Joy for Villas-Boas as Porto salute

Just hours after tasting success in the Europa League, Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas has already set his sights on more European glory.

Villas-Boas became the youngest manager in history to lift a European trophy after Porto battled to a 1-0 win over Sporting Braga in Dublin on Wednesday night.

Radamel Falcao’s 44th-minute header – his 17th goal of the tournament – proved the decisive moment for the club, with the win taking them a step closer to an historic treble.

Porto wrapped up the Liga Sagres title with five matches to spare and they now just need to defeat Vitoria Guimaraes in the Taca De Portugal final on Sunday to seal a hat-trick of major trophies.

And the 33-year-old Villas-Boas – who will be in high demand as a manager – is committed to taking Porto to even greater success.

“I think we have to not focus on my ambitions, that’s not what is important. The most important thing is that Porto has the UEFA Cup in its trophy cabinet again,” he said.

“This is something very, very important for us. It reflects the quality of the work we do. After 2003-2004 it’s something very, very special to get it again. This is something that means a lot to us people of Porto and we are very close to another moment of joy, so let’s focus on beating this number of titles which is something we can be proud of.”

While the match did not live up to the hype of a final as the normally free-scoring Porto were somewhat subdued, Villas-Boas was thrilled to lift the trophy.

“I do feel just a little sad, because both teams could have been better,” he said.

“Both teams found it hard, but that is nothing new in a final. Braga are always very aggressive and very compact, which makes our work very hard.”

“But there is a great joy in winning the trophy.”

Striker Falcao is also likely to come in for some attention but Villas-Boas said he hoped high release clauses would stave off any potential suitors.

“Speculation is normal with managers and football players all around the world, it’s nothing new. Porto has had an incredible year, and people will speculate a lot with the exits. I can only tell you that Porto has the highest release clauses in the market so it’s not easy for any of this talent to run away from us and we would like to keep as much talent as possible for the year after,” he said.

For his part, Falcao could not hide his delight at sealing the title.

“I am very, very happy – I lived for a moment like this – but this is especially for the team,” Falcao said.

“I thank God and Porto to be in a position like this. Being the top-scorer is just an extra, what matters is the victory.”

Goalkeeper and Porto skipper Helton had extra reason to celebrate as he kept a clean sheet on his 33rd birthday.

“Besides being very heavy, this trophy is a wonderful birthday gift,” Helton said.

“We knew it would not be easy and that is how it proved.”