ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS signalled his arrival at Chelsea by declaring: I'm the Group One.
The Portuguese boss, 33, was quick to shrug off his tag as the 'mini-Mourinho' at his unveiling this morning. And in a dig at his former mentor Jose Mourinho, known as the Special One, he said: "This is not a one-man show.
"Maybe I should be called the Group One. I want to group people together."
Mourinho's dull style of football was one of the factors that cost him his job in 2007 — despite leading Chelsea to back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006. But Villas-Boas, who was an assistant at Stamford Bridge during that era, insisted: "It's not just a case of winning, it's a case of flair.
"It should be an entertaining game for the fans and that is what we will look to do."
Villas-Boas knows he must bring glory to the Blues after Carlo Ancelotti was ruthlessly axed at the end of the season.
He added: "Of course, the contract is a three-year contract and the expectations of the club are to the maximum.
"There's no doubt about it there is a compromise with a certain amount of trophies. That's the challenge we face on a day-by-day basis not only in the football business."
Villas-Boas will go head-to-head with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson for the Premier League crown next season.
He is 36 years younger than the Scot — but Villas-Boas does not see that as a big issue. He said: "It's not just a question of me taking on Sir Alex, it's a question of a top club like Chelsea challenging for the title again.
"Last year, we ended up on a very good run to threaten for the title in the last couple of games. "I want us to be there again but from the beginning"
"It's all part of the empathy I want to create with the players, to challenge them and challenge their motivation to be successful.
"It's not just one man against the others, it's trying to build something with them to make us powerful and threaten for titles."
Villas-Boas also expects his new players to show him respect, despite some of the senior members of the squad being older than him. The Portuguese added: "It's normal for people to judge my age because it all happened at a very young age for me.
"I started my career at 18. It's something I take normally. I think players are professional enough to respect the manager."
Short Profile: Born in Lille, 1993 Club Team: RC Lens
A towering centre-back, Varane is 6ft 3in
Made his league debut aged 17 in November 2010
Has three caps for France Under-21 side
Can also play in defensive midfield and sweeper
Joined Lens from AC Hellemmes aged nine
Raphael Varane is a young defender who has certainly got people talking.
Since breaking into the Lens first XI amid an injury crisis during the autumn, his reputation as a prodigious talent has grown exponentially to the casual football supporter, though he has long been courted by the likes of Manchester United, who continue to maintain an interest in the 18-year-old.
It is, however, Real Madrid who have seemingly claimed victory in the chase for the France Under-21 international, aided by the words of legendary World Cup-winner Zinedine Zidane. The revered midfielder reportedly played a significant role in persuading the youngster that he would have an opportunity to shine under the Bernabeu’s lights as a first-team squad member.
To win the race for his signature was no easy task. Paris Saint-Germain and hometown club Lille both offered guarantees of regular football from the outset, while the lure of the Premier League was also appealing, with Arsenal rumoured to have made a late rally to secure his services.
Though he lacks in experience, the Nord-Pas de Calais native is certainly equipped with all the attributes that will allow him to make it to the top of the game. As well as a sound mind, he is blessed with a frame that belies his years, and his solid build means that he is already able to tussle competitively with the majority of strikers, while he is also fleet of foot, allowing him to recover from any slips that are made by those alongside him.
Coming from a stable of promising young teenagers that also includes fellow centre-back Geoffrey Kondogbia and Thorgan Hazard, Eden’s 18-year-old brother, Varane receives top billing, and given his outstanding contribution for Lens in the second half of last season, it is little wonder.
But there is, of course, a mammoth chasm to be bridged between playing for the Ligue 2 side and the nine-time European champions.
Lens president Gervais Martel offered his support to the teenager on Wednesday, when revealing the club were in talks with the Spanish giants, signalling a belief that Varane, who has also been employed as a holding midfielder this season, can be a genuine factor in Spain next season. “Some believe that Raphael will not play [first team football] there,” he told les Sang et Or’s official website. “I can tell you he will not go to Real Madrid to repaint the changing rooms!”
The La Liga pair are still behind the likes of US golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson but still earn more than the Premier League's top-paid star Wayne Rooney.
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has been confirmed as the best-paid footballer in the world having picked up $43.8 million (€30.5m) in the last year, according to America's Sports Illustrated 'Fortunate 50' list.
The ‘Fortunate 50’ takes into account the earnings, endorsements, bonuses and appearance fees of leading sports stars. Tiger Woods is leading the way – earning a staggering €46m last year, though that was down €20m on his previous year’s earnings.
Despite being the highest earning footballer, the Camp Nou superstar only came seventh on the overall sporting list, behind the likes of Formula One driver Fernando Alonso, who is a Real Madrid supporter himself.
