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Is Villas-Boas a Mini-Me Mourinho?

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Jonathan Stevenson | 17:26 UK time, Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Seven years after , Chelsea have gone back to Porto to appoint his protege Andre Villas-Boas, handing the precocious 33-year-old the challenge of claiming back the Premier League title and winning the Champions League.

But is Villas-Boas, from 2002-09 a key member of Mourinho's backroom staff at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan, a clone of his mentor? I spoke to Portuguese journalist Jose Delgado and former Inter midfielder Olivier Dacourt to find out.

Background:

Mourinho is from , 182 miles south of Porto, but Villas-Boas - who, according to Delgado, once claimed that sitting on the bench as Porto coach was like "sitting in the chair of my dreams" - is Porto born and bred.

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Weary Guardiola nears end of Barca cycle

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Jonathan Stevenson | 11:00 UK time, Monday, 30 May 2011

As Pep Guardiola faced the press on Saturday night at Wembley Stadium, he did not look like a man on top of the world. He looked spent, both physically and emotionally, and at one stage begged one of his interviewers for mercy.

"I'm sorry, I'm so tired," said the Barcelona manager, about an hour after the final whistle in their "I cannot think right now. Please let me go away and have a rest and then I can think."

The contrast with his opposite number Sir Alex Ferguson could not have been more stark. Ferguson, who had just watched his team receive what he called a "hiding", was immediately on the front foot, talking about how his squad could improve and

"You shouldn't be afraid of a challenge in life," said Ferguson. "We all have a challenge with this Barcelona team. Not just Manchester United, but everyone."

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Player Ratings: Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United

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Jonathan Stevenson | 07:30 UK time, Friday, 27 May 2011

Wembley

Barcelona are the new champions of Europe after a spectacular 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Wembley on Saturday.

Pedro's opener was cancelled out by Wayne Rooney, but second-half goals from the magical Lionel Messi and David Villa earned Barca their fourth European Cup.

Here's how the Barca and United players rated on the night:

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