Wolves have announced Vítor Pereira as their new head coach on an 18-month contract. He succeeds Gary O’Neil who was sacked on Sunday evening.
Pereira has departed Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab to join the Premier League outfit. The Portuguese manager left the Saudi side in 6th place and had a 53.3% win record over his 30 games in charge.
The new Head Coach took charge of his first training session on Thursday morning. His first match in charge will be an important one away to fellow relegation battlers Leicester City.
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Pereira has won league titles in Portugal , Greece and China.
In the statement announcing the new manager, chairman Jeff Shi said: “Vítor is a highly respected and experienced coach who has achieved success across different leagues and will bring a new approach for the test ahead.
“This is a challenging moment for the club, and we want to thank Vítor for taking on this responsibility. We have full confidence in his ability to guide us back on track.”
Matt Hobbs, Wolves’ sporting director, explained why they chose Pereira: “His personality, desire and leadership qualities stood out to us during this process, and we’re excited to see how he applies his expertise here at Wolves.”
Hobbs also said he will work closely with the new manager on recruitment for the upcoming transfer window as they aim to strengthen their squad.
Pereira employs variations of a 3-4-3 tactic. His sides play in a compact, defensive manner and are reactive in their pressing. Many of the goals come from counter-attacks. His teams press on certain triggers rather than an all-out press that is seen from many Premier League sides.
Pereira, born in Espinho in the Greater Porto area, had an unremarkable playing career, as he played amateur football in Portugal before retiring at 28.
The 56-year-old manager began his managerial career at Portuguese third-tier side Sanjoanense in 2004, the first of 13 clubs managed before Wolves.
Pereira has had several stints with FC Porto between managerial jobs at lower-league Portuguese sides. He coached in the youth setup before his first managerial job and returned in 2007 as a youth coach again. His final return to Porto in 2010 saw a step up, as he became the assistant manager for André Villas-Boas. He then took over the top job at the Dragão when Villas-Boas departed for Chelsea in 2011.
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Pereira had an impressive stint as Porto manager, winning back-to-back league titles and losing just one league game to Gil Vicente across the two campaigns. He chose to leave Porto at the end of his second season to pursue his ambitions of managing in the ‘big five’ leagues.
Pereira narrowly lost out on the Everton job to Roberto Martinez in 2013 and ended up going to Al-Alhi in Saudi Arabia. This would be the start of a self-described impatient eleven years for Pereira as he chased his ambition to manage in the Premier League.
After a year and a half in Saudi Arabia, he moved to Olympiacos where, in his six-month tenure, he won a league and cup double.
He then had unsuccessful periods at Fenerbahçe and 1860 Munich before replacing André Villas-Boas for the second time in his career, this time at Shanghai SIPG. He won the club’s first-ever league title in 2018.
Pereira was linked with Everton twice more. He turned the Toffees down in 2019 and was the lead candidate in 2021. However, anger and vandalism from Everton fans over his supposedly inadequate candidacy resulted in the Portuguese manager not getting the job.
After Pereira left Shanghai SIPG, he had stints at Fenerbahçe, Corinthians and Flamengo. During his time in Brazil, he was runner-up in four cup competitions.
His most recent position at Al-Shabab began in February 2024. When he took over, the club were in 11th, four points above the relegation zone. He guided them to an 8th-place finish, twelve points clear of the drop.
Pereira’s appointment at Wolves sees him finally achieve his ambitions of a Premier League job – but it might be understandable for their fans to have some concerns about his recent managerial records.