jeudi 19 mai 2011

Villas-Boas pays a tribute to the people who helped him succeed

Porto coach Andre Villas-Boas, who on Wednesday became the youngest-ever coach to take a team to success in a European Cup final, said that several people helped him along the way.

The 33-year-old, whose side beat near-neighbours Braga 1-0 in the first-ever all-Portuguese final to win the Europa League, said that he wished to dedicate the victory to his parents, who allowed him to tain as a coach as a 16-year-old.

"They believed in me and they supported me."

He also named fellow coaches Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and the late Sir Bobby Robson as being inspirational for his success.

"I admire the style of play that Guardiola plays with Barcelona and the methodology behind it. I have worked with Mourinho for many years."

Villas-Boas started training as a coach as a 16-year-old after speaking to the then Porto coach Robson, who lived in the same block of flats as he did.

"Bobby was decisive to respect a 16-year-old who approached him and then he took me to training sessions. Only a person so open-minded as Robson would have taken onboard a young boy who approached him in the garage.

"I am very sad that I never had the opportunity to say farewell to him. I owe him a lot."

Villas-Boas, who on Sunday could crown a fantastic season by achieving the treble with Porto by adding the Portuguese Cup to the domestic league and the Europa League trophy, said that he intended to coach no longer than for another 10 to 12 years.

"I want to have a short career in football. It is very, very stressful and by then I will already be an old coach as I started with 16.

"I am not sure what I want to do then. I am crazy about motorsport and maybe I will buy a new car and motorcycle and do something with them."

He said they had dreamt about winning the Europa League. "I think we felt obliged to win it, we owed it to ourselves.

"We had an incredible year. It is a very well-organized club."

He said he was now looking forward to the Champions League. "This is a very difficult competition. I think we will be in the top seeds and that is very important. But the Champions League is very difficult and normally it is not won by the best team."

He is confident that Porto will be able to keep most of the squad together. "It is a reality that clubs want players, but there is not so much money around and we have the biggest buy-out clauses in the business."

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