Birthplace: Porto, PortugalPrevious Clubs: British Virgin Islands, Academica de Coimbra, Porto
Honours: Portuguese Primeira Liga: 2011; Portuguese Cup: 2011; Portuguese Super Cup: 2010; UEFA Europa League: 2011
One of the world's most exciting young coaches, Villas-Boas firmly arrived on the scene in his first season at FC Porto when he won the treble and took the team to an unbeaten league campaign. However, the young coach resigned a month after securing Europa Lague glory, joining Chelsea on a three-year contract on June 22.
Villas-Boas' career as a player never got off the ground. Indeed, he had plans to become a football reporter but a break at FC Porto came courtesy of neighbour Sir Bobby Robson, who invited the 16-year-old to training while in charge in the mid-90s before later offering him a job in the club's youth set-up.
The coach has insisted that Robson was key to his development, maintaining that: "He was decisive in the love I feel for this profession and for the doors he opened for me at that age. I owe him." Villas-Boas' English language skills - his grandmother is from Cheadle, near Manchester - saw him impress in Portugal and he gained his UEFA C coaching licence at the age of 17, before moving to become the head coach of the British Virgin Islands national team at only 21. Moving back to Porto to take charge of the Under-19 side, he picked up his B and A licences and would later be promoted to study under another young manager named Jose Mourinho as his assistant.
Learning from a master, he was a key component of the club's success in claiming the UEFA Champions League 2003-04 and was labelled Mourinho's "eyes and ears" by the man himself.
Therefore, it was no surprise when Villas-Boas followed Mourinho to Chelsea and Inter Milan. At Chelsea, his role was to compile Opponent Observation Department (OOD) reports - basically a secret service-style dossier on Chelsea's rivals, and usually delivered as a DVD presentation.
However, a year after Mourinho had taken on a new chapter of his career at Inter in 2009-10, Villas-Boas took the decision to cut the cord and try and make it on his own. He soon found a job with in the Portuguese Primeira Liga with Academica de Coimbra, filling a vacancy created by Rogerio Goncalves.
Taking over a club in crisis, he was so effective that the side finished 11th that season and also reached the Portuguese League Cup semi-finals. The team's attacking style gained praise and he was linked with a move to Sporting Lisbon, before he moved back to Porto again to take on the manager's role after the departure of Jesualdo Ferreira.
His first title arrived when Porto beat Benfica 2-0 in the Portuguese Supercup and more were to follow as one of the most impressive debut seasons in recent memory also saw him take the Portuguese Primeira Liga (unbeaten), UEFA Europa League and Portuguese Cup titles. However, his head turned by interest from Chelsea, Villas-Boas resigned in the summer and after the Blues met his record €15 million buyout clause, he followed in the footsteps of Mourinho by swapping Estadio do Dragao for Stamford Bridge.
Strengths: A strategic thinker who has learned from the very best in his short career, his motivation and attention to detail are unparalleled. As humble as they come, he is also an excellent and inclusive man-manager.
Weaknesses: Yet to be tested in the top leagues of Europe, he may lack the dominating personality that has made Mourinho so successful.
Career high: Clinching the treble with FC Porto in 2010-11, which included the UEFA Europa League trophy.
Career low: His time at the British Virgin Islands was not a successful one, although he was only 21 at the time.
Tactics: Almost obsessed with tactics, he holds special 30-minute tactical teach-ins the day after every match - plus sessions after each training stint. He likes a lone centre-forward, with an attacking 4-3-3 in the shape of the formation Mourinho employed in his early days at Chelsea. Against stronger opponents, the wide players tuck in and create a solid 4-1-4-1 system, but counter attacking is still a key part of the philosophy. There is also great emphasis placed on a team ethic and he has been quoted as saying: "If a midfielder does not fight for me, he does not have a place in the team."
Quotes: "People focus a lot on the work of the manager and I don't see it that way. I don't see myself as a one-man show. Football isn't won by one person but by collective competence. It is the quality of the players and the structure of the club.'' Andre Villas-Boas, May 2011.
Trivia: After winning the Europa League, he became the youngest manager ever to win a European competition, at 33 years and 213 days of age.
