What can Chelsea fans expect from Villas-Boas? [Part 2]
Referring back to the Mourinho handbook (part one) his rules showed how Mourinho intended to create an all inclusive group dynamic, this is why Mourinho is as popular with his backroom staff as he is with his squad. The rules insist that his players treat the support staff with due respect. ‘I am made to feel I am as important as John Terry,’ said one of them at Terry’s inauguration as the PFA Player of the Year last week. On an earlier occasion, on the flight back from Chelsea’s pre-season tour of America, Mourinho presented the award for the best contribution to the trip’s success – an expensive piece of artwork – to kitman Stuart Baxter, who had had his work cut out keeping players and staff happy in the sweltering heat.
Andre Villas Boas on his first Interview on Chelsea TV also referred to the importance of a similar group dynamic:
“don’t expect something from one man, expect us to create a group dynamic of everybody getting together, fans getting together, getting excited, motivated, a new way of communication, new leadership.”
Often when Boas is speaking he communicates in plural, “we”, “us”, “we are a technical staff”, he hardly talks in the singular, this all inclusive group dynamic seems to be the basis of the anatomy behind the success of Sir Bobby Robson’s protege’s. Having everyone pulling together, the fans, the staff, the players, all pulling in one direction to achieve this foundation is why ego’s cannot be tolerated.
Motivation
The foundation of an “all-for-one, one-for-all solidarity” seems to instill a hunger and a confidence, in one of Andre Villas Boas press conferences he talked about fans believing that formations were key, whereas he thought that it was motivation. When Boas mentions Chelsea wanting him for his “human qualities” I perceive that to allude to the psychological aspect of management, Boas explained in his first interview exclusive to Chelsea TV:
“We are a technical staff that focuses a lot on unlocking potential. Everybody has a little bit more to give and in day-to-day life, that is how everybody progresses in their careers. We feel that the players are the same and you have to stimulate them and motivate them to look for the things that they didn’t try before.”
My belief is where you see a lot of Mourinho’s qualities in Andre Villas Boas isn’t in tactics, approach or identity to the game but in this specific area of motivation. Many of the Chelsea players cite a particular team meeting at which Mourinho pointed out to the likes of Frank Lampard, Gudjohnsen and William Gallas that, for all their wealth and fame, they had few, if any, medals to show for their work, this is a prime example of how Mourinho created and encouraged a hunger, again, Andre Villas Boas in the preview to his first Chelsea interview briefly mentioned his own hunger, the lexicon of words used and approach especially when it comes to motivation between Mourinho and Boas is markedly similar.
Sir Bobby Robson recognises the air of invincibility created by his former protégé. ‘Jose has made the Chelsea players believe in each other,’ he said. ‘John Terry doesn’t just have great self-belief, he trusts his team-mates as well. Chelsea’s players look around in the tunnel before a game and don’t think they can lose. That stems from Jose.’
Porto Keeper Helton gave his assessment on what Villas Boas brings:
“he brought an enormous will to win to our team and fostered a great spirit of sacrifice among all of us. He’s a coach who is close to the players and talks a lot with us. He is always interested in knowing our opinion about every matter and gives freedom to the players.
“When I found out he would be the coach I was curious. Fortunately, he has lived up to my expectations and I think he will have a great career as a coach, not only at FC Porto, where he has already proved his worth, but also abroad, if he wishes.”
Many critics could not wait for Mourinho to fall flat on his sun-tanned, stubble-strewn face. One of the reasons he has lived up to his boasts is his ability to take some of the attention, and so some of the pressure, away from his players. Both managers seem to try to foster an environment where their players will walk through a brick wall for them.
Continue Reading on Page 2…
I remember watching a video clip of Mourinho speaking with his players in a pre-match meeting, recollecting his words, he addressed the upcoming matches, “We ‘must’ not lose this game, we cannot, we cannot, we simply cannot” even as a viewer the effect of his words resonated with me, it was not particularly big matches they were discussing, not even at a vital part of the season, but the surety in his intentions for those two upcoming matches cannot be questioned, it seemed new and strange to me, the normality would be to hear a manager say, we have to “try” to win these games. The language used to motivate his players were crucial to set the tone, he almost commanded results with his language.
At Academica, Boas spoke about his intentions for again specifically the “two” upcoming matches.
He stated:
“We want two consecutive victories. We must win home and away, now against Naval and at Sporting Braga. This way we can grow and achieve more regularity.”
I believe their language is a powerful tool, it’s hardly ever negative, Boas talks about getting a bit more out of his players. Ancelotti consistently referred to a “bad moment” and with his experience he had experienced several of these “bad moments” considering them to be normal and just a phase, I find this attitude goes completely against how José or Boas will react, were often you would find Ancelotti’s Chelsea team to look devoid of motivation, motivation is Andre Villas Boas bread and butter.
In the Portugese domestic cup Porto had lost to Benfica in the first leg and had failed to change the result around by half time in the second leg. Asked what Andre Villas-Boas said at half time, Beto responded that he told his charges to keep their belief and to accelerate the game:
“He made us believe even more that it was possible; if we accelerated the rhythm of the match we could achieve our target of scoring the three goals we needed. And after the first goal from Joao we believed even more, Benfica shaked, we didn’t feel tired and we were mentally strong and the response was there. Mentally we are very strong and very fresh.”
Boas will intend to work on keeping that hunger there through the duration of the season, there was a point at which, As Europe’s only remaining unbeaten side, FC Porto began to receive plaudits from all areas for their impressive form, but the Dragons coach was keen to ensure that his players’ feet remained firmly on the ground. “What we’ve done so far means little”, this is similar to when Mourinho questioned what the likes of Gallas, Terry and Lampard had won when he initially arrived.
Former boss Jesualdo Ferreira was the latest to pay tribute to the impact Villas Boas has had at the time during the opening months of his tenure. The Panathinaikos coach stated that the recent achievement of breaking the club’s undefeated record was testament to the players and to the new coach.
However, whilst receiving the praise positively, Villas Boas is adamant that his team have yet to do anything worthy of genuine recognition:
“I appreciate Jesualdo’s words and welcome them with open arms. It is praise from someone who gave so much to this club. This record sequence is partly his work.
“We cannot detach ourselves from what is ahead, five months which will decide trophies. Everything we have achieved so far can be quickly forgotten, because it means very little. What counts is what is still to come and the players must be aware of that.”
The next match was a home tie with CSKA Sofia in the Europa League and although the match meant little due to Porto having already secured passage into the knockout phase as winners, Boas maintained that his team will not take the match lightly.
“We will not be lacking in motivation. The squad will continue to be managed. We have a very competitive squad and they will all have their chance. Our goal is to win, despite the fact that we have already qualified. The team is always strong.”
In my estimation the Mourinho rulebook and his focus on culturing a hungry environment should be crucial study for all aspiring coaches, analysing both coaches, they have different approaches to tactics, to style of football and approach, but, both seem an outstanding new breed of manager, that can and have vastly over-achieved even at the highest level, to understand their success is to understand their similarities, to understand their similarities is to understand the importance of motivation.
Part 3 should be fun for the brigade that are keen to point out that Andre Villas Boas is not Mourinho, I focus on a word you’ll be likely to hear him use a lot, “Identity” i.e style of play.