Below are the footballers who made the international top 20, with figures given from the recently-completed season.
MANCHESTER CITY will make a last-ditch bid today to capture Chilean wonder boy Alexis Sanchez from Udinese.
The Eastlands top brass are refusing to concede that Sanchez, 22, has his heart set on a £35million move to European champions Barcelona.
Reports from Chile last night suggested the winger was ready to fly out to Spain for a medical and sign a five-year deal worth around £90,000 a week.
The Catalans will cough up a £25m down-payment with another £10m linked to results. But City are prepared to offer far bigger wages.
Sanchez has also been tracked by Manchester United who were confident last week of clinching a £27m deal with Serie A Udinese. But the lure of playing alongside Leo Messi and Co may prove overwhelming.
ALEXIS SANCHEZ is a 22-year-old Chilean international winger who plays for Udinese.
He first caught the eye at last summer's World Cup with his trickery and pace as Chile reached the last 16.
Since then, he enjoyed his best-ever club campaign, scoring 12 goals in 31 games as his team clinched a Champions League place.
Manchester United and neighbours City face stiff competition if they are to sign him, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan all strongly interested. United are hot favourites.
Sanchez can play out wide or in the middle and has some impressive fans. Former Italy chief Arrigo Sacchi called him a 'phenomenon' and added: "He would not only do a great job with Pep Guardiola at Barcelona but he would add value to any team."
What are his strengths?
THEY have been raving about his skills and dribbling ability all season in Italy - and Alex Ferguson has taken note.
Sanchez started life as a right winger but has been used anywhere along the front line for club and country.
He is not an out-and-out forward who could replace Carlos Tevez at City but he can play down the middle off the main striker - as a foil to United's Wayne Rooney, perhaps.
Sanchez is seen in the Cristiano Ronaldo mould.
He loves stepovers and knows where the goal is, scoring four past Palermo last season.
Is he really the new Ronaldo?
THERE have been comparisons with the world-record £80million man and, if you check him out on YouTube, it is easy to see why.
In Italy, they liken him to Lionel Messi with his lightning feet - but Sanchez is eager to play it down. His style and flair are much like that of Real Madrid's star man.
He said: "I'd like to just be remembered as myself, without any comparisons. "I'm still some way off achieving what Messi and Ronaldo have done."
If he could come close to matching Portuguese ace Ronaldo's explosive spell in England, he will not have done too badly.
Is he tough enough for the Prem?
MANCHESTER'S clubs know better than anyone how hit and miss South Americans can be when they come over to play in England.
Uruguayan Diego Forlan was a flop for United, while Carlos Tevez has shone for both the Red Devils and City.
But £32.5million Robinho - a one-time British record signing - was an Eastlands disaster.
Sanchez would prefer to stay in Italy or move to Barcelona but United look like they can change his mind.
At just 5ft 6in, he could expect a bit of rough treatment but, with his jet heels and tricky feet, defenders would have to catch him first. He is also strong with a low centre of gravity - all in all, a bit of a nightmare for full-backs.
Who is he likely to sign for?
UNITED seem to have got the edge over their rivals, despite Udinese owner Gino Pozzo insisting this week that City were the favourites to sign Sanchez.
Clearly, City's wealth pointed to them being most likely to get closest to the £35million asking price. However, United's European pedigree seems to be a greater pull for the player.
Other genuine European superpowers are in the running and Sanchez has hinted he would prefer to stay in sunny climes.
But David Gill and Fergie are very persuasive. Let's see how good Alexis Sanchez in the game was.
The vital match between Termeno and Dro in the Italian seventh tier went to penalties. The winner would play in higher leage and at that time, the score was at 4-4 in sudden death.
Termeno's Michael Palma stepped up to take the spot-kick which would keep his side in the contest — only to hit the bar.
Dro keeper Loris Angeli ran off to be congratulated by his team-mates but what happened next was a crazy luck.
The ball landed on the pitch after flying in the air, span back towards the goal and trickled over the line.
Angeli was left red faced as he walked back towards the goal with Palma overjoyed, just seconds after his despair from missing.
To compound the keeper's misery, his team-mate then missed the next penalty meaning Termeno were promoted.
Just four days before its Gold Cup schedule begins against Canada, the U.S. men's national team was embarrassed in a friendly against Spain in New England.
The United States men’s national got completely dominated by a deep Spain squad and suffered a 4-0 loss at Gillette Stadium on Saturday afternoon, just four days before it opens up its Gold Cup schedule against Canada in Detroit.
