So now we’ve seen him, the media-acclaimed superstar-elect of Euro 2008, Mr Cristiano Ronaldo.

He didn’t tear up any trees but played pretty well in Portugal’s opening 2-0 win over Turkey. He was denied a goal by a fingertip save that touched a first-half free kick on to a post, made several positive runs and had a hand in the second goal. He did not dominate the game but was a constant lively threat. There is almost certainly more to come, in bigger games, but are you a fan or a doubter?

Which of these below most accurately apply to the Portugal winger? You may tick more than one box.  

Ronaldo A: A showpony more interested in trickery, hair cream and mirrors than playing the right ball at the right time. A diver who cons referees into giving him decisions that other players with less nimble feet would never get.  

Skins Derby County fullbacks for fun but goes missing when international defenders give him their undivided attention in games that really matter. Nerve fails him from the penalty spot under pressure. An opportunist happy to play Manchester United against Real Madrid to inflate his own value.  

Ronaldo B: The greatest ball artist the game has ever seen, a player whose mesmerising skill delights neutrals the world over and who should be cherished as an extraordinary talent. A player who has now learned to use his wonderful individual gifts to the benefit of his team mates, who now knows when to dribble and when to pass and is the player all opponents fear.

A remarkable all-round footballer who not only has great feet but is prepared to work hard, tackle back and just happens to be one of the best headers of the ball in the game. Somebody who can score more than 40 goals in one season of Premier League and Champions League football - while still nominally a winger - something not even George Best ever managed. A player able to take a penalty miss in his stride and focus on the next opportunity.

A worthy wearer of his country’s armband, not to mention devastatingly handsome. Personally, I take a large dose of Ronaldo B with a little too much of the theatrical legacy of Ronaldo A, but the next three weeks might change my mind and maybe on June 29 we might all be raising a glass to Ronaldo C.

PHOTO: Portugal’s Gomes hands the captain’s armband to team mate Ronaldo during their Group A Euro 2008 soccer match against Turkey. June 8 REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

After sacking Avram Grant following the club’s first Champions League final, nothing at Chelsea should surprise us.

But Jose Mourinho possibly going back as coach? Even in the wacky world of Stamford Bridge, it is surely just paper talk and fantasy.

Mourinho is a shrewd man and he will know as well as anyone that coaches very rarely succeed in a second stint at a club. (See our blog from when Kevin Keegan was reappointed at Newcastle.)

The dynamics of Chelsea are also very different from when he took over in 2004.

Back then, Claudio Ranieri had already laid the foundations of a Premier League-winning side. Arjen Robben and Petr Cech were signed for the next season before Mourinho arrived. The Portuguese also had bags of cash to bring in Drogba, etc etc.

This time it would be different. Chelsea could lose Drogba and a number of other players, meaning a large rebuilding job would have to be undertaken, just when Roman Abramovich’s appetite for investment appears to have waned.

Remember as well that it was only in September that Mourinho’s relationship with the Chelsea hierarchy completely collapsed. Media reports say Abramovich has since had some “cosy chats” with his former coach and even bought him a car, but working together again would bring the same tensions, the same clashes of ego.

Assuming the second coming for Mourinho is not about to take place, where does that leave us?

Frank Rijkaard, Roberto Mancini, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Russia coach Guus Hiddink have all been mentioned as possible candidates but the best answer to Chelsea’s problems might well be Marcello Lippi, who has been out of work since Italy’s World Cup triumph two years ago.

Lippi, incidentally one of the few coaches to enjoy success in a second spell when he returned to Juventus, has been waiting for a perfect opening.

He said he would have talked to Barca if they hadn’t appointed Pep Guardiola. He has also said he wouldn’t fancy learning English. Yet England coach Fabio Capello’s first English interview at the weekend was impressive.

Lippi’s language barrier would be easier to overcome than all of Mourinho’s baggage.

