Story behind rivalry between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola

JOSE Mourinho and Pep Guardiola were once friends, but a decision by one of the greatest players ever led them to become bitter enemies.

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola resume their bitter rivalry on Saturday night. Pictures: Nigel Treblin and Justin Tallis

THEY are two of the most successful football managers in the world.

Between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola the pair has won four Champions League titles, along with league titles in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and Portugal.

On Saturday, they come face-to-face for the first time in English football in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

Now in charge of Manchester City and Manchester United respectively, Guardiola and Mourinho have a fierce rivalry from their time managing in Spain’s La Liga.

The rivalry between the pair — and the increased tension it could create between City and United supporters — has led to 400 police officers being called into action for the game between the two English Premier League heavyweights.

But before they were rivals, the pair were actually friends.

When Mourinho was assistant manager at Barcelona from 1996-2000, Guardiola was a gifted midfielder at the Spanish giants.

The pair used to chat on the sidelines at training, with Mourinho passing on knowledge to Guardiola, according to The Sun.

But what led to one of football’s ugliest rivalries? It goes back to an incident in 2008 involving one of football’s greatest ever players Johan Cruyff.

RIVALRY IN SPAIN

By 2010, the pair were managing the two biggest clubs in Spain — Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Mourinho had enjoyed a successful stint at Italian giants Inter Milan, where he won the Champions League and two league titles.

Guardiola had been in charge at Barcelona for two seasons by 2010, having won back-to-back league titles and the Champions League.

Barcelona’s dominance under Guardiola had frustrated Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and led him to enlist Mourinho.

Mourinho’s Inter Milan side had knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League the previous season and seemed the ideal choice to displace the Catalan club from top of the league.

During his time at Real Madrid, Mourinho kept a life-size cardboard cut-out of himself in the office as motivation. It was of Mourinho celebrating Inter defeating Barcelona in 2010 and was used as a reminder of his role at Real — to knock Barcelona off its perch.

But in the first meeting between the two in Spain, Mourinho was humiliated.

In front of an estimated global audience of 400 million, Real Madrid were embarrassed 5-0 at the Nou Camp.

Mourinho described the defeat as the biggest of his career.

The teams met 10 more times in 16 months, including a spell in 2011 that saw them play four matches in 18 days in league, cup and Champions League.

Guardiola came out on top, with five wins and four draws.

But privately, Guardiola said the off-field battle between the pair had been won by Mourinho.

Mourinho was keen to spread the rivalry beyond the pitch.

He told his players not to mix with Barcelona players when on international duty with Spain.

Mourinho’s teams had a player sent off in the first four meetings with Barcelona.

He even suggested Barcelona received favourable treatment because the logo of charity Unicef was on their shirts.

“I don’t know if it is the Unicef sponsorship or if it is because they are nice guys. I don’t understand. They have power and we have no chance,” he said.

POLAR OPPOSITES

When it comes to management styles, Guardiola and Mourinho are complete opposites.

Mourinho’s teams over the years have been accused of “parking the bus” by playing too defensively.

He has successfully coached teams that combined assured defending with cutting counter attacks.

It is the opposite for Guardiola.

His teams value possession, waiting and waiting for an opportunity to arise. At Barcelona his “tika taka” style was loved by football purists across the world.

According to Diego Torres, who wrote a highly critical biography about Mourinho, the Portuguese manager had a seven-point plan for winning games, reported The Guardian.

Among the points is “whoever has the ball has fear” and the team with possession is more likely to make a mistake. Basically the polar opposite to the possession-based style of Guardiola.

Guardiola has made it clear in the past of his dislike of Mourinho’s tactics.

When told that Mourinho once said the two managers had similarities, Guardiola replied: “If that’s true I will have to revise my behaviour.”

WHAT LED TO THE FALLOUT?

But having different views is not the reason for the fallout.

Dutch legend Cruyff brought “Total Football” to Barcelona in the 1970s and later went on to manage the club to European Cup success.

Even when Mourinho was at Barcelona early in his career as a translator for English manager Bobby Robson and later as an assistant manager, he was considered an outsider by many because of his view on how the game should be played.

In 2008, Barcelona were looking for a new manager and many thought Mourinho would be next in line.

He had enjoyed success with Porto and Chelsea and had a history at the Spanish giants.

In the book Goal: The Ball Doesn’t Go In By Chance, former Barcelona president Ferran Soriano said it came down to Mourinho and Guardiola.

The final decision was made by Cruyff, despite holding no official position with the club.

He chose an inexperienced Guardiola, who had enjoyed success managing Barcelona B. And Mourinho has never forgiven Barcelona, or Guardiola.

“Mourinho is a winner, but in order to win he guarantees a level of tension that becomes a problem,” Soriano said, according to the Guardian.

The rest is history.

It sets up an intriguing Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday night (9.30pm AEST) between two of the biggest rivals in English football.

Add in the contrasting styles of the two teams and the bitter rivalry between Mourinho and Guardiola and it’s sure to be a mouthwatering clash.

— with wires

Originally published as Story behind rivalry between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola