Del Neri aiming high

Mourinho replacement
The Italian, who masterminded AC Chievo Verona's unlikely rise to Serie A, was named as Mourinho's replacement at the beginning of June, shortly after Porto's UEFA Champions League triumph over AS Monaco FC.

'Great things'
That leaves Del Neri with much to live up to, but the Italian coach believes that Mourinho, the new coach of Chelsea FC, will not be such a tough act to follow. "Being compared with José Mourinho motivates me," said Del Neri. "Everybody knows that he achieved great things here.

'Will to win'
"I can't promise to win the Portuguese title. But there are things I can promise to Porto fans, including the will to win all matches," he added: "A coach has to be committed and has to work hard."

'Attacking style'
Certainly Porto fans were left in no doubt that they can expect a positive attitude from their coach off the pitch, and from his team on it. "Our main goal is to play good football and the supporters can expect an attacking style of play," he said. "I like to play 4-2-4 rather than 4-4-2."

Success story
'Gigi', as Del Neri is also known in Italy, had been in charge of Chievo since 2000, winning promotion to Serie A in his first season at the club. The small club from the Verona suburbs have maintained their top flight status ever since, finishing ninth last season.

Familiar faces
Del Neri, 53, will be joined at Porto by his assistant coach at Chievo, Francesco Conti, and the trainer Ugo Maranza.