Mark Meadows, Milan

 PHOTO: Jose Mourinho while manager of Chelsea at last year’s FA Cup final, Sep 20, 2007 REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Chelsea have acted quickly and some might say ruthlessly to their Champions League final defeat by Manchester United, opting on Saturday to sack Avram Grant.

There is no explanation on the Chelsea Web site, but then again none is really needed, I suppose. When you spend so much money on putting together the best team you possibly can, you don’t really want to settle for second place, do you?

I personally feel a bit sorry for Grant. I don’t know him at all, but he came across as a very likeable chap in his dealings with the press at the Champions League final. I particularly liked his parting shot to the media on the eve of the final: “I know you all care about me because you’re always asking if I’m going to stay or go,” he said.

But what do you think? Was this is an inevitable reaction to the defeat (as well as the player unrest that’s bubbling away), or did Grant deserve a chance to build his own team rather than doing the best he could with what Mourinho had left him?

And who on earth are Chelsea going to sign as his replacement? There’s a rumour in Italy that Mancini might be about to announce that he’s standing down. Maybe it’ll be Mourinho to Inter and Mancini to Chelsea…?

PHOTO: Avram Grant leaves the pitch after Chelsea’s Champions League final defeat by Manchester United,  May 22, 2008. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

The futures of coach Avram Grant and several Chelsea players are uncertain following their Champions League final defeat by Manchester United. But how many will leave?

Speculation that Grant will be axed has intensified after chief executive Peter Kenyon said finishing second in the Premier League, Champions League and League Cup was not good enough.

“It’s been an interesting season, but you don’t like finishing second and as runners-up. Given the standards we’ve set, that’s not something we’ve settled for,” he said.

“We’re looking at players who have the potential to be star names. We’ve brought in one player, Jose Bosingwa from Porto, who strengthens a position which has been an issue for us. We’ll take our time to look at what else is needed, but I think that’s two players rather than 20.”

Didier Drogba’s sending off in Moscow on Wednesday could well be his last appearance in blue. The striker has never hidden the fact that a move to AC Milan appeals and the Serie A side are keen to sign him, even if they are only in the UEFA Cup next season.

Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi would also love to have former striker Andriy Shevchenko back at the San Siro. Coach Carlo Ancelotti is not so sure and media reports say Milan will only take the Ukrainian on a free.

Even Chelsea talisman Frank Lampard is not definitely staying. After a difficult period following the death of his mother, the midfielder has said he will talk with Chelsea after England’s forthcoming friendlies.

Inter Milan lie in wait if Lampard decides to move on. Would Jose Mourinho’s possible arrival at the Italian champions increase the possibility of Lampard moving? 

Claude Makelele, Paulo Ferreira, Steve Sidwell, Ricardo Carvalho, Tal Ben Haim, Nicolas Anelka, Carlo Cudicini, Wayne Bridge and Claudio Pizarro are among the other Chelsea players to be linked with a move.

Is Roman Abramovich’s empire crumbling or will a bigger, better Chelsea emerge?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: John Terry hits the post with a penalty which would have won the Champions League for Chelsea. May 22 REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

David Beckham slipped and missed a key penalty for England against Portugal at Euro 2004 and now John Terry’s loss of footing has handed the Champions League to Manchester United.

Is it nerves or a lack of technique? Vlog on the pitch regulars Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley are joined by Pedro Redig to discuss Wednesday’s final, with some fan reactions also included.

Jon thinks Chelsea deserved to win and Pedro wonders if Andriy Shevchenko should have played. Let us know your views.

Submit your comments in the usual way below or if you are feeling adventurous, load a video response to youtube or wherever tagged “vlog on the pitch” and if we like it, we’ll load it up here.

A little after half past one on a rainy night in Moscow, Edwin van der Sar leapt to his right to save the 14th penalty of a nerve-shredding shoot-out and clinch victory for Manchester United in the Champions League final against Chelsea.

The Dutchman’s save spared Cristiano Ronaldo, who had earlier missed a penalty, what would surely have been the worst night of his sporting life and won the European Cup for United for the third time.

