of a single coach who was as successful as Villas-Boas in the 2010-2011 season. 

The former Porto coach won the Portuguese league, the Portuguese cup, the Portuguese Super Cup and the Europa League. Villas-Boas is well-known for his attention to details, which he developed working as opposition scout under Sir Bobby Robson and Jose Mourinho previously at Porto, Chelsea and Inter.

This attribute will help him succeed at Chelsea. He has the ability to dissect opposition’s tactics and players’ game style and manages to turn this information into an asset for his team. He is a true tactician. To judge for yourself, take a look at one of his pre-match scouting reports.

Because he is a pure tactician who enjoys attacking and pressing football, if given the time, Villas-Boas will be successful at Chelsea. Even though he doesn't have much experience at the highest level, he possesses the football vision required to improve the football club.

After all, he has more coaching experience at the high level today than Pep Guardiola did at the time when he was promoted straight from the B to the Barcelona A team, and we all know what happened next..

Follow me on twitter @soccercrave.