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He has worries about Morientes and Prso who have both been injured and the fitness of

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He has worries about Morientes and Prso, who have both been injured, and the fitness of Morientes may decide the tie. "We will be playing to win but finals are seldom spectacular because there's so much at stake and everyone is concentrating on not making mistakes." At 35 Deschamps will be the youngest manager to win the Champions' League if Monaco prevail. Celtic were physical but Mourinho's Porto are pragmatists first, romantics second."They are a very compact team who play aggressively and are very good at not letting their opponents play the way they want to," said Deschamps of Porto. Mourinho promised he wanted "to show the world that outsiders are capable of playing well" but admitted he was "not saying I'll have an open door policy and try to win 5-4". He said last year's Uefa Cup final victory over Celtic was proof of his team's attacking intent ­ "a beautiful game" ­ but Glasgow remembers only a team which dived and writhed to victory. The defeat of Manchester United had its thrills but the only goal in two legs of a stifling semi-final with Deportivo La Coru?as a penalty. Carpe Diem should therefore be the abiding principle tonight Seize the day and bank the memory for eternity There will not be a second chance.

This, unfortunately, is as likely to produce a sterile match as a thriller ­ not that last year's final, between the aristocrats Juventus and Milan, pleased anyone except purists.Monaco surfed to the final on a wave of goals, 27 in 12 games including five each against Chelsea and Real Madrid, but Porto grafted their way in. The lengthy odds against these clubs at the start of this season's group stages ­ Porto were 40-1, Monaco 80-1 ­ will be repeated next season. His striking partner Dado Prso has signed for Rangers while Ludovic Giuly and Jerome Rothen are among others considering offers. This is underlined by the imminent exodus of players ­ for it is not just the coaches who are cashing in. Mourinho is expected to take several players with him to Chelsea where they are likely be joined by Monaco's inspiration, Fernando Morientes. Porto, unlike Monaco, may have been here before, winning in 1987, but that was before the competition's expansion. The domination of the major leagues is now too entrenched, their clubs' financial muscle too powerful, for this uprising of the Continent's middle classes to be sustained.

That both coaches are off to fresh pastures, a first in the competition's 49-year history, confirms the sense that this is a one-off. To the chagrin of sponsors and television companies alike the Portuguese and French have stolen the stage.It is a temporary heist. This season's Champions' League climax may no longer be a final eliminator for the honour of becoming Chelsea's next manager, as their courting of Porto's Jose Mourinho appears too advanced to switch horses and Monaco's Didier Deschamps seems bound for Juventus in any event, but it still has a freakish air. It is not that the match's stars are the coaches, nor that it is being played on the AufSchalke's movable pitch, it is that this is the first European Cup final in 13 seasons, before the Champions' League concept began, and only the third since 1971, not to feature a Spanish, Italian, German or English club. Underdogs against Internazionale, they beat the Italians on penalties in San Siro to cap a remarkable fortnight that also saw their local rivals Borussia Dortmund beat Juventus in the Champions' League.Such are the tight links between club and fans that they have got together and even organised a car pool to alleviate traffic around the ground Uefa may soon beat a path back to the AufSchalke.. Inside the €180m (£120m) stadium, built for hosting concerts as much as football, the "eccentric" British pop band Right Said Fred were asked to provide the entertainment.Yet not everyone has been so impressed with the place. Given its reputation as a city not blessed with stunning architecture or sights, the club's latest signing, the Brazilian, Ailton criticised it even before officially becoming a Schalke player. Present are some of Germany's most dedicated fans who enjoy their football under a retractable roof that can open or close in 30 minutes and if they get there early they can see the pitch being moved into place as well, a process that takes six hours.Those supporters from the coal mining district can trace their line right back to the birth of the club exactly 100 years ago, although what the founding chairman Heinrich Hilgert, a weighman at the local colliery, would have made of the centenary celebrations two weeks ago is anyone's guess.

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