Youngest UEFA club competition-winning coaches

FC Porto coach André Villas-Boas will make UEFA club competition history if he leads his side to glory in Wednesday's UEFA Europa League final.

José Mourinho's one-time protege will be 33 years and 213 days old when the Dragons take on Liga rivals SC Braga in Dublin. Should the newly-crowned Portuguese champions prevail he will become the youngest coach to win a major UEFA club competition, breaking Gianluca Vialli's record. The Italian was 33 years and 308 days when he led Chelsea FC to the 1997/98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Villas-Boas is not the youngest coach to appear in a big European decider; that accolade still belongs to Englishman Bob Houghton, who took Swedish side Malmö FF all the way to the final of the 1978/79 European Champion Clubs' Cup. He was just 31 years, 229 days old on the day that his side lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest FC in Munich.

Paris Saint-Germain FC boss Ricardo Gomes, meanwhile, was 32 years, 151 days old when his side lost to FC Barcelona in the 1996/97 Cup Winners' Cup final. Four months earlier, aged 32 years, 33 days, the Brazilian had overseen the first leg off his side's UEFA Super Cup tie; they lost 6-1, following it up with a 3-1 away defeat.

Villas-Boas will be the youngest coach to appear in a UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League final. That record is currently held by Sven-Göran Eriksson, who was 34 years, 82 days old when his IFK Göteborg side won 1-0 at home against Hamburger SV in the 1982 final first leg. He took the trophy with a 3-0 win in Germany 14 days later.

Incedentally, the youngest coach to win the European Champion Clubs Cup was José Villalonga. He led Real Madrid CF to glory in the inaugural final in 1956 aged 36 years, 192 days. That record, at least, is safe for another season.

Youngest UEFA club competition final winning coaches
33y 308d: Gianluca Vialli (Chelsea FC, 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup)
34y 102d*: Sven-Göran Eriksson (IFK Göteborg, 1982 UEFA Cup)
34y 163d: Víctor Fernández (Real Zaragoza, 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup)
36y 101d: Joaquim Rifé (FC Barcelona, 1979 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup)
36y 128d: Valeriy Lobanovskiy (FC Dynamo Kyiv, 1975 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup)

Youngest UEFA club competition final losing coaches
31y 229d: Bob Houghton (Malmö FF, 1979 European Champion Clubs' Cup)
32y 151d: Ricardo Gomes (Paris Saint-Germain FC, 1997 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup)
34y 245d: Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund, 2002 UEFA Cup)
35y 12d*: Jupp Heynckes (VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1980 UEFA Cup)
35y 102d*: Sven-Göran Eriksson (SL Benfica, 1983 UEFA Cup)

Oldest UEFA club competition winning coaches
71y 231d: Raymond Goethals (Olympique de Marseille, 1993 UEFA Champions League)
66y 142d: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United FC, 2008 UEFA Champions League)
64y 85d: Sir Bobby Robson (FC Barcelona, 1997 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup)
64y 79d: Joe Fagan (Liverpool FC, 1984 European Champion Clubs' Cup)
63y 295d: Mircea Lucescu (FC Shakhtar Donetsk, 2009 UEFA Cup)

Major UEFA club competition is defined as European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League or UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

*calculated from second leg