At the age of 16, André Villas-Boas wrote to Bobby Robson, then manager at FC Porto, criticising one of Robson’s decisions. Intrigued by the comments and by the fact that they both lived in the same apartmentblock, Robson replied, challenging the teenager to back up his claim. Villas-Boas provided such detailed statistical information that Robson was impressed enough to offer him a place on the club's youth coachingstaff. And so began the meteoric rise of AVB.

Under Robson's guidance he achieved his first coaching licence at the age of 17. And at the age of 21 he became head coach of the British Virgin Islands national team before getting the chance to become an assistant coach at Porto under José Mourinho. Mourinho was to later describe Villas-Boas as his ‘eyes and ears’, and so it was no surprise that Mourinho asked him to join his coaching team, first at Chelsea, and then at Inter Milan. But, as his experience grew, Villas-Boas was beginning to have his own management ambitions and after a year at the San Siro, much to the annoyance of Mourinho, he left to return to Portugal and take control of Academica, a team struggling against relegation and having not won a match, until Villas-Boas arrived andhauled them back to safety.

In June 2010 Villas-Boas moved on to became Porto manager despite the doubts raised about his inexperience. He was an immediate success. That August he won his first trophy when Porto beat Benfica in the Portuguese Supercup. Porto went on to win the league title, undefeated all season and drawing just three games to win the league by an incredible 21 point margin. Just as with Mourinho, the Portuguese Cup and the Europa League followed. It was an extraordinary first full season that had not gone unnoticed in the wider football world.

In June 2011 Villas-Boas resigned from Porto to become manager of Chelsea, following yet again in the footsteps of José Mourinho. He won his first Chelsea silverware with the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy, as well as all of his pre-season fixtures, with the team conceding only one goal in all six games. Now he faces the challenge of the Premier League and, of course, the Champions League – only if he can win that will he finally step out from the shadow of José Mourinho.