Chinese Super League
Shanghai SIPG appoint former Porto coach Vitor Pereira as Villas-Boas replacement
The man that once assisted Andre Vilas Boas at Porto has now been unveiled as his replacement at the CSL side.
Shanghai SIPG have confirmed the appointment of Vitor Pereira to succeed his compatriot Andre Villas-Boas, who left the team to compete in the 2018 Dakar Rally, as their new coach. The 49-year-old, who assisted Villas-Boas at Porto, has been out of football since leaving Germany’s 1860 Munich in May following their drop into the third tier. Together at Porto, Villas-Boas and Pereira achieved the Portuguese League, Cup and an Europa League in the 2010-2011 season.
After Andre left to coach Chelsea for the 2011-2012 season, Vitor took charge of Porto, winning the Portuguese League twice. He left the Iberic Peninsula in 2013 to coach Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli. Pereira has also trained Olympiacos and Turkish side Fenerbahçe. His salary at SIPG has not revealed yet. However, it has been reported that Pereira will earn 5 million euros a year.
“I will do my best,” Pereira
Last season, SIPG finished second in the Chinese Super League (CSL) and reached the final of the Chinese FA Cup and the semifinals of the AFC Champions League. However, it was a turbulent season for Villas-Boas, who was constantly banned from the touchline. The newly appointed Pereira is expected to break the dominancy of Guangzhou Evergrande in the CSL.
“The Chinese league is a big challenge at the moment, a lot of (foreign) coaches come here, a lot of good players come to this league at this moment,” said Pereira during his presentation with the club. “I will do my best to help the club to fight to achieve our goals. I know what the club wants and I know what I want for my career, and both of us want to win titles. This is the main reason why I decided to come here to China, to Shanghai. Together, for sure, we will reach our targets at the end of the season.”
Reunion with Hulk
One of SIPG’s marquee player is the Brazilian striker Hulk, who has previously worked under Pereira at Porto. “I was with Hulk at Porto for three years and I know the personality and the quality of the player,” said Pereira. “For sure he will help us a lot, but the key player for me is the team.” Along with Hulk, 60-million-euro attacking midfielder Oscar and China’s best offensive player, Wu Lei, lead SIPG’s search for trophies.