Former Blues Boss Andre Villas-Boas to manage Zenit St Petersburg

Former Chelsea FC manager Andre Villas-Boas has agreed to a 2 year deal to manage the Russian Premier League club, according to the club and the BBC.

The 36 year old Portuguese manager was once thought to be the next Jose Mourinho after winning the League, Cup and Europa League in his 2nd year managing Portuguese side FC Porto. Expectations for the young manager were sky high and he was seen as the next great manager to come from Portugal.

He signed with Chelsea in June of 2011 and spoke of building a long-term project at the club, but was sacked for poor results in the league and Champions League in March of 2012. Villas-Boas was replaced by Chelsea legend Roberto Di Matteo, who led the Blues to Champions League glory in May of 2012.

Villas-Boas then took over as manager of Tottenham Hotspur in July of 2012, they finished 5th in his first season at White Hart Lane, just missing out on Champions League play. He was dismissed by Spurs following a 5-0 defeat against Liverpool in December 2013, despite having an overall positive record at Tottenham.

Russian club Zenit St Petersburg are owned by the State controlled gas company Gazprom, and have been spending as much as any European club recently, including the £64 million splash on Hulk and Axel Witsel from Porto and Benefica respectively.

Villas-Boas will be presented to the media on 20 March, according to the clubs statement.

Zenit St. Petersburg currently sit 2nd in the Russian Premier League, 3 points behind Lokomotiv Moscow and one point ahead of Spartak Moscow.