MOSCOW, March 18 (R-Sport) - Andre Villas-Boas has agreed to sign a two-year deal to coach three-time Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg, the club announced on Tuesday.
In a website statement, Zenit said the 36-year-old former Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss would be officially unveiled at a contract-signing ceremony on Thursday, after Zenit's Champions League game at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
The Portuguese manager replaces Italian coach Luciano Spalletti, who was fired last week after a poor run of form in the league with just one win in 11 games. Spalletti joined Zenit in December 2009, winning back-to-back Russian titles in his first two seasons at the club.
Caretaker coach Sergei Semak will be in charge for Wednesday's match against Borussia; the Russians go to Germany looking to overturn a 4-2 deficit from the first leg to reach the quarterfinals.
Villas-Boas has been out of work since being fired by Spurs in December after a 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool. Zenit boast two Portuguese players - forward Miguel Danny and defender Luis Neto, while star forward Hulk speaks Portuguese as a native of Brazil.
The website statement said the contract will take effect "from March," which could mean Villas-Boas' first game in charge is next Monday's home clash with Krylya Sovetov Samara.
