José Mourinho will manage FC Porto once again...
...in Deco's testimonial match against a Barcelona side featuring Ronaldinho and Messi.
The match in honour of the former Portuguese international will feature two of his teams, Porto's Class of '04 and Barcelona's Class of '06.
Mourinho, currently in charge of Chelsea, will manage his Champions League-winning hosts at the Dragão Stadium.
Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard will take charge of the Barcelona team. Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and Henrik Larsson will also be on show, according to the football paper O Jogo, while Xavi and Andres Iniesta's participation depends on their fitness after the World Cup.
Messi made his debut in a Barcelona shirt at the Dragão Stadium and the match will give him a chance to link up with his idol Ronaldinho once again.
Deco is one of the few players to have won the UEFA Champions League with two different clubs – FC Porto in 2004 and FC Barcelona in 2006.
He was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and UEFA Best Midfielder in Porto's Champions League winning season and was named Man of the Match in the 2003-04 Champions League final.
Deco received Portuguese citizenship in 2002 having completed five years of Portuguese residence, subsequently opting to play internationally for Portugal. He earned seventy-five caps and played in two European Championships and two World Cups.
He was transferred from FC Porto to Chelsea in 2008 and made forty-three appearances for the London Club before seeing out his playing career back home in Brazil with Fluminense.
Confirmed players so far:
- FC Porto: Vítor Baia, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Jorge Costa, Costinha, Maniche, Derlei
- FC Barcelona: Messi, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Eto'o, Belletti, Edmílson, Puyol, Motta, Larsson, Márquez, Van Bronckhorst
The game is scheduled to take place on 25th July at 7.45 pm GMT.
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The Porto/Barcelona connection goes way back, to the time when Mourinho was Sir Bobby Robson's assistant coach at FC Barcelona...
...and then at FC Porto.
sources 1, 2 & 3
bonus young Special One
