FC Porto vs. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/SC-Braga-c40460: UEFA Europa League Final - Preview
Two Clubs that are situated just 30 miles apart will travel 800 miles to Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland to face each other in the final of the UEFA Europa League.
Portuguese neighbours, FC Porto and SC Braga will renew local rivalry on neutral territory as both chase a different kind of a landmark in history.
A win for Porto will see them being crowned Champions of Europa League and UEFA Champions League within a space of 5 years while a win for Braga will fetch them their maiden continental title.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jorge-Fucile-c19163.
Braga on the other hand, have injury clouds hovering over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Miguel-Garcia-c25555 and Rodrigues while striker Paulo Cesar is also a doubt for the game tonight.
Porto just recently wrapped up the Portuguese Super Liga crown at home and did so in splendid style as they went on to win the league without losing a single game, a feat never achieved after Benfica did so in 1972-73.
Braga finished 38 points adrift of their opponents in the league this season but past form will not count for much as this is a one-time face off for the biggest footballing prize in the continent after the Champions League.
Porto are chasing a treble of trophies this season as they are also scheduled to face Guimaraes in the Portuguese Cup final on Sunday.
If Porto go on to win the treble, it will be a remarkable achievement for Andre Villas-Boas, who has guided the club to new heights that the club had not witnessed since the departure of the mercurial Jose Mourinho in
2005.
A victory in the game tonight will also bring a personal milestone for Villas-Boas as he will become the youngest coach ever to win the Europa League.
The 32-year-old, is often compared to the self proclaimed special one, Jose Mourinho, who he worked with as an assistant at http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 and Inter Milan.
But the manager has shrugged off the comparisons and said that he is his own self and in no way comparable to the special one.
"I respect Jose, but don't want to be a Mourinho clone. I want to be able to work freely, without restraint, without worrying what he thinks. It's very easy to compare things, but if you look at our personalities and what
we have achieved, it's very different. I don't see myself reaching that level of success." Said Villas-Boas.
Braga will have a mighty task at their hands as they face an opponent that has scored 136 goals in the season with 36 of those coming in this competition.
A special mention should go to strikers http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hulk-c16436 and Falcao, who are on a goal scoring spree and have accounted to 63 of the 136 goals that their side have scored.
Even history will be against Braga in this match as they have not beaten Porto in any competition in over two years and have lost against the Dragons in their last two cup finals.
But the incentive for Braga is great as they are bidding to win their first piece of silverware since winning the Portuguese Cup in 1956.
Tags: