Zenit St Petersburg have appointed Andre Villas-Boas as their new head coach on a two-year contract.
The former Chelsea and Tottenham manager will start work at the Russian club on Thursday and his first match in charge is set to be a league match with Krylya Sovetov on Monday evening.
The Portuguese manager, 36, will be reunited with striker Hulk, whom he managed at Porto.
Villas-Boas left Tottenham on December 16 ‘by mutual consent’ following a string of poor results, including a 6-0 thrashing at Manchester City and a 5-0 home loss to Liverpool.
A statement released on Zenit’s website read: ‘Zenit has agreed terms on a contract with new head coach Andre Villas-Boas.
‘The contract will be signed and Mr. Villas-Boas will be presented in St. Petersburg as Zenit’s new head coach on March 20.
‘Mr. Villas-Boas’ contract begins in March, 2014, and is valid for two seasons (2014/2015, 2015/2016).’
Zenit travel to Borussia Dortmund for the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday evening, trailing 4-2 from the first leg.
Zenit are currently second in the Russian Premier League, three points behind leaders Lokomotiv Moscow with nine matches to play.
Despite this, Zenit sacked Italian coach Luciano Spalletti last week.
Villas-Boas had a brief spell as manager of the British Virgin Islands but first came to prominence at Academica in his native Portugal, earning himself a move to Porto.
In a single season with the two-time European Cup winners, Villas-Boas won the Europa League and claimed the Portuguese top flight as he guided his team to an undefeated league campaign.
That success led to a move to Chelsea to replace Carlo Ancelotti but it was an unhappy spell at Stamford Bridge and Villas-Boas was relieved of his duties after just eight months before moving to Spurs in July 2012.
He enjoyed a successful first season at White Hart Lane but a huge shake-up the following summer, including the world-record sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid and various high-profile additions, did not have the desired effect and he left his post on December 16
AVB’S RECORD IN MANAGEMENT
Academica – October 2009-June 2010
Played: 30 Won: 11 Drawn: 9 Lost: 10 Win Percentage: 36.67
Porto – June 2010-June 2011
Played: 58 Won: 49 Drawn: 5 Lost: 4 Win Percentage: 84.48
Chelsea – June 2011-March 2012
Played: 40 Won: 19 Drawn: 11 Lost: 10 Win Percentage: 47.50
Tottenham – July 2012-December 2013
Played: 80 Won: 44 Drawn: 20 Lost: 16 Win Percentage: 55.00
OVERALL
Played: 208 Won: 123 Drawn: 45 Lost: 40 Win Percentage: 59.13
