Jose fights Boas for old boy Falcao

Posted Saturday, June 25, 2011 by The Sun

CHELSEA chief Andre Villas-Boas is going head-to-head with his mentor Jose Mourinho over Porto striker Falcao.

The new man at Stamford Bridge faces a fight with the Special One in a bid to sign the Colombia marksman.

Both are willing to pay £26.5million to trigger a release clause in the 25-year-old's contract.

That will leave Falcao with a massive decision whether to follow the boss who left his club this week... or join Mourinho at Real Madrid.

It would also be the first clash between the two managers since Villas-Boas started following Mourinho down his managerial path.

They worked together closely and have now, seven years apart, gone from Porto to Chelsea - leaving behind thousands of gutted fans.

Porto supporters were angry Villas-Boas did not stay longer than a year and it led to protests outside his home.

But club president Pinto da Costa has a clear message for his old manager: "We're fine without you."

Vitor Pereira has been promoted and Da Costa reckons everything is in place for Porto to move on.

Da Costa said: "His departure was thought about some time ago.

"He had a great time but now goes his way and we go ours.

"He has the capacity to win at any club, as he did at Porto, and he's going to a club that has no limits on his ambition or economic trouble.

"I hope he wins the Premier League. We wish him success - unless it's against Porto.

"And if he faces Mourinho it should be a draw since I'm friends with both."

On losing Villas-Boas, Da Costa said: "It isn't easy to hurt me.

"We had the guarantee of Vitor Pereira taking over. I have been impressed with him."

Da Costa anticipated Villas-Boas' exit a month ago but he was finally told last Friday that his manager was leaving to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea.

Villas-Boas grew up in Porto and, like Mourinho, did not make it to the top as a player.

"Instead, he played for regional team Ramaldense and then amateur outfit MGC when he was a student.

Former MGC team-mate Pedro Barros remembers him as a dedicated coach who rushed off after games instead of going for a beer with the rest of the squad.

He said: "We'd all go out but it was not normal for Andre to go. He worked at Porto and would have to go to many games, so didn't have time."

By then, Villas-Boas was dedicated to becoming a top coach.

His teacher at posh Rosario College talks about his obsession with compiling reports on Porto - when he was aged just 14.

PE professor Jose Eiro said: "Andre was a friendly kid who had some good grades but didn't invest much in studying.

"What interested him was football. On Mondays he didn't just talk about matches, he brought a full report with tactics and substitutions."