So Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has decided to put Portuguese back on the menu at Stamford Bridge, but the Russian oligarch must be prepared to stomach some upsets along the way if the Blues are to reach the pinnacle of English football once again.
Andre Villa-Boas' arrival on the King's Road has rightly been met with enthusiasm by the football fraternity, but Chelsea fans will be more interested to see if it marks the end of the revolving door policy that has characterised recent campaigns for the Blues.
Abramovich craves success — an understandable sentiment for a man who has ploughed hundreds of millions of pounds into the London giants — but surely he is aware that dynasties are built on solid foundations rather than shifting sands.
The Blues have gone through a flurry of managers in recent seasons, with little opportunity afforded to overhauling an ageing squad that has started to squeak alarmingly around the edges.
Chelsea today still resemble the all-conquering team crafted by that other Portuguese maverick Jose Mourinho, but the Special One left the King's Road in 2007 and no team, however talented, can go on forever.
Of course, Villa-Boas' arrival has been heralded as a kind of second coming of his illustrious countryman. The similarities are hard to ignore. Both are Portuguese and learnt their trade at a young age having had limited playing success. Both managed Porto and have had quick-fire success in their career. Moreover, Villa-Boas worked for Mourinho when he was at the Bridge — his team reports were apparently the stuff of legend.
However, those close to the 33-year-old say that while he is equally driven as Mourinho, he is less confrontational, a characteristic that may serve him well with Abramovich, who apparently tired of Mourinho's ways. He will have to adapt, of course, to the atmosphere at the Bridge and will need to satisfy Abramovich's desire to succeed. But equally the Russian must give his new charge time to stamp his own authority.
Significant challenges
He faces significant challenges, not least overhauling the aforementioned ageing squad. Personalities are big at the Bridge and it may be time to show Didier Drogba the door as well as keeping a close eye on those ageing warhorses John Terry and Frank Lampard.
At 33 he is younger than some of his players, and the question is whether he will be able to bend such stars to his will, although his track record at Porto, where he won the league and League Cup double and also guided the team to a Europa League triumph, would suggest he can. But he will also be required to mould teams that are attractive on the eye, a task which Mourinho was unable to fulfil, and one which the new man might find difficult given the functional nature of his Porto side.
