Everton Hires Marco Silva as Manager on 2nd Attempt

Seven months after making its first move, Everton finally hired Marco Silva as manager on Thursday and highlighted his ability to deliver the kind of expansive football the Premier League club's fans crave.

The 40-year-old Portuguese coach was targeted by Everton in October following its firing of Ronald Koeman, but Silva's club at the time — Watford — refused to release him.

With his head turned by Everton's approach, Silva's relationship with Watford deteriorated and two months later — after a run of one win in 11 league matches — he was fired. But he remained on the radar of Everton, which made a successful move for Silva after releasing Sam Allardyce this month.

Silva's commitment to attacking football is likely to have played a big part in Everton's interest after fan disgruntlement at the pragmatic style of play under Allardyce.

It is Silva's third Premier League job in 18 months, having joined Hull in January 2017. Although he was unable to prevent the team's relegation from the Premier League, his impact and style of play earned him another chance at Watford, where he started impressively but lost focus after Everton's initial approach.

Silva rose to prominence with Estoril in Portugal, which he guided from the second tier to the Europa League. It helped earn him the tag of "Mini-Mourinho," after his more illustrious compatriot. He then had one-season spells with Sporting, where he won the Portuguese Cup, and Olympiakos, where he won the Greek league title.

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