Deco: Mourinho´s feats harder than Guardiola´s

Former Portugal midfielder Deco believes Jose Mourinho's coaching successes have been much harder than those of Pep Guardiola.



The two bosses clashed on numerous occasions before Guardiola stepped down as Barcelona manager last summer, after losing out on the La Liga title to Real Madrid.



Deco himself enjoyed four years at Camp Nou between 2004 and 2008, but despite his links with the Catalans, he has offered his backing to his compatriot.



"Winning in all places as Mourinho has done is harder," he told RTP.



"Guardiola is a great coach, but Barcelona went on to say that he did not invent anything. But let's see how he does with other teams and different training methods, then we can make a better assessment."



The Fluminense man also had his say on Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, with the pair hot favourites to lift the Ballon d'Or and admits he finds it impossible to separate the two.



"During this year Cristiano was the best player in the entire first half and now it is Messi who is doing amazing things. I do not know who will win, honestly it's hard," he said.

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Nani in United contract talks

Portugal forward Nani has revealed he is in negotiations with Manchester United over a new deal at the club.



Nani's future has been in doubt since United's reported offer of a wage increase to 90,000 pounds per week was turned down by his advisors, leading to a stalemate between both parties while the 25-year-old was on international duty at Euro 2012.



The winger is now enjoying a three-week break following Portugal's semi-final exit at the tournament.



However, the former Sporting Lisbon man has said his agent has resumed talks with the club over a new deal, while also claiming he is happy at the Red Devils.



"We will see," he told the Times of India when asked about his future with the Old Trafford club.



"I am very happy at Man United and have been there five years and won every title.



"The manager has great faith in me and that's what is important. My agent is negotiating and we'll see what happens."



Nani spoke of his disappointment at losing out on the English Premier League title to rivals Manchester City on the final day of last season.



"That's football - you are always going to suffer disappointments and you just have to deal with them," he said.



"Football is like life and so there will be times when you suffer a big disappointment.



"It hurt to miss the league title in the last minutes, City had incredible luck that day. Hopefully next season is our turn and it's up to us to make that happen."

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Spain through after penalties

Spain are through to the final of Euro 2012 after beating Portugal 4-2 win on penalties.



The defending champions, looking to reach the final of a third successive major tournament, looked sluggish throughout the match in Donetsk but in the end they prevailed with Cesc Fabregas scoring the decisive penalty to send his side through to Sunday's decider.



A match which had been expected to be one of the games of the tournament never really fizzled into life with both sides squandering chances. Indeed, Spain had to wait until the 67th minute to have a shot on target and it was somewhat inevitable that extra time would be needed.



Despite looking lethargic during the regulation 90 minutes it was Spain who looked more life scoring in the extra half an hour, but Portugal's defence held firm and the clock ticked towards a shootout.



Xavi Alonso missed the first penalty but Joao Moutinho's effort was saved by Iker Casillas to hand the advantage back to Spain.



Anders Iniesta easily fired his beyond Patricio before Pepe, Pique and Nani all converted their chances. A piece of magic followed as Ramos dinked the ball into the net to give Spain the lead and Bruno Alves' miss ensured Fabregas had the opportunity to send the world champions into the final.



The former Arsenal skipper calmly walked up to the spot and coolly slotted home to break Portugal's hearts.

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