After Walter Zenga’s sacking, we ambitiously look at the potential candidates to fill the Wolverhampton Wanderers managerial vacancy – including Champions League and Europa League winning coaches.
Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters are certainly experiencing a fascinating Championship campaign so far – and the season’s narrative has continued with the sacking of maverick Italian manager Walter Zenga.
Early indications are that Sam Allardyce is a firm fans’ favourite for the managerial vacancy at Molineux, so much so that some Wolves supporters are only looking at the former England manager as a possible Zenga replacement.
However, with Chinese owners FOSUN, Wolves have needed to expect the unexpected and the sacking of Zenga could be viewed just as surprising as his initial appointment was.
With this in mind, it’s worth considering the possible wildcard alternatives to Allardyce for the Wolves hot-seat and also the significance of agent Jorge Mendes.
Marco Silva
Alongside Allardyce, 39-year-old Marco Silva is one of the favourites to replace Zenga. The reasoning being that Silva was also tipped to replace Kenny Jackett before Zenga was appointed in the summer. The former Olympiakos manager is not the only potential candidate associated with agent Mendes – who has reportedly been heavily involved with player recruitment since FOSUN’s take-over of the club.
Andre Villas-Boas
Another wildcard option – and from the outset possibly an unrealistic one too – but Andre Villas-Boas has been out of management since leaving Zenit Saint Petersburg in May. Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Villas-Boas is familiar with English football and even more familiar with Jorge Mendes, having managed at both Porto and Zenit – two further clubs that Mendes has been involved with in recent times. Villas-Boas may see Wolves’ ambitions and financial backing as an incentive to make the move into the Championship.
Former Chelsea managers Roberto Di Matteo (L) and Andre Villas-Boas (R)
Roberto Di Matteo
His recent experience of managing Midlands rivals Aston Villa should not deter Roberto Di Matteo from being a viable candidate for the Wolves job. Di Matteo has managed West Bromwich Albion – which may not sit well with the Molineux faithful – but the former Chelsea manager has also won the Champions League and coached at the top level with Schalke.
Vitor Pereira
Vitor Pereira – another from the Jorge Mendes association?
Vitor Pereira worked alongside the aforementioned Andre Villas-Boas at Porto, becoming manager of the Portuguese club when Villas-Boas was appointed Chelsea boss in 2011. Since then, Pereira has forged a strong reputation as a manager in his own right, including being considered for the Everton job in 2014, and has since taken charge of Olympiakos (in similar fashion to our first wildcard option, Marco Silva) and most recently Turkish giants Fenerbache. Pereira has drawn comparisons to a breed of fellow Portuguese managers who have been associated with the Mendes stable; such as Villas-Boas, Jose Mourinho, Leonardo Jardim and Nuno Espirito Santo.
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