Vitor Pereira was unveiled as the new manager of Wolves on Thursday afternoon, and the fans will be hoping the Portuguese can save their season.
The Old Gold are currently in 19th position in the Premier League after Wolves sacked Gary O’Neil, with Pereira now needing to work miracles to turn their season around.
Wolves owner Jeff Shi is excited about working with Pereira, who arrives at Molineux following a 10-month stint in the Saudi Pro League with Al Shabab.
Pereira describes joining the Premier League as a ‘dream’ having never managed in England previously, although his style could excel in the top flight.
Vítor Pereira, Manager of Al-Shabab FC looks on during the Saudi Pro League match between Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal at Al Shabab Club Stadium on Novem...
Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images
Brazilian expert shares insight into Vitor Pereira’s playing style
During his time in management, the Portuguese has worked at many different clubs, with Wolves being his 13th role.
It’s fair to say that Pereira has experimented with several different formations but usually the same press-heavy, aggressive style out of possession and control with it.
For example, at his most recent club Al Shabab where he posted a 53% win percentage, the 56-year-old predominantly used a three-man defence, encouraging his wing-backs to push high.
However, he hasn’t always stuck with a 3-4-3 formation as he adapts the structure of his team to the personnel at his disposal, as seen during his time at Brazilian giants Corinthians.
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Pereira worked under difficult conditions at Corinthians from February to December 2022 but still managed to finish fourth in the league and reach the Copa Libertadores quarter-final as well as the final of the Brazilian Cup.
The former Fenerbache manager overperformed expectations in South America, with Brazilian expert and Vamo Futebol writer Rogerio Junior now telling Molineux News about his style of play and preferred formation.
“He is a coach who tends to adapt to his own squad and the opponent,” Rogerio said.
“In Brazil, they primarily used two game formations, 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1. He tends to give a lot of freedom to the full-backs in the offensive part.
“They tend to put together teams that exchange a lot of passes and don’t mind being pressured by the opponent. I would say he is offensive when he can be and cautious against better teams.”
Rayan Ait-Nouri will love Pereira’s style at Wolves
The one point that stuck out in the above verdict was Pereira’s liking to push the full-backs high, and this will benefit wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The silky Algerian is known for his ability to drive forward in attack and play on the front foot rather than being shackled by his defensive responsibility.
Ait-Nouri has struggled defensively this term and has been exposed on numerous occasions, whereas his attacking contributions will particularly please the new manager.
Rayan Ait-Nouri’s 2024/25 statistics Statistics
Games 16
Goals 3
Assists 3
Last season, the 23-year-old flourished as a winger as it handed him less responsibility to defend, and perhaps Pereira will push his wing-back into advanced areas.
If he adopts a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 formation at Wolves, the Algerian international is well suited to play as a left-midfielder or right winger.
However, moving further up the pitch would require Pereira to dip into the transfer market to sign a left-back with Hugo Bueno currently out on loan.
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