Soccer - Shanghai SIPG announce Villas-Boas departure

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG have said that Andre Villas-Boas has resigned from his position as head coach, announcing his departure in a statement on Thursday.





The news comes a day after the 40-year-old Portuguese coach was confirmed as a participant in January's Dakar Rally alongside compatriot Ruben Faria.

"We hereby announce that the club and Mr. Villas-Boas are heading in different directions and have their own respective targets," the club statement said.

"We appreciate the effort and the contribution Mr. Villas-Boas and his technical team have given and we hope they will enjoy great success in the future."

Villas-Boas' resignation comes after just one year at the club, during which time he led SIPG to the runners-up position in the Chinese Super League and the Chinese FA Cup, as well as to the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League.

But he fell short of delivering SIPG their first trophy during a season in which the club spent heavily on foreign talent. Villas-Boas, who previously coached Chelsea and Tottenham in the Premier League, also earned two separate bans from the Chinese Football Association for his behaviour.

In June he was handed a two-match ban for publicly supporting high-profile signing Oscar, when the Brazilian was given an eight-match suspension for instigating an on-pitch brawl during the club's draw with Guangzhou R&F.

In October he was given up an eight-match sanction of his own after being sent to the stands for gesturing towards the referee during his side's 1-0 win over Beijing Guoan.

Villas-Boas was appointed SIPG coach last November as replacement for former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. Media reports at the time suggested he was earning an annual salary of around $13.7 million (£10.17 million).





(Reporting by Michael Church in Hong Kong, Editing by Christian Radnedge)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world