Mourinho to take over at Inter Milan

 The long-rumoured change of coach was front-page news, with much space devoted to speculation on a crucial meeting late Tuesday between Mancini, 43, and club president Massimo Moratti, 63.

 Giorgio De Giorgis, Mancini's close friend and agent, did not confirm a dismissal, saying it "would be very surprising for us and would certainly be a decision from the club, because Mancini had no intention to leave."

   But the arrival of the former Porto and Chelsea coach is widely considered to be a done deal, with reports saying Mourinho would have a three-year contract worth 9 million euros (14 million dollars) per season.

 The switch would therefore be expensive for Inter, who would have to pay Mancini four more years of contract at 6 million euros per season.

 A legal battle may be expected as Inter could claim that Mancini said he would leave at the end of the season when his team was eliminated from the Champions League in March.

 Mancini later took back his surprising declaration and steered the team to a third consecutive scudetto in four years, but many felt that his relationship with Moratti was by then irreparably compromised.

 Mourinho is the ninth coach since Moratti began his tenure in 1995. His main task is to win the European title Inter have been seeking since their two triumphs back in the 1960s, when Moratti's father Angelo was running the club.

 Mourinho, 45, won the 2003 UEFA Cup and the 2004 Champions League titles with Porto. In the following three seasons at Chelsea, he won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup.

 Two semi-final eliminations in the Champions League dented his reputation and convinced Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich to sack him last September.