The 34-year-old manager did not even last a season at Stamford Bridge. He was fired by the Blues in March after a run of poor results and rumors of player discontent.

However, during the 2010-11 season, AVB became the youngest manager ever to win a European competition when he guided FC Porto to the Europa League title.

Villas-Boas is a protege of Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho. The younger man spent nearly a decade as an assistant under Mourinho, first at Porto and later at both Chelsea and Inter Milan.

Roma will hope the Portuguese manager can improve on their sides form this season.

The Italian side currently sit seventh in the table.

Current Roma manager Luis Enrique has been evasive in the past several weeks when questioned about his future at the club.

In a pre-match press conference this week, Enrique still wasn’t telling, but did say that he’d made up his mind. (h/t Yahoo UK)

“There are only two possibilities: stay or go,” the manager said. “I know 100-percent what I’m going to do, but I won’t tell you. I haven’t even told the team, otherwise the whole world would know a minute later.”

A Bola says that Villas-Boas held secret meetings with Roma’s general manager while he was still the manager at Chelsea.

（Bleacher Report）

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La Liga leaders Real have ­decided to listen to offers for the 28-year-old after he was caught up in yet more controversy during the first leg of their Copa Del Rey quarter-final with fierce rivals Barcelona 11 days ago.

Pepe was accused of stamping on Lionel Messi’s hand as the Argentinian lay on the ground.

Although he has since been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Spanish Football Federation, that has not stopped a furore over the incident. Hotline understands that Real president Florentino Perez is ­growing increasingly tired of what he sees as a lengthening list of ­misdemeanours by the player.

Now Chelsea will ­monitor the situation and, if it proves to have broken down beyond repair, will see if a deal can be struck ­after Euro 2012.

The Real ­hierarchy believe that Pepe is ­damaging the ­image of the club, while the player ­himself is said to be furious at what he perceives to be a campaign in the Spanish press to paint him in a bad light.

Real boss Jose Mourinho is aware of the club’s position and knows that, unless things change between now and the end of the season, Pepe will be sold.

Villas-Boas is a big fan of the Brazil-born Portugal defender and believes he could be a key signing for Chelsea.

Pepe’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is aware of Villas-Boas’ interest in his client, ­although there has been no ­formal enquiry from Stamford Bridge.

Real paid Porto £25million for Pepe in 2007 and last summer signed a new deal to keep him in Madrid until 2016.

His annual salary at Real is around £3m, which Chelsea would be able to match.

（Sunday People）

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Ramires left the field on a stretcher during Chelsea’s 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup after crumpling to the ground.

He was treated for some time on the pitch and there was real concern among the Chelsea players and staff. The Brazil international will be sent for a scan, but Villas-Boas has his fingers crossed that the problem is not serious.

“It looks like a medial ligament injury, not so bad in terms of knee injuries,” Villas-Boas said. “He will have an MRI tomorrow and we will know the full extent.

“Hopefully he will avoid an operation and be back soon. We could look at four weeks, but we have to know the extent of the injury to give a good assessment.”

（ESPN.co.uk）

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Juan Mata scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot at Loftus Road, after referee Mike Dean awarded a spot-kick as Daniel Sturridge went down in the area under the challenge of Clint Hill.

The build-up to the match was dominated by Anton Ferdinand and Terry, following their encounter in the Premier League fixture at the same ground earlier in the season.

Villas-Boas said: “It was a good solid display defensively. This last January since Aston Villa we have organised ourselves a little bit better in defence without conceding so many goals.

“Individually from John it was an excellent performance, very focused and he managed to get off-field events out of his mind and concentrate fully on his job.”

There was no pre-match handshake between the two teams, a decision that was made on Friday. Villas-Boas was informed before the game on Saturday and was happy with the move.

“I was informed of the decision 45 minutes before the game. What I know is there was a lot of expectancy towards what would have happened on that handshake,” he added.

“I think it was a wise decision bearing in mind the expectancy. It was wise not to do it because it could have an impact on crowd behaviour straight after.

“I think the decision of both clubs plus the FA was sensible. It was a question of avoiding troubled situations.

“Emotions were kept low on a very emotional West London derby, both teams set out to play football.”

On the backing from the travelling fans, the Portuguese remarked: “It was positive, we managed to fill out all of the stand with good support throughout the game. I think we erase this animosity when we play away from home, it’s the environment we want to transfer to Stamford Bridge.

“Stamford Bridge is a much more anxious stadium and when we play away it is much more supportive, much more chanting.”

（SkySports）

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The 20-year-old, who has been linked with Chelsea before the arrival of Villas-Boas, is set to complete a move to Stamford Bridge before the January transfer window shuts, but could be loaned straight back out to the Belgian club as part of the deal.

Villas-Boas, however, claims the decision to target the midfielder comes from ‘the club’.

“You have to speak to the people from the club about that. It’s not within my immediate projects,” he told reporters.

“He’s a player the club has scouted for some time. I’m a manager who respects club policy.”

Villas-Boas conceded De Bruyne looks a talented prospect but hinted the prospective signing is not likely to be part of his integral plans this campaign.

