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LISBON, June 4 - Champions League winners Porto
appointed Italian Luigi Del Neri as their new coach on Friday,
replacing Jose Mourinho.
Del Neri, 53, joins from Serie A club Chievo Verona where he
was in charge for four years and has signed a three-year
contract with the Portuguese champions, Porto said on their
website.
Financial terms of the deal were not released.
Mourinho was named the new Chelsea manager on Wednesday
following his success in leading Porto to a 3-0 win over Monaco
in the Champions League final last week.
"I'm delighted," Del Neri told Italian radio station Kiss
Kiss of the move.
"I think it is always better to go to a great team where you
can win rather than to a place where you lose," he said.
"It is a huge and very exciting job. I didn't go to a big
Italian club because things didn't happen at the right time. I
had offers here but I couldn't let this opportunity pass," he
added.
Chievo said on their website that Del Neri's assistant
Francesco Conti and fitness coach Ugo Mranza would also be
moving to Porto.
Del Neri took Chievo up to Serie A for the first time in
their history in 2000 and led them to qualification for the UEFA
Cup in their debut season in the top flight.
Despite the loss of several players from the 'Miracle' side,
Chievo finished comfortably in mid-table for the past two
seasons.