VITOR PEREIRA is the latest in a long line of Jorge Mendes’ clients to be handed the top job at Wolves.
The notoriously hotheaded Portuguese boss was announced Gary O’Neil’s replacement at Molineux on Thursday afternoon, on an 18-month contract.
And anyone expecting Pereira to tow the party line at Wanderers should check out how he responded to an attempted press conference muzzling in Saudi Arabia.
Pereira, when boss of Al Ahli in the 2013-14 campaign, began a rant castigating a player as “a bad professional” when the press officer conducting the media briefing cut him off.
The manager was told not to focus on individuals, prompting a furious tirade from an incensed Pereira who raged: “My friend, I talk about what I want. This is the first time in my life that someone tells me what I can say!”
If Wolves’ pressers are anything like as animated under the 56-year-old, then they could well be compelling viewing for the rest of the season.
O’Neil – and in so doing, gone back to Mendes.
The Portuguese super agent, who famously managed the careers of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, was the man behind the appointments of Walter Zenga, Nuno Espirito Santo, Bruno Lage and Julen Lopetegui.
Fosun had gone in a different direction with O’Neil but have seemingly reverted to type with the club in serious danger of relegation.
On the face of it, Pereira is the most journeyman of journeyman managers, with Wolves his ELEVENTH post since succeeding Andre Villas-Boas as Porto boss in 2011.
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His globe-trotting has seen him coach clubs in Portugal, Greece, Turkey, China, Brazil, Germany, Saudi and now England.
But his statistics and silverware count are relatively impressive, with a win ratio of 53 per cent, a goals-per-game ratio of 1.8 and a trophy count of eight.
However, half of those came at Porto where he was promoted from his role of assistant to AVB.
His side, which had stars like James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho, struggled in Europe but won back-to-back league titles.
Porto’s dominance ended after he left, with Benfica crowned champions for the following four seasons, which explains why Pereira is still so highly regarded in his homeland.
The former lower-league midfielder has had mixed fortunes since then.
He won the double with Olympiacos in 2015 and Shanghai’s first-ever Chinese Super League title three years later.
But he suffered relegation to the third tier of German football with 1860 Munich and pulled up few trees at Fenerbahce, Corinthians, Flamengo and Al Shabab in the last four years.
Pereira’s dream has been a Premier League role for some time and in 2022, he came close to realising it with Everton as Rafa Benitez’s successor before Frank Lampard got it.
But fans protested the possible appointment, with graffiti sprayed on Goodison Park demanding “Pereira out Lampard in”, leading to the England centurion being appointed.
Wolves have taken the plunge two years on after paying the £800,000 release clause in his contract at Al-Shabab, where he bossed ex-Wanderers midfielder Daniel Podence.
Pereira, who will sign a one-and-a-half-year contract, faces a huge challenge with 19th-placed Wanderers five points from safety and as leaky as a sieve at the back.
Wolves have listed nine negative repercussions from the introduction of VAR in their complaint.
Their 40 goals shipped is four more than next-worst Southampton and was the problem O’Neil could not fix.
Pereira has proved himself to be a shrewd tactician defensively, with an average goals conceded per game of 1.1 since 2011, and will target signing a new centre-back next month.
The disciplinarian has another headache with star man Matheus Cunha in jeopardy of a lengthy ban for his bust-up with an opposition staff-member after Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich that did for his predecessor.
It all points to an uphill battle to save Wolves from the drop.
But Pereira will certainly have something to say about that.
