Breaking Down the Rivalry Between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola

When Manchester City confirmed that Pep Guardiola was going to be their next manager, it was immediately clear that Manchester United owed it to football to appoint Jose Mourinho.

Of course, the club themselves really needed a manager of Mourinho's calibre and standing in the game to compete with Guardiola at City. Louis van Gaal's tenure had degenerated into a dull, ineffective mess, and the prospect of him going head-to-head with the game's most admired coach hardly seemed a recipe for success.

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But from a wider perspective, the prospect of the Mourinho-Guardiola rivalry reconvening in Manchester, trying to get its underperforming clubs—which both have the potential to be true giants of the contemporary game—off the mat and fighting again is an absolutely mouthwatering prospect.

And never let it be said that football will allow a narrative opportunity that rich to pass. Ed Woodward did what was right for his club, and for all of football, and gave Mourinho the job.

Guardiola and Mourinho have managed teams against each other on 16 occasions. The results make ugly reading for the latter. The former Barcelona manager has won seven to the former Real Madrid manager's three. They have drawn the other six. Guardiola teams have scored 28 to Mourinho teams' 18.

The majority of those games came when the two managers were in charge at Spain's big two. Guardiola was, for that period, in charge of what is a legitimate contender for greatest club side in the history of world football.

Even so, and in spite of that unfavourable head-to-head record, Mourinho managed to win one of the two league titles they directly competed against each other for.

As has been well documented, they did not seem to get on very well, despite the pair once working together at Barcelona when Bobby Robson was in charge—Guardiola was a player and Mourinho an assistant.

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By the time Madrid and Barcelona met in the semi-final of the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League, the combative Portuguese manager had got under his old colleague's skin.

Before the sides met in that European encounter, Guardiola had complained about a correct, marginal offside decision after a Copa del Rey match between the two teams, saying, per Goal: "The assistant must have great eyesight to spot that Pedro was two centimetres offside."

In the run-up to the Champions League game a few days later, Mourinho responded:

"

Up until now there was a very small group of coaches who didn't talk about referees and a very large group, in which I am included, who criticise referees. Now, with Pep's comments, we have started a new era with a third group, in which there is only him, that criticises the referee when he makes correct decisions. This is completely new to me.

"

For some reason, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

In Pep Confidential: The Inside Story of Pep Guardiola's First Season at Bayern Munich, (h/t the Telegraph) author Marti Perarnau wrote: 

"

Pep's players were also listening by this stage and were furious at Mourinho's words and his mocking tone. It was the last straw for Guardiola. "The time has come!"

A few months earlier, Pep had said to his closest colleagues: "I know Mourinho and he's trying to provoke me into a reaction, but it won't work. I'm not going to react. I'm not going to answer back. Only when I think the time is right."

Now his moment had come.

"

Guardiola's public response in a fiery, expletive laden press-conference (warning: video below contains profanity) immediately before the Champions League semi-final ended with the words, "I try to learn from Jose on the pitch, but I prefer to learn as little as possible from him off the pitch," per Perarnau.

His side beat Madrid 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu en-route to their second victory in finals against United in three seasons.

The following season belonged to Madrid, as they won the league by nine points. Guardiola needed an understandable sabbatical, so taxing had the previous years been. The rivalry made a cameo as Chelsea faced Bayern Munich in the Super Cup in 2013, but its arrival in Manchester will surely kick it up a notch.

Before they consider their battle with each other, though, each has a significant job to do. The 2015/16 season saw both United and City win silverware, but their performances in the league were a major disappointment to both clubs

United should not have been within touching distance of Champions League qualification, so erratic was their form. And yet City's late season results were so poor that had the Red Devils won their last three league games, they would have taken City's fourth spot.

City have major changes to make to their playing squad, with the first group of players responsible for their recent era of success reaching the end of their cycle together. It is as yet unclear how complete an overhaul United need—there are a lot of players who were playing within themselves under Van Gaal.

But, assuming they can address the issues within their squads, the fact that both sides are managed by contemporary giants of the game adds a huge amount of spice to Manchester football.

Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent Rob Pollard said of the forthcoming season:

"

It's going to be absolutely fascinating.

They're very different in their approach—but they're both serial winners who pride themselves on their ability to deliver success.

The fact that they will now be operating on the same patch, in direct competition with one another, means Manchester will be the centre of attention next season, which can only be good for this city. The derbies will be fantastic.

I felt this year's were a little underwhelming, both the buildup and the games themselves.

There will be an intensity again—even more so than in the period when [Sir Alex] Ferguson and [Roberto] Mancini faced off—which should elevate the fixture once more. I genuinely cannot wait.

"

The difference in their approach that Pollard references could not be clearer. Guardiola's time at Bayern Munich has shown he is prepared to adapt to the players at his disposal, but he remains the defining champion of, and go-to shorthand for, possession-oriented football.

In Jonathan Wilson's superb analysis of Mourinho for the Guardian in December 2015, he cites Diego Torres' "controversial and highly critical biography of Mourinho" and outlines the new United manager's "simple seven-point plan for winning big games":

"

1) The game is won by the team who commits fewer errors.

2) Football favours whoever provokes more errors in the opposition.

3) Away from home, instead of trying to be superior to the opposition, it’s better to encourage their mistakes.

4) Whoever has the ball is more likely to make a mistake.

5) Whoever renounces possession reduces the possibility of making a mistake.

6) Whoever has the ball has fear.

7) Whoever does not have it is thereby stronger.

"

Wilson wrote, "This is the antithesis of the Barcajax approach, a categorical rejection of the possession-based, proactive approach of Guardiola and his ilk."

Of course, this is not representative of Mourinho's overall approach, rather his approach in key big games, but the point stands. They are clearly very different.

A rivalry that has seen a touchline fracas, expletive-laden press-conferences and not least of all epic and engaging football matches is arriving in Manchester. A clash of personal and footballing styles that has cast a shadow over the whole of football is set to recommence.

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It is a remarkable upgrade of the matchup between Van Gaal and Manuel Pellegrini.

Off the pitch, Manchester is about to become the centre of football's attention. The two managers are now tasked with making sure on-pitch matters live up to the billing. It is a big task, but it could not be in better hands.

Quotations obtained firsthand where not otherwise stated.