While United were celebrating, it was heartbreaking for Chelsea, and particularly for John Terry, who slipped just as he was taking the penalty that could have given his side victory.

More from Moscow later, but for now let us know your thoughts. Did the best team win? Or after hitting the post and the bar can Chelsea feel they just endured rotten luck? And what was Ronaldo thinking of with that penalty… Let us know in the comments. 

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Edwin Van der Sar holds the trophy as his team mates celebrate after winning their UEFA Champions League final soccer match against Chelsea at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow May 22, 2008. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Moscow might have developed into a shiny new example of capitalist consumerism but the 50,000 English fans arriving on Wednesday for the Champions League final were given a flashback to how the city looked under the greyest days of Communism.

Four hours before kickoff in European soccer’s most important game, soldiers and police outnumbered fans by about 300 to one and not a metre of the route from the Sportivnaya Metro station to the Luzhniki Stadium was unguarded.

The few fans who wandered into the areas surrounding the stadium were dwarfed by the immense military presence - around 15,000 are on duty - as bank upon bank of troops and police stood in line, staring blankly through the cold evening drizzle.

With no alcohol on sale and precious little else on offer in terms of entertainment, most of the fans already here seem to have opted to stay in the city centre before making their way out for the 10.45 local time kickoff.

Thousands more were being bussed straight from the airport, and will go straight back there in the early hours, their entire Russian experience being restricted to what they could see along the roadside through their windows.

A handful of souvenir stalls were offering the usual array of military fur hats and Russian dolls for prices that would have bought a holiday apartment on the Black Sea 20 years ago but there were few takers, hardly surprising in the wake of the outrageous flight and hotel costs the fans had been forced to bear in this most ill -thought out UEFA experiment.

With the leaden skies and constant drizzle further dampening the atmosphere it all added up to a very flat build up for a game that should never have been here in the first place.

Mitch Phillips, Moscow

PHOTO: Matryoshka dolls with portraits of Manchester United players are displayed for sale at Red Square in Moscow, May 20, 2008. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

The speculation in Spanish newspapers in the build-up to the Champions League final is all about Cristiano Ronaldo and the chances of him signing for Real Madrid next season (see Marca, for example).

The feeling in Madrid seems to be that if United beat Chelsea here in Moscow tonight, the ludicrously talented Portugal winger could leave Old Trafford thinking something along the lines of “My work is done here…”

Now, as far as I know Ronaldo has never said anything of the kind, while United are adamant that they will not even consider negotiating with any club, whatever the result in the first all-English Champions League final.

It’s the sort of speculation that really annoys Alex Ferguson and the only time he (briefly) lost his air of benevolence at Tuesday’s pre-match news conference was when a journalist asked him about Ronaldo’s future.

“Are you an idiot?” Ferguson responded. “I thought they were just in England…”

United would obviously be a weakened team without Ronaldo and there’s no real incentive to sell — except the money, which would presumably be not far short of the 100 million euros mark.

I don’t believe United will even consider it, but maybe it would be worth looking at what is happening at Barcelona before they rule it out completely.

If Barcelona had sold Ronaldinho after the Champions League final in 2006 they would have been able to name just about any price they liked, and certainly a world record fee, for the Brazilian. As it is, they have seen how their main asset’s form has declined over the past two seasons, and he is likely to leave for a more reasonable amount (15 million euros is the figure I’ve read).

I imagine United fans will think it’s an absurd idea, but there’s something to be said for selling at the peak of the market. If he does as well as most people expect him to tonight, that could be a lot of money…

What do you reckon?

Kevin Fylan, Moscow

PHOTO: Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United leaves the hotel in central Moscow for a training session, May 20, 2008. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

South America’s Libertadores Cup has reached the quarter-finals and, for those lucky enough to see it (it’s sadly shunned by most tv networks outside the region), offers a refreshing change to the predictability of its richer European counterpart.  

Only three of the eight teams reached this stage last year, there are no clear favourites for the title and all four ties remain wide open after last week’s first legs.  

