The boy from the small Argentinian town of Murphy has taken a long and winding road via Barcelona, Southampton, and Tottenham, to see for the first time his family’s ancestral home in Piedmont, Italy, but Mauricio Pochettino feels at home in Turin — and does not think Spurs should feel out of place at the Allianz Stadium where they face Juventus tonight.

Real Madrid will have a really difficult job trying to break Juve down, writes Liam Brady.

European football writers Paul Little, Dermot Corrigan and Emanuele Giulianelli preview the Champions League final.

European football writers Paul Little, Dermot Corrigan and Emanuele Giulianelli preview the Champions League final.

Both come from old port cities beside the Mediterranean, but the two men arrived at the top of their profession by completely different routes, writes David Shonfield.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 40th goal of the season as Real Madrid claimed a first LaLiga title since 2012.

Once again, Juventus are out to prove themselves on the European stage, says Daniella Matar.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is optimistic his side can pull off another stunning comeback to advance in the Champions League.

Tonight’s Champions League encounter between Juventus and Barcelona was always bound to be tasty and it has been given extra spice by the scandal that has erupted over the past week about alleged Italian involvement in matchfixing in Spain, writes David Shonfield.

Porto 0 Juventus 2: Juventus struck twice in the second half to take control of last night’s Champions League last-16 tie against 10-man Porto.

Roy Keane has condemned the Old Trafford boo-boys and urged them instead to get behind their team.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri will not stand in Paul Pogba’s way if the French midfielder decides to leave the Turin giants this summer.

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini has been ruled out of tomorrow’s Champions League final against Barcelona with a calf injury.

There is symmetry to Patrice Evra’s career. 

Football managers are either wizards or muggles.

Eco-friendly Cork house is Home of the Year; The dramatic tale of Thomas Kent - the forgotten 1916 Rising patriot; and Tipperary business owner foils robbery with umbrella. These are some of the latest and most read news stories on irishexaminer.com this morning.

Massimiliano Allegri admits it can sometimes seem virtually impossible to combat Barcelona and their “stratospheric” all-star forward line, but the Juventus boss insists the Champions League final is no foregone conclusion.

There is enough intrigue as well as quality in the Champions League semi-finals this week to have any football fan salivating, writes David Shonfield.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has denied media reports linking Liverpool’s misfiring striker Mario Balotelli with a move to the Turin giants in the winter transfer market.

Manchester United’s transfer ambitions suffered a significant setback yesterday after new Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri insisted midfielder Arturo Vidal will stay in Turin for the forthcoming season.

Didier Drogba said he couldn’t turn down the chance to work with Jose Mourinho again after agreeing a one-year deal at Chelsea yesterday.

AC Milan 2 Celtic 0

Neil Lennon admits he is struggling to find sympathy for injury-riven AC Milan ahead of their Champions League clash at the San Siro tonight.

AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng described how he was treated like “an animal” by six Pro Patria fans accused of chanting racial abuse.

Say what you like about Silvio Berlusconi’s political career, he’s proved a better judge of football than most owners.

AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri said he always believed his players could beat Barcelona as they pulled off a 2-0 shock in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash last night.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri was bullish ahead of the first leg of his side’s Champions League last-16 clash against Barcelona at the San Siro tonight.

The turn of the year is a time to look forward, but for some people it’s also a time of regret.

Mario Balotelli’s agent does not believe any Italian club could afford to buy the Manchester City striker, or pay his wages, comparing him to a priceless work of art.

Massimiliano Allegri was eager to extract the positives after his AC Milan side’s stuttering start to the season continued in their Champions League opener last night.

It was, as Edmund Blackadder would say, the worst mistake since the Vikings ordered 80,000 battle helmets with the horns on the inside.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri believes his team will need to show the same courage and determination they displayed against Barcelona last week when the two teams meet tonight in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final (7.45pm, live on TV3).

Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta admitted he was a little disappointed with yesterday’s Champions League quarter-final after once again being paired with AC Milan.

A post-match row between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a female journalist has overshadowed AC Milan’s 2-0 win over Lecce at San Siro on Sunday.

Massimiliano Allegri hailed striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic as AC Milan warmed up for tomorrow’s trip to Arsenal with a hat-trick in a 4-0 win at Palermo on Saturday night.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger urged his players to regroup in Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Sunderland after last night's "shocking" 4-0 Champions League defeat to AC Milan.

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has vowed his team will not make the same mistakes as last season against Tottenham when Arsenal come to the San Siro in the Champions League tonight.

It was a game and a result that might have been the catalyst for a golden era.

Nil-nil is a scoreline that can tell you a lot or a little.

Massimiliano Allegri has extended his contract as coach of Italian champions AC Milan until June 2014, the club confirmed today.

AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato has admitted he would prefer a “more direct” relationship with coach Massimiliano Allegri.

Silvio Berlusconi believes AC Milan would provide the perfect environment for Carlos Tevez to relaunch his career.

The Italian media has hailed “beautiful” AC Milan after the Rossoneri’s title-clinching goalless draw at Roma last night.