"Spain's a great team. It's a tough test to play them any time and it's probably an even tougher test to play them right on the eve of the Gold Cup," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "But we take these challenges of playing the best teams because we feel along the way it's the best to see what the game is about and the best way for us to improve."
As expected, the world champions controlled the action early and often, forcing the U.S. to get its only opportunities by counterattacking. Unfortunately, by the time the Americans got anything going offensively, the game was already far out of reach.
Spain scored three first-half goals to quickly dismantle the Americans, who surprisingly defeated the Spaniards 2-0 in the Confederation Cup two years ago. Santiago Cazorla knocked in his first of two goals 28 minutes into the friendly, while Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Torres also slipped ones past U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard.
"When you challenge yourself against the best teams, you have to understand that this is the way it could be on some days," Bradley said.
Top-ranked Spain, which has lost only four games since 2006 and claimed the 2010 World Cup, had a total of nine shots in the first half alone as the U.S. continued its trend of conceding early goals. The U.S. recorded just one shot in the first half.
Spain’s scoring spree began at the 28-minute mark when Cazorla received a nice feed from David Silva and fired the ball into the side of the net. Just four minutes later, Negredo continued the harassment on the American backline as he drilled one in from the top of the box.
After Cazorla knocked in the third goal following some creative ball movement in the box right before halftime, Bradley decided to bring in his big guns to start the second half. Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley were able to help the midfield, but they couldn’t completely turn things around.
Torres, a second-half sub for Spain, scored the final goal of the night. Borja Valero set up the play that left disappointed fans headed for the exits.
"Hopefully there are things that we can take from this game that not only will help us in the next three weeks but could help us as we just keep trying to move forward," Bradley said.
Although he would have liked a victory, Bradley clearly did not care too much about the result of this friendly when he created a starting lineup that featured Robbie Rogers and Juan Agudelo, while keeping Dempsey and Michael Bradley on the bench in the first half.
"We are trying to figure out who are the guys who can potentially play 90 minutes," Bradley said. "We had enough of them on the field in the beginning that you have some options and have everyone ready to play. We think of different ways, but today we felt that would probably be the best way."
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has announced his retirement from playing but will remain at the club in a coaching capacity.
Scholes, who came through the United academy as part of the club's famous group of youngsters in the mid-1990s, played more than 650 times for the Old Trafford outfit and is widely acknowledged as one of the finest English footballers of his generation. Here is his profile:
Full name: Paul Scholes
Date of birth: 16 November 1974 (age 36)
Place of birth: Greater Manchester, England
Playing position: Midfielder
Trophies Won: Manchester United
English League: (9) 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012
FA Cup: (3) 1996, 1999, 2004
English League Cup: (2) 2009, 2010
Champions League: (2) 1999, 2008
Scholes was not a member of Manchester United's 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning squad that included future senior teammates David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, but he was part of the youth team that reached the final in the following season, alongside Phil Neville. Scholes turned professional on 23 July 1993.
A graduate of the Manchester United youth system and a loyal one-club man, the Salford-born midfielder made a vital contribution in bringing the Champions League trophy back to Old Trafford in 1999. Nine years later, in the same competition, Scholes was reportedly the first name on the United team-sheet for the final against Chelsea in Moscow. In between times, he was once described by Sir Alex Ferguson as ‘our best player'.
With England, Scholes amassed 66 caps, between 1997 and 2004, when he announced his retirement at international level. Glenn Hoddle, who handed him his England debut, said: ‘He thinks quickly, he's mobile, versatile and always looking for space. The guy oozes confidence.' It is a measure of his value that successive England managers have tried to persuade him to change his mind.
Each time, however, the diminutive and determined Scholes has refused to budge. England's loss, of course, has been Manchester United's gain.
France international Patrick Vieira, a combative opponent in many heated tussles with rivals Arsenal, often nominated Scholes as ‘the best passer in English football', a theme echoed by Sir Bobby Charlton , who once said: ‘Paul is always so in control and pin-point accurate with his passing - a beautiful player to watch.'
His ability to read and then break up the opposition's pattern of play once prompted Sir Alex to describe Scholes as ‘a right nuisance'. Courageous, too. When he had to put his foot in, he was ‘tough and resilient', a player who never shirks a tackle, said Roy Keane, his long-time midfield partner.
Scholes is an Old Trafford legend, having made 643 appearances for the club as of the end of the 2009-10 season, and Ferguson has showed no signs of losing faith in a player whose sensational ability on the pitch has always been in stark contrast to the unremarkable and modest way he goes about his life off it. Though he still can't tackle, his experience and guile remain valuable assets and he will be sorely missed when he eventually decides to hang up his boots.
