One city, two tales

By Rui Matos Pereira

FC Porto and Boavista FC might both be from the same city and competing in the UEFA Cup, where they face respective opponents Denizlispor and Hertha Berlin BSC on Thursday, but there the similarities end.

Different situation
At this juncture three other European cities also boast two teams in UEFA club competitions: Rome, Milan and Athens. But whereas S.S. Lazio and AS Roma, AC Milan and Internazionale FC, plus Olympiakos Piraeus FC and AEK Athens FC are all competing at the business end of their domestic leagues, the situation in Portugal is different.

Too hot
Porto have blazed a trail at the top of the Portuguese Super Liga this season - and it is proving too hot for their rivals to follow. Ten points clear of SL Benfica at the summit, the Dragons' unbeaten run this season only came to an end last weekend after a 2-1 reverse by CS Marítimo on the holiday island of Madeira. Up until then, coach José Mourinho's men were undefeated in 21 league games, 29 in all competitions. For Boavista, it has been a different story. Porto's 'other' side lie eleventh, 36 points adrift of their city rivals.

First title
Ironically, it was arguably Boavista, the team with the 'chessboard' strip, or "those strange shirts" as former Inter coach Corrado Orrico once said, who take a portion of the credit for Porto's dazzling return to form. When Mourinho joined from UD Leiria halfway through the last campaign, Porto were at a low ebb; all-time leading goal scorer Mario Jardel was no longer at Das Antas and Boavista had won the championship for the first time in their history (2000/01), finally closing a chapter on decades of Big Three hegemony from neighbours Porto, Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Back on track
Mourinho has put the club back on track, consigning to the past the mediocrity threatening to engulf the side during the latter stages of Octávio Machado's reign. The Dragons are again out in front. From 1989-2001, Porto won the championship eight times and finished runners-up on four occasions, and collected seven domestic cups to boot.

European success
For fans and players alike, though, the time has come to convert domestic domination into further success on the international stage, where Porto have already won one European Champion Clubs' Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and a European/South American Cup.

High expectations
Having impressed in defeating KP Polonia Warszawa, FK Austria Wien and RC Lens, expectations are high that Porto can make a major impact in this year's UEFA Cup. The pundits expect Mourinho's men to brush aside Denizilispor en route to the quarter-finals. Jorge Costa, who was suspended for the weekend's game, returns to the side and the Russian Dmitri Alenitchev is set to replace Maniche in the left-midfield berth.

Daunting task
Boavista, meanwhile, face an altogether more daunting task against Hertha BSC Berlin, the seventh-placed side in the 1. Bundesliga. This season their supporters only have the UEFA Cup to be excited about. Victories over Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Anorthosis Famagusta FC, and Paris Saint-Germain FC have provided rare highs.

Beggars and choosers
The club's pragmatic president and coach, João Loureiro and Jaime Pacheco, would gladly swap a good UEFA Cup run for domestic prowess but beggars cannot be choosers. Pacheco is without Brazilian striker Luiz Cláudio, whose red card against PSG earned him a one-match ban and is set to be replaced by compatriot Yuri, an arrival at the Bessa stadium during the winter transfer window. New midfield player Filipe Anunciação may also be given an outing.