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.

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."

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.

Germany and Portugal progress

Germany and Portugal are into the Euro 2012 quarter-finals after they defeated Denmark and Holland respectively in Sunday night's final Group B games.



Lars Bender spared Germany from a shock exit with the winner in a 2-1 victory over Denmark, who had been pushing hard for the goal that would have taken them through to the last eight at their opponents' expense.



The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, playing as full-back for the national team, struck just after Morten Olsen's side had seen a strong penalty appeal turned down.



Lukas Podolski put Germany in front in the 19th minute, but a goal from Michael Krohn-Dehli five minutes later lifted Denmark's spirits.



Germany controlled much of the game, but were nevertheless made to sweat as Denmark's belief and Portugal's 2-1 win over Holland ensured a tense finale which ended in their favour, clinching them top spot in Group B with a perfect record and a clash with Greece in Gdansk on Friday.



Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Portugal's passage into the quarter-finals with two goals that ended Holland's dismal tournament.



Ronaldo was irresistible throughout as he led his side to a last-eight appointment with the Czech Republic in Warsaw on Thursday.



The 27-year-old responded to criticism of his form with a mesmerising display topped by a goal in each half to ensure Portugal finished the 'group of death' as runners-up.



Apart from a fine early strike from Rafael van der Vaart, Holland were poor, ensuring a team considered among the pre-tournament favourites finished bottom of Group B without a point to their name.

Ronaldo has a pop at Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo has taken a swipe at Lionel Messi after the Portugal international was mocked by Denmark supporters.



Portugal claimed a 3-2 win over Denmark to revive their qualification hopes, but Ronaldo was in the spotlight after squandering a string of chances.



The Real Madrid star's form has been a concern for Portugal at Euro 2012 and during the win over Denmark, Danish fans chanted Messi's name whenever Ronaldo was on the ball.



Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure throughout and he picked up a late yellow card. Following the game, Ronaldo was asked about the Messi chants and he responded with a dig at his great rival. He said: "You know where he was at this time [last year]? Do you know? He was being eliminated in the Copa America, in his own country. I think that's worse, no?"



Portugal coach Paulo Bento was staunch in defence of his captain when asked if Ronaldo was wilting under the weight of expectation.



"That's not my impression [that Ronaldo is struggling to handle the pressure]," Bento said. "He has the same pressure as all the players that want to contribute to the game. He was in some difficult situations but, from our point of view, he has played two very good games and I am very certain that not a single player in our squad might be unsatisfied [with him]."



Ronaldo would appear to be unfazed by his struggles in front of goal. He said: "If I don't score a single goal and Portugal win the Euro I'll take that right now.



"Yes, maybe I demonstrated I was angry at myself [after missing chances]. "I could have done better with the chances I had, but the important thing is that we are still in the race. Now we have to win our next match."