#2 Andre Villas-Boas
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Age: 39
Club: Shanghai SIPG
You get the feeling Villas-Boas’ talent is being wasted away in the Chinese League. After all, this was one of the most highly touted managerial prospects in generations. He’s still only 39, though it feels as though he was been around for a very long time.
It is only natural that someone who’s touted as the successor to Mourinho’s throne truly began his managerial journey at Porto, the club where Mourinho first made his name. He took the world by storm, leading them to an undefeated season in the Portuguese league, winning the title by more than 20 points and conceding only 13 goals all season.
He followed up on this success by guiding Porto to the Portuguese Cup and the Europa League becoming the youngest ever manager to win a European competition and completing an unprecedented treble in the process.
He ended up taking charge of Chelsea, another club where Mourinho is considered a legend; however, things didn’t turn out as planned with Boas trying to change too much too soon and not lasting the season.
He was given another shot at English football with Tottenham Hotspur, where he guided them to their highest ever points tally for a season at the time and overseeing the development of Gareth Bale into one of the most feared wingers on the planet.
A further stint at Zenit St. Petersburg saw him guide them to the league title and the round of 16 in the Champions league before leaving for China.
Boasting of considerable experience already and still 11 months shy of his 40th birthday, he can still develop into the elite bracket of managers that many know he’s capable of becoming.
