REPLACING Txiki Begiristain, Pep Guardiola’s lieutenant for 12 years and a close personal pal, is a formidable task in itself.
But when the new job means overseeing the mass overhaul of a club which has dominated for nearly a decade?
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Now that really is enough to get the knees knocking.
Yet when Viana officially starts work in June, it will be City’s new director of football — as much as Guardioia — who is responsible for reshaping the future.
Nearly half the side which won a record-breaking four Prem titles on the bounce — but have never been in the hunt for a fifth — are nearing their sell-by date.
After a Champions League schooling from Real Madrid saw them miss out on the last 16 for the first time in 12 years, even manager Guardiola admitted it was the end of an era.
Kyle Walker has gone; Ilkay Gundogan looks to be in his final season, and big doubts hang over Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, John Stones and Bernardo Silva. Urgent and major surgery is needed.
Some doubt whether Guardiola himself will stick around for the remaining two years of his contract.
Viana, one of Europe’s most elegant midfielders as a player, faces a mission so intimidating many would buckle before they checked in.
But not the new supremo from Sporting. He knows what it is like to walk into a club in REAL disarray.
Two months before Viana went to the Lisbon outfit in August 2018, raging fans stormed the training ground after missing out on the Champions League, attacking players and staff.
Seven stars — including four of Portugal’s World Cup squad — terminated their contracts although Bruno Fernandes later stayed on. It was a club in chaos.
But Viana’s eye for talent and Midas touch in the transfer market brought a domestic cup double in his first season and first title in 19 years the next.
There was a ruthless side, too, getting through three managers in 15 months, before taking a punt on an untried rookie from Braga in Ruben Amorim.
The second of those was Jorge Manuel Rebelo Fernandes, known to Wolves fans as Silas, who made just 14 appearances in three dismal years at Molineux.
Yet despite being axed for Amorim after six months, he still reckons his old Portugal pal from their playing days will have no trouble handling the heat at City.
Silas, now boss of Uniao Leiria, insisted: “You have to realise Hugo went to Sporting with almost no experience as a sports director when it needed a total reconstruction.
“There was an internal rebellion, fans were violent and key men like William Carvalho, Rafael Leao and Rui Patricio — the backbone of the team — left, many for free.
“It was a huge economic loss for Sporting and, a few months later, Hugo asked me to help — and you can’t say ‘no’ to a friend.
“Sadly, I arrived in the midst of a crisis but in those difficult moments, with all these problems, Hugo did a fantastic job.
“I worked with him for six months but saw his ability to revive a club that was in free fall when others would have thrown in the towel or collapsed.
“But Hugo was always so calm, never got angry and the results in his tenure spoke for themselves. There is no doubt he was the cornerstone of the resurgence.
“Sporting was an intensive course for him where he learnt to solve problems in a high-pressure environment.”
Viana’s stand-out success is his ability to rebuild a team, and when Amorim arrived, he did so virtually from scratch. City were certainly impressed.
Silas added: “Hugo brought in the likes of Pedro Porro, Joao Palhinha and Morten Hjulmand, and made millions from selling Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, Matheus Nunes and others.
“I am not surprised City didn’t hesitate to sign him.
“In Pep, they have the best coach in the world and I’m sure the two of them will work well together.
“They made the perfect choice.”