Porto coach Jose Mourinho heaped praise on match-winner Derlei Silva after his penalty earned the Portuguese side’s a place in the Champions League final.
“Derlei is a special player,” said Mourinho after the Brazilian converted the penalty which secured Porto’s place in the final.
“I knew he could bring back a certain quality we’ve missed during his injury – That was one of our secrets.
“My only doubt was about how long he could last and beforehand he’d told me we’d have to win it in 90 minutes because by extra-time he’d be dead.”
“We had a week to prepare for this match after winning the league and we knew what we were going to do in all stages.
“We knew we had to dominate and to control at all times and we managed that.
“We knew what we were going to do at the start of the match after 0-0, and what to do if we were leading 1-0 or losing 1-0.
“It was all worked out but of course you never know what’s going to happen.”
“May 26 will be a fantastic day,” Mourinho said.
“Everyone dreams of being in the final and we’re used to watching it on TV.
“We’ve beaten teams from more powerful nations over 12 hard games and we’ll have everything to win in the final.”
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