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| Wednesday, 22 June 2011 17:17 |
Vitor Pereira: Meet the new FC Porto coach“He has ambition & commands respect” - goalkeeper Matt Jones “I am where I always dreamed of being.” As opening statements go, it’s not the most assertive, or original. It’s also remarkably similar to the utterances from a certain 33 year-old, not so long ago.
But neither one of these observations should be surprising, coming as they do from Vitor Pereira – a quiet, unassuming figure, who has, in the space of four short weeks, gone from an F.C Porto fan plugging away on the coaching staff of his younger, more illustrious head coach, to the big chair at the club who, more than any other (except perhaps Chelsea), have been making world headlines this week.
Vitor Manuel de Oliveira Lopes Pereira was born on July 26th 1968, in the municipality of Espinho, roughly 30 kilometres from Porto. Like many children in Portugal, he grew up as a Porto fan, and nurtured dreams of becoming a professional player. A midfielder, he spent time in the youth teams at Sporting Espinho, but never made the grade as a pro. Instead, he entered football via the world of learning, attending the Faculty of Sports Science and Education at the University of Porto; where he graduated in Physical Education.
Academic backgroundAfter three seasons spent coaching the under-15 squads at Padroense and F.C Porto, Pereira’s first head coaching opportunity came in 2004, when he joined Aveiro side Sanjoanense. He led them to 5th in the II Divisao Zona Centro, before returning to his hometown club, Sporting Espinho. In two seasons at the Estadio Comendador Manuel Violas, Pereira twice missed out on promotion by narrow margins – the beginning of a motif in his young coaching career.
Following a second spell in charge of the Porto under-15 squad, Pereira was once again tempted into a head coaching post, this time with perennial Liga de Honra promotion chasers Santa Clara. His time in the Azores was successful but ultimately frustrating, with the club missing out on promotion on the final day in both 2008/09 and 2009/10. The first of these was particularly painful, with a 1-0 loss at Feirense (who had nothing to play for) condemning Santa Clara to another season in the second tier; they had begun the day in 2nd place.
Ringing endorsement Despite this disappointment, Pereira retained his post for the 2009/10 campaign, where he handed a contract and the number one spot to Englishman Matt Jones (pictured). Speaking exclusively to PortuGOAL, Jones said that he wasn’t surprised at Pereira’s rise to one of the most prestigious jobs in Portuguese football: “I was quite surprised when he went to be the assistant at Porto, actually. When I was there [Santa Clara] he was the first-team coach so I’ve always seen him as the top man.”“When he was offered the Porto job I wasn’t surprised at all. He’s a great coach, he’s got a lot of ambition, and I’m sure he’ll do very well.” Jones started 21 of the team’s 30 league outings under Pereira, and had plenty of praise for his qualities as both a tactician and a man-manager: “He commands the respect of the players. He’s very professional in what he does. He’s a very intelligent, focused guy.”
At his presentation yesterday, Pereira paid tribute to the accomplishments of Villas-Boas, but also noted his own presence in what was an outstanding 2010/11 for Porto: “This club will continue to prosper. I can promise hard work. It’s a tough act to follow, but I was part of that act.” Indeed, continuity and stability will have been the watchwords for Porto president Pinto da Costa, who declared that he had lined up Pereira as a possible successor after he learned that the new Chelsea boss spent a weekend in London last month. “I have a habit of watching the team work and was impressed with Vitor Pereira in training...this is a natural succession.”
With the endorsement of his president, and widespread respect from the squad with whom he has accomplished so much, Pereira’s ascent to the top job does indeed seem a natural course, despite his inexperience at the highest level. But with rumours of further departures already beginning to swirl around the Dragao, how smooth a succession it will be is perhaps less certain. Lacking the self-aggrandising bombast of Mourinho, and without the youthful exuberance of Villas-Boas, Pereira (and Porto fans) must hope that his understated, considered presence proves sufficient to steady the blue-and-white ship which – despite assertions to the contrary – has been rocked by the events of this week.
by Ben Shave
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You have the support of all the adoring Porto fans spread througout the world. Go for it win us another league title! Forget the CL that is now out of our reach.
Porto has perefected the selling club culture and we can handle losing our coach and two or three stars! We have lots of young replacements for all the stars that might leave.
FORCA PORTO 4 EVER....
It was important to keep continuatity and have someone the players are farmiliar with. Porto is trying to hang onto its players and this could help.
For me this is great. I want to see a close race for the top 2-4 spots in the league to keep things interesting for all the fans this upcoming season. I just hope our teams can put on a good show in Europe again.