Only in 2009 the Portuguese coach was still just a member of Jose Mourinho's back-room staff at Inter Milan with minimal coaching experience. But within two years the ex-Porto boss is set to be confirmed manager of Chelsea, where he will be expected to wrestle back the Premier League title and more importantly deliver the holy grail of the Champions League trophy.
It's not just the last two years where Villa-Boas has starred though. Sportsmail looks at the rapid rise of the 33-year-old.
Punching above his weight: Andre Villas-Boas was never a pro footballer, but has excelled as a manager
1994 - Stunning Sir Bobby
Porto hero: Sir Bobby Robson kick-started Villas-Boas's career while boss of the Portuguese giants
Aged 16, Villas-Boas had long given up on a football career where he never made it beyond schoolboy level, but he had developed a tactical love for the game.
The die-hard Porto fan stunned the club's boss Sir Bobby Robson by writing a letter criticising him for leaving out striker Domingos Paciencia. He didn't have far to send it as he lived in the same apartment block as Robson, but he was too shy to deliver it personally and instead slipped it under the door.
Porto were a winning machine at the time but interested, Robson challenged the teenager to back up his claim. Much to the former England manager's surprise, Villas-Boas did with a vast range of statistics.
So impressed was Robson he instantly offered him a place on the club's youth coaching staff.
1995 - Learning at Lilleshall
Robson sensed the 17-year-old's love for the game and, via his contacts at the FA, managed to get Villas-Boas a place at Lilleshall academy in England to achieve his coaching badges - despite being underage. As one of the youngest on the course, he would pick up his UEFA C licence.
1996-2000 - First steps in coaching
An advantage to the youngster was his English grandmother, Margaret Kendall, who had taught him to speak fluent English.
Robson continued to branch out to his contacts to help build up experience for his protege. He approached his former club Ipswich and persuaded manager George Burley to take Villa-Boas on board for a few days. There he would observe the coaching methods of the Scot who at the time had his Portman Road side battling for promotion to the Premier League - not a bad place to start.
He went on to learn more of his trade in Scotland at the SFA's Inverclyde training base, where he gained his Pro-Licence coaching badge, before returning to Porto.
2000-2001 - Leading a World Cup chargesort of
Clearly not shy of ambition, the 21-year-old took the Director of Football position at the British Virgin Islands for their 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign a campaign that lasted two games.
Villa-Boas never stood a chance as in the only two matches he saw over in 18 months they lost 14-1 on aggregate to Bermuda. With the country ranked 161 in the world he was realistically never going to qualify and in 2001 he departed, only telling his bosses his true age on the day he left fearing it would have undermined his chances of landing the role.
Talking tactics: The rising star also learned his trade during a spell with George Burley at Ipswich
2002 - Joining Jose's army
After dipping his toes at international level, Villa-Boas was offered a job by Jose Mourinho back at his beloved Porto to coach the Under 19 squad. So impressed by his eye for detail though, Jose soon promoted him to opposition scout where he took his role to the max by sneaking into opponents training grounds.?
Villa-Boas said of his role: 'It takes me four days to put an entire file together, it is very comprehensive. The reports are given to all the players as well as the manager.
'The idea is that when the players go out on the pitch, they are totally prepared, so there can be very few surprises during the game.'
2003-2004 - Conquering Europe
Instant success followed as under Mourinho, Porto won the treble consisting of the league title, Portuguese Cup and the UEFA Cup. They went one better the next year by winning the Champions League, defeating Manchester United en route to the final.
By now Mourinho was hot property and after he moved to Chelsea in the summer of 2004 he took his successful back-room staff with him, including Villas-Boas.
2004-2007 - Chelsea, part I
Villas-Boas adopted the same scouting role at Stamford Bridge. His typical contact with the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba revolved handing out coaching DVDs of their direct opponents for an upcoming match.
Jose's team: Mourinho with his Chelsea backroom team, including Villas-Boas (third left)
Despite his behind-the-scenes role he was an important figure, with players taking well to his methods but he would not hide from controversy.
During a Champions League clash, he once had a bust-up with Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard that nearly came to blows. He even claimed he had spotted the Dutchman approach referee Anders Frisk three times at half-time, an allegation that when repeated by Mourinho, saw the Chelsea boss banned for the return leg.
Villa-Boas departed Chelsea along with Mourinho in 2007.
2008-2009 - The Italian Job
Having described Villas-Boas as his 'eyes and ears,' it was no surprise when Mourinho took his loyal coaching staff with him when he returned to management with Inter Milan.
But by now, Villa-Boas had management ambitions himself and after just one year at the San Siro departed his long-time mentor, much to the anger of Mourinho, to return to Portugal and take control of Academica.
Talking to Frank: Villas-Boas once had an infamous confrontation then Barcelona boss Rijkaard (right)
2009-2010 - Excelling academically
He threw himself right in the deep end. Academica were bottom of the league without a win when Villas-Boas took over in October, but by the end of the year he had completely turned their fortunes around, leading them to a comfortable mid-table finish and a Portuguese Cup semi-final.
So successful was he that just two months into his club management career, Sporting Lisbon tried to poach him. He declined but with his boyhood heroes suffering their worst season for eight years, he couldn't resist the lure of a return to Porto at the end of the season.
2010-2011 - Record breaker
Questions were raised about bringing an inexperienced manger into a giant club in turmoil. But right from the off Villas-Boas was a success at Porto.
The 32-year-old won the league title, going undefeated all season and drawing just three games. The margin of victory was an incredible 21 points that separated Porto from runners-up Benfica, the rough equivalent of Manchester United's gap to sixth placed Liverpool last season.
On top of Europe: Porto players hoist Villas-Boas aloft after their Europa League triumph
The Portuguese Cup would follow and just like Mourinho, the Europa League was also delivered in his first full season, making Porto the first team to win a European treble twice.
As fate would have it, Porto's opponents in the Europa League final were Domingos Paciencia's Braga. With the background info he already had on his ex-idol was it any surprise he secured a 1-0 win in Dublin?
His single year at Porto could not have gone any better. Winning the league at the start of April in tandem with achieving numerous domestic records gained him continental attention which would only increase over the summer.
2011 - Chelsea, part II
By now the youngest manager to win a European trophy was on the radar of top clubs all around Europe. But Porto had installed a ?13.2million release clause in his contract which took teams including Juventus and Roma off his trail.
Roman Abramovich was convinced he was worth it though and as a result persuaded Villas-Boas to once again leave Porto for Chelsea.
Villas-Boas is quick to point out he is a different type of manager to the 'Special One.' But as he prepares to take one of the most demanding jobs in club football, he knows he has to better Mourinho at the Blues to fully emerge from his shadow.
As a result only a Champions League title will do. Don't write him off though, Villas-Boas has already proven he loves a challenge and he's also proven no stranger to springing a surprise.
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Source: Daily Mail
Source: Daily Mail