London boy with shot at being new Ronaldo

Mauro Vilhete, a 17-year-old winger born in Lisbon but bred in north London, finds himself in a surreal situation.His club have endured a nightmare few days with consecutive losses against Morecambe and Aldershot leaving them dangerously adrift in the League Two relegation zone.

Barnet's perilous position led to Martin Allen returning as temporary manager yesterday. But amid the chaos, Vilhete has been jetting off to Portugal to pull on his country's shirt, hoping to follow a path trodden by Cristiano Ronaldo from the junior ranks to the senior team.

Vilhete, Barnet's youngest-ever League player, last week returned from his first training camp with the Portugal squad ahead of their game against Switzerland next month. After that glamorous experience, he was quickly thrown on as a late substitute during Barnet's 2-1 defeat against Morecambe.

Looking at Vilhete, small and slight, it is surprising that he has the physicality for lower-division scraps. But he relishes it. "I'm not the strongest but I love going into challenges," said Vilhete. "We're in a tough position. We'll wait and see if we can survive."

Things could have been so different for Vilhete. Instead of being part of a high-pressure, desperate battle to stay in the Football League, he could have been at Aston Villa.

The Premier League club were interested in him but he signed a new two-year deal at Underhill this month and claims he has no regrets. "I don't really care about that," he said. "That's all in the past. I'm at Barnet and enjoying my football."

His accent gives away the fact that he is a Londoner and, as he sits chatting in Edgware, it seems incredible that the softly-spoken teenager has managed to attract the attention of the Portuguese FA.

Getting through to Barnet proved difficult for Portugal's selectors, though.

Vilhete said: "They had tried to come through to the club but for some reason they couldn't manage it. So they got in contact with me and said that they'd heard a little bit about me. They wanted to see if I was eligible.

"I am actually Portuguese. Both my parents are Portuguese. I was born there but I have grown up in London. I was only nine months old when I moved. I still feel like a London lad even though I go to Portugal every year.

"They said they'd keep in touch and told me to ask my club if they could get in contact with them. When I first got the call-up to the squad, I didn't really believe it."

At the training camp, Vilhete was mixing with Benfica's Ruben Pinto, an Arsenal target, and Sporting Lisbon's Bruma, who was wanted by Chelsea and Manchester City before opting to stay in Portugal. "I enjoyed the training camp and got to know the players quite well," he said. "Hopefully, I'll get picked for the Switzerland match.

"I talk to the other players and ask them what it's like to be at those clubs. With the quality they have, I thought they'd have been playing for their club reserve sides but most of them haven't had a chance so I'm pretty shocked. Then again, it is hard.

"They are very good technically. From what I've seen, you do get a little bit more time over there on the ball than you do here. The standard there is very, very high. The football is played at a very good pace, too."

His north London upbringing was no disadvantage. "I'm not exactly fluent but I can speak Portuguese," he said. "At the training camp, I did understand what they were trying to say but it's just hard for me sometimes to get a point across. They speak English as well, though, so that helps out a little bit."

Now that he's back in England, he has far less appealing tasks in hand - passing exams and keeping Barnet in the league. Having developed and been thrust into first-team action by the experienced and respected director of football Paul Fairclough, Vilhete now has a serious responsibility.

The coming weeks could be a culture shock, too, considering that Allen's eccentric approach will be nothing like anything he encountered at the Portugal training camp.

Reflecting on his personal responsibilities, Vilhete added: "It's good character building, especially with the team always pushing you and wanting you to do more. As well as the football, I go to college twice a week.

"It's perfectly fine. My teachers and fellow students are supportive. I'm doing a national diploma in sport. I joined Barnet a year and a half ago. They've helped me a lot.

"It's a very big step to go up to the first team, especially when the other players are professionals and you're not."

Trips abroad are bound to whet his appetite for a change of scenery.

However, he says that, despite the Portuguese recognition, his heart is still in London. "At the moment, I wouldn't like to live in Portugal," he said. "I prefer living here."