Villas-Boas wants to keep stars at Porto

May 21, 2011 - 0:0

Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas insists he hopes to maintain his Europa League winning team next season as they return to the Champions League, as he dismisses speculation regarding his future.

The 33-year-old reaffirmed his commitment to the Portuguese champions after the 1-0 victory over Braga in Dublin, and insisted he had only played a small part in the club's success this season.
The coach and a string of his squad have been linked with summer moves, but the tactician insists that he wants to keep his current crop intact for the 2011-12 campaign.
He stated: ""The speculation is normal with managers and players around the world. But it's not easy for any of this talent to run away from us. Hulk has a release clause of €100 million, which is not easy for any club to pay.
[Radamel] Falcao's is €30m.
""It's very difficult for a club to splash around that amount of money. It's not impossible, but let's hope we can keep the majority of our talent next year.''
While the final was an all-Portuguese affair, Villas-Boas said Spanish and English influences had also played their part, as he dedicated the win to Barcelona's Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho of Real Madrid, and Sir Bobby Robson.
Villas-Boas learned his trade from Mourinho at Porto, Chelsea and Inter before taking the hotseat the Estadio do Dragao.
""I dedicate this win to my technical staff, the players of Porto and the supporters. But I'd like to pay a compliment to Pep Guardiola and to Jose Mourinho,"" he added.
""He
[Mourinho] introduced me to professional football, and I'd like to dedicate this to him and to someone who has already left us, but was decisive in my career, Sir Bobby Robson.
""I never had the opportunity to say farewell to him. I'd like to dedicate this to him and his wife, Elsie, and thank him for everything he has done for me.""?
(Source: Goal)