“A club has to look to the future, whether it’s with this manager or another. He’s a good bet for the future,” said Villas-Boas.

Last season, De Bruyne scored five goals and recorded 16 assists to help Genk win the league.

“The expectation is that [the transfer of De Bruyne] will be finished this week,” a club spokesman said on Friday afternoon.

（Goal.com）

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The 29-year-old’s current deal is set to expire this summer, and he has been linked with a move away from the club with PSG reportedly interested.

But Villas-Boas says the club will take up the option to renew the Portuguese’s contract to keep him in west London.

Villas-Boas said: “Chelsea hold the right for one more year for renewal on his contract and we are going to apply it – I think in April.”

Bosingwa, who has been capped 24 times for Portugal, has made 109 appearances and scored three goals since joining the club from Porto in 2008.

（talk SPORT）

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André Villas-Boas seems to be the centre of attention these days in the Premiership. After trying for the 25-year-old Brazilian striker Hulk and being informed that Roman Abramovich is not going to spend that type of money on one player, Chelsea appears to be the hub of a spate of possible deals which could see Frank Lampard move across the channel to join former boss Carlo Ancelotti at PSG, along with the Portuguese defender José Bosingwa, while Alex might be joining them. Inwards may be the Belgian midfield player Kevin de Bruyne, 20, and the Brazilian midfielder Willian, 23, from Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine.

Tottenham, also keen on signing Hulk but similarly put off by the record price tag, have Spanish clubs Granada and Villarreal on the trail of the Mexican midfield player, Giovani dos Santos, 22.

Meanwhile four Premiership clubs want the Sporting CP midfield player, Adrien Silva, 22. When is the international press going to learn that the name is not “Sporting Lisbon” but Sporting Clube de Portugal? Why does nobody make the same mistake with Benfica, full name Sport Lisboa e Benfica? The Premier League sides are Everton, Blackburn, Sunderland and Swansea.

Manchester City may be interested in signing up the 20-year-old midfield player Nir Biton, who plays for MS Ashdod, while rivals United and Liverpool are hot on the tail of the Denmark defender Jores Okore, 19. United is also interested in Dede, 23, a central defender from Vasco da Gama.

（Pravda）

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Stamford Bridge favourite Frank lampard and record signing Fernando Torres have both seen themselves relegated to the substitutes bench for much of the season and Villas-Boas insists it is not an easy decision.

The Blues boss told Uefa’s The Technician: “I suffer most as a coach when everyone is available and I have to select the line-up at the end of a week when everyone has given their total commitment.

“It is a basic part of the manager’s job, but when you have to leave players out for the sake of the team, it is tough.

“Nothing you can say to them can convince them they haven’t done something wrong.

“This selection process, being ruthless, takes the human element out of you, and it is something that makes you sensitive to players’ feelings.”

Villas-Boas also claims that his age can work for and against him in the high-pressure world of football management.

The Portuguese suggests that he cannot command his squad as much due to his youth and lack of playing experience but believes he is more able to relate to his squad and can work with them easier.

“You are expected to be successful instantly, and the process and the circumstances are not taken into account,” the former Porto boss continued.

“Because of my age and my lack of a professional playing background, I could never be dictatorial.

“I therefore let the players have a certain amount of input into the decisions regarding the way we play and the way the team is run.

“I encourage the players to participate in the decisions affecting their professional lives. You must build a two-way relationship, though as coach I make the final decisions and if I have to upset a couple of people, then so be it.

“My age was never an issue because I started coaching when I was very young.

“It is something that has always generated debate, but I have no problem with it because the players always accepted the position of the manager and they seemed to enjoy the relationship with someone of their generation.”

（Goal.com）

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Bosingwa is out of contract in the summer and the Blues want to recoup some of the £16.3million they spent on the defender in 2008.

The 29-year-old is a regular under Andre Villas-Boas but he has refused to sign a new deal and could leave for nothing at the end of the season.

Chelsea are hoping former manager Carlo Ancelotti, now in charge of mega-rich PSG, will pay a fee for Portuguese full-back Bosingwa this month.

The French giants are close to taking defender Alex from Stamford Bridge on a £4m deal and Ancelotti is also keen to be reunited with Frank Lampard.

The 33-year-old England midfielder, who has been with Chelsea since 2001, has also been linked with Los Angeles Galaxy.

（Daily Mail）

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The match sees the Blues and their skipper return to Loftus Road for the first time since Terry allegedly used racist language towards Ferdinand in a shock 1-0 defeat back in October.

The 31-year-old is due to appear in court to face a criminal charge relating to the incident just four days later, but Villas-Boas insists he is not thinking twice about selecting his captain.

“There is no temptation to do that (leave him out),” the Blues boss told reporters.

“I think he will cope with it. He will be in contention as he is part of the squad.”

The Blues boss also took the opportunity to plead with the club’s fans not to ignite the situation any further by singling out Ferdinand for abuse from the terraces.

“Regarding the fans, it is our responsibility as a club to calm the situation around the game and also to put on a message for the media,” he added.

“The media can do excellent work in calming things down and everyone can have an impact to make it just another game of football.”

（Goal.com）

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