Carlo Ancelotti
A former Milan midfielder, nicknamed 'Carletto,' Ancelotti appeared in Italia 90 as the hosts reached the World Cup semi-finals and ultimately won 26 caps with the Azzurri. While Ancelotti may have been regarded as an unspectacular player, one surrounded by the more eye-catching talents of Roberto Baggio, Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini, he can claim to hold his own with any of his rivals in the managerial arena.
Having started out as a coach with Reggiana in 1995, Ancelotti secured promotion from Serie B in his only season at the club.
That success prompted Parma to appoint him as coach and his three-year reign saw him deliver the Uefa Cup as the club grew into a genuine force in Italian and European football during the mid-1990s.
But while Parma's success saw the club grow into a respected force, the leading lights of Italian football remained the traditional powerhouses of Juventus, Milan and Internazionale and, when Marcello Lippi called time on his reign as Juve coach in 1999, Ancelotti accepted the role of coach at Italy's most successful club.
Guus Hiddink
Temporary Chelsea managerBirthplace: Varsseveld, Netherlands
Previous Clubs: De Graafschap; PSV Eindhoven; Fenerbahçe; Valencia; Netherlands; Real
Madrid; Real Betis; South Korea; Australia; Russia
Hiddink will continue his role with Russia.
South Korean honorary citizenship; a campaign for him to be elected Australian prime minister; the offer of Russian nationality: Guus Hiddink's consistent managerial success has made him a hero around the globe.The 62-year-old Hiddink has a great history of success, but chose to face arguably his hardest task of all: reigniting Chelsea's fortunes under the watchful gaze of an increasingly impatient Roman Abramovich in February 2009.
For sheer, almost unblemished success on both the domestic and international stage, Hiddink's record makes him one of the most coveted managers in football.
Like so many great football managers, Hiddink's playing career was a modest one, revolving around the run-of-the-mill De Graafschap with brief unsuccessful stints at PSV and in the North American Soccer League.
Having honed his managerial skills as assistant at PSV, Hiddink stepped up to replace Hans Kraay and the results were incredible: in his first full year in management, he led the club to the European Cup.
Brief spells at Fenerbahce and Valencia helped Hiddink continue an education he insists to this day is far from finished, and he began to hone the kind of broad, attacking football favoured by so many supporters today.
In 1995, he accepted the daunting challenge of leading a Dutch national team at war with internal disputes, and despite the problems, led his nation to the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup.
Having earned plaudits for his side's fluent, attacking style of play, and come so close (having lost to Brazil on penalties in the last four), Hiddink's stock soared and it was no surprise when he resigned as Dutch coach shortly after.
Hiddink subsequently returned to club football and experienced perhaps his career's only dark chapter, reigns at both Real Madrid and Real Betis brought to a premature conclusion amid doubts about his club credentials.
When Hiddink accepted the role at the South Korean national team for the run-up to the 2002 World Cup there were few expectations, even amongst the South Koreans, who had failed to win a single match in five previous tournaments.
Despite a slow start, Hiddink brought his team together at the right time, and achieved a level of success few had thought possible. Wins over Poland and Portugal sent the Koreans into the second round to face Italy.
The dream continued, the Italians were overcome 2-1 in extra-time then Spain beaten on penalties to earn a scarcely believable last four clash with Germany, who finally ended the outrageous run.
Plaudits and rewards poured down upon Hiddink and his achievements made him a hero in South Korea, where he was awarded citizenship and had the national stadium renamed in his honour.
But the suspicion that Hiddink always loved the challenge of pulling a team up from ignominious circumstances persisted when he returned to PSV in 2002, and promptly led them to three league titles.
The success continued, with Hiddink even leading PSV back to the Champions League semi-finals in 2005, but it was not to last and later that year Hiddink found the pull of coaching the Australian national team impossible to resist.
Immediately, the Hiddink effect rewrote history. With a play-off win over Uruguay, Australia qualified for their first World Cup in 32 years, where a win over Japan and a draw with Croatia helped them reach the second stage.
Australia's run may even have continued had they not fallen victim to a controversial penalty, moments from the end of normal time, which allowed Italy to win 1-0 and brought an end to Hiddink's reign Down Under.
Hiddink then took over the Russian national team in 2006 and after a slow start helped them qualify, through a tough group also involving Croatia and England, for Euro 2008 where they reached the last four.
He remains loyal to Russia as they seek to build on their success by sealing their place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. But for now, the lure of challenge has led him to the door of Stamford Bridge's ailing millionaires.
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