Titleholders Boca Juniors face a tough battle after being held 2-2 at home by Mexico’s Atlas but are far from dead and buried, especially if the mercurial Juan Roman Riquelme can hit form. They were in a similar situation last year after drawing at home with Libertad in the first leg, but hit back for a 2-0 win in Asuncion.  

Boca’s fellow Argentines San Lorenzo also drew at home last week, 1-1 against Ecuadorean champions LDU, but have already shown they are the last team you would want to write off.  

In the group stage, Ramon Diaz’s team somehow came from 2-0 behind to beat Real Potosi 3-2 away — at nearly 4,000 metres above sea level — and in the last sixteen they fought back from 2-0 behind with nine men against River Plate to draw 2-2 and win 4-3 on aggregate.  

LDU, on the other hand, remain a good bet to take the trophy to Ecuador for the first time.  

Sao Paulo, where Adriano is enjoying a revival after being loaned from Inter Milan, take a slender 1-0 lead to Fluminense in the all-Brazilian tie while Santos, Pele’s former club, are still confident they can overcome a 2-0 deficit against America, the other Mexican side.  

America have already pulled off the tournament’s biggest upset, winning 3-0 away to Flamengo in the last round after losing 4-2 in the first leg, and their Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabanas, ridiculed by the Brazilian media as “fat”, is joint top scorer with eight goals.  

Although it is ignored elsewhere and despite the continued exodus of top players, the Libertadores is flourishing.  

There were full houses for all four ties last week with 90,000 watching America at the Azteca stadium.  

And, whoever eventually reaches the final, their supporters won’t be forced to travel thousands of kilometres to watch as the tie is played over two legs.

Brian Homewood, Rio

I was standing by the side of the M1 in front of my broken-down Morris 1100 on a hot afternoon in May 1972 with only one thought in my mind. And it wasn’t how to get my car fixed.

It was how was I going to get to Molineux, still 75 miles away, for the first leg of the UEFA Cup final between Wolves and Spurs.

Luckily my companion knew a lot more about cars than I did and after a nervous wait, we were on our way again to an historic first — the first European club cup final between two English teams.

For in all the hype surrounding this week’s all-English Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea, that first all-English European final has largely been over-looked.

That is no real surprise in today’s world of mega-Champions League hype, but what IS more of a surprise is that there has been no all-English final in any other European club competition since then.

Eventually we made it to Molineux in good time for the first leg of the very first UEFA Cup final which Spurs went on to win 3-2 on aggregate.

Martin Chivers was the hero at Molineux, scoring both goals in Tottenham’s 2-1 win, including a memorable 30-metre thump that almost broke the back of the Wolves net.

Alan Mullery was the Spurs hero in the second leg, knocking himself out as he scored the goal that secured the cup with a 1-1 draw in his final match for the club.

Both Wolves and Spurs occupy a special place in the annals of European club soccer and in a sense the wheel has turned full circle from Molineux to Moscow this week.

In the mid-1950s Wolves were declared “Champions of the World” by the English media after victories over top European sides in floodlit friendlies which included a 4-0 win over Spartak Moscow in November 1954.

That was the catalyst Gabriel Hanot, the editor of L’Equipe, needed to finally act on an idea that had been building for some time: to create a continental cup to find the real champions of Europe. The European Cup was born.

Wolves never won the European Cup and neither did Spurs, but Spurs did become the first English team to win a European trophy when they beat Atletico Madrid 5-1 in the European Cup Winners Cup final in 1963.

English clubs, along with those from Spain, Italy and Germany have gone on to dominate European club soccer over the last four decades and now England have shared the third same-country final following Spain in 2000 and Italy in 2003.

One thing’s for sure though. If you’d have broken down in your Austin 1100 on the M1 on the way to see Chelsea v Manchester United, I’m pretty certain you wouldn’t have made it to Moscow in time for the kickoff this week.

Mike Collett, Moscow

PHOTO: A worker adjusts an outsized Champions League football in front of the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, May 20, 2008. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski