Pep & Jose Chronicles: Guardiola and Mourinho Progress Reports Before the Derby
Andy Mitten is our man in Manchester as the debut seasons of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola head to conclusion. In Chapter 8 of his nine-part "Pep and Jose Chronicles" series, and heading into Thursday's crucial derby between City and United, Mitten delivers his progress report on the two managers.
Thursday's third Manchester derby of the season will be the first played at the Etihad Stadium since Marcus Rashford's winner for United a year ago. Those with a keen sense of irony might enjoy the realisation that, despite the considerable fanfare that met the appointments of Guardiola and Mourinho, their teams, after 32 games, occupy the same positions they finished last season in.
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City are fourth, United fifth, separated by a single point. Last season both teams finished in those spots on 66 points apiece, with City's vastly superior goal difference putting them into the Champions League and condemning United to the Europa League. The FA Cup was not enough to save Louis Van Gaal's job.
As we look ahead to this most important of derbies, the teams of Guardiola and Mourinho are not locked in the title battle many anticipated. By that measure, their achievements are underwhelming and below expectation, but the circumstances are more nuanced than any comparison with last term might suggest.
Thursday's coming together between an injury-affected United and a City side eliminated from the FA Cup is so vital it can only be explained by reviewing the story so far for both their managers, who seem to have found the challenges they face greater than anticipated when they took over.
Champions League is everything
Should United win the Europa League and add UEFA's heaviest trophy—15 kilos of silver with no handles to help lift it—to their EFL Cup triumph, Mourinho's first season would be considered a significant success.
No previous United manager has won a trophy in his first year. If Mourinho can win two and his team finish in the top four, expect the positives to be rightly accentuated by all at the club, just as they were after European Cup Winners' Cup success in 1991, which gave Sir Alex Ferguson's team the confidence to challenge for the league title.
But United suddenly have big injury problems, and Mourinho must rely on players who aren't central to his future plans. Juan Mata, Marcos Rojo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are out. Paul Pogba hobbling off at Burnley saw more shaking of heads among the United contingent in the Lancashire sun. Given the departures of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, and no new additions, United have a significantly weaker squad than at the start of the season.
Of United's remaining six games, four are away at City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Southampton. After the derby, City play at struggling Middlesbrough before hosting Crystal Palace, Leicester and West Brom, followed by a final away game at Watford. Liverpool face Watford before they play Southampton at home, West Ham away and Middlesbrough at home.
United's run-in is the most difficult by far, and they still have two or possibly three more Europa League games to squeeze into an already packed season, in which United have played 55 matches to Chelsea's 40 and Liverpool's 43.
The 20-time champions of England are on a tentative high going into the derby, but if their fans have learned anything this season, it's that when the team have promised most, disappointment has usually followed.
Mourinho's side are in transition and still well short of the continental elite who they outgun in every way except where it matters most—on the pitch. Champions League football is essential if they are to lure long-targeted players like Antoine Griezmann, and while the current players at Old Trafford would never mention it publicly, qualification has been a constant talking point.
Player contracts are heavily loaded towards Champions League participation. Several United sponsors also have contracts loaded towards Champions League qualification, while the prize money from the competition is four times that of the Europa League.
The Champions League has fewer games and less travel than the Europa League, where United have played in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey among their six away games. Not one of the Europa League home games has sold out, with an average of 10,000 empty seats, though United remain easily the best-supported team in the competition.
Hard work and long-term goals
Guardiola and Mourinho have both invested vast amounts of energy in their jobs.
The Iberian bosses are both workaholics who, when there are not matches, are at the training ground from dawn until dusk. In a Mancunian winter, that means they don't see daylight away from work. They're both picked up early each morning from where they live, 200 metres apart in Manchester city centre.
Mourinho remains ensconced in a hotel; Guardiola temporarily occupies an apartment with his family until his city centre home is ready. Both are making plans to stay for the future in the city. They're enjoying the work they're doing but consider their jobs to be long-term projects at clubs where they will be afforded the longevity they wouldn't receive in Spain or Italy.
Mourinho is charged with getting United back to the very top and thinks that three years is a realistic timescale. He has a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year.
Guardiola is tasked with getting City higher than they've ever been as the club continues to grow off the pitch, with a massive investment in infrastructure, youth football and an expanding stadium meaning City now have a capacity of over 55,000.
City want Guardiola to win a first-ever Champions League and to come close to delivering on the giant "best team in the land and all the world" flag that filled the City end during the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. There's still some way to go to achieve that, and for the first time in his career, Guardiola now faces a trophy-less season.
But Pep is enjoying life in England. He's told friends that three of the worst games of his entire managerial career have come in England, but he's also had some of his most satisfying games too, as he can see the fruits of his ideas starting to show.
One of those satisfying encounters, he claims, was a 1-0 EFL Cup defeat to United at Old Trafford, when he didn't play his strongest side but was impressed with how his young players performed. Guardiola is greatly enthused by some of the youngsters in his club's academy and also the young English players, recently citing how England's under-19s beat Spain 3-0 and comparing them to Spain's golden generation that won everything in football.
The attitude of the two coaches to the EFL Cup was in stark contrast. Mourinho is a collector and wanted the season's first two trophies—though he classes the Community Shield as half a trophy—in United's cabinet by February. For Guardiola it was a distraction from the Champions League.
Both managers are almost certain to be in charge next season, though the end-of-season review between Mourinho and Ed Woodward or Guardiola and Khaldoon Al Mubarak would not make for pretty viewing if either team fail to make the Champions League.
Guardiola has become central to City's commercial appeal. Before they played Liverpool in March, a press conference had chief commercial officer Tom Glick among the seats in the press auditorium along with guests from Nexen Tire, a new partner. After the press conference, City's Chief Executive Ferran Soriano was at the top table with a Nexen executive for a photoshoot.
Soriano said to the executive: "Have you ever met Pep?" before introducing them. City players Gabriel Jesus (on crutches) and Ilkay Gundogan, along with Jill Scott from the women's team, were on stage for the photoshoot, but they were bystanders. Pep was the main attraction.
Managing the media and playing down their rivalry
Mourinho has endured some tough moments. After a run of two league wins in 11 games from September to November, he granted a long one-on-one exclusive interview to the United We Stand fanzine, knowing that its readers tend to be hardcore home and away match-going fans who remained very loyal to him, even when elements of the mainstream media and even some United fans were turning against him.
Mourinho wanted to better understand the United fan culture and wasn't afraid to ask questions.
Guardiola's dealings with the press have been more guarded as he gets to grips with understanding the British media. He is still surprised that they always need "a line" on which to hook their story—the more controversial the better, the more negatives the better.
Guardiola would prefer to talk tactics, but that doesn't translate so readily to hits and clicks, so he keeps his guard up, much like another cerebral thinker, Manuel Pellegrini, did. The trust isn't yet there for him to open up, and it's a shame because the Catalan can be fascinating and not nearly as tightly coiled and intense as he can appear.
Guardiola still speaks mostly to those compatriots in the media with whom he enjoys good private relationships. City have adopted a policy of becoming more guarded after feeling that Roberto Mancini said too much too often. From a very earlier stage in his management career, Guardiola also kept a distance from the media on the advice of Marcelo Bielsa, a hero and mentor. Outgoing Barcelona boss Luis Enrique followed this line, preferring not to give favoured access to a particular outlet as is usually the way.
Both Manchester clubs have been careful to avoid the public slanging which Guardiola and Mourinho descended to in Spain. Relations between United and City are seldom cordial, and there's mistrust as both clubs try to poach each other's players and staff at a lower level, but they were in agreement that public criticisms would do more damage.
Sparks between the pair flew in Spain, but both knew there was nothing to be gained in a repeat of that animosity in England. Hence the pair didn't merely shake hands before September's Old Trafford derby—they embraced.
Mourinho's tough love tactic
Mourinho identified his most important initial task as helping his players enjoy their football again after the frustrations of life under Van Gaal. He quickly brought the smiles back, even during the problematic pre-season tour of China when training became a joy again.
By making difficult decisions the Portuguese hasn't always endeared himself to his players, though they largely remain onside with a level of support which his two predecessors didn't enjoy—regardless of what he's said in public.
It's not all been a bed of roses. Players don't enjoy being called out to the media, nor the arguments in private with their boss. Mourinho is passionate and confrontational, but he does what he thinks is right for the greater good of the club—and while he's only been in the job nine months, he's usually called things right.
His decision to delay Henrikh Mkhitaryan from being a regular in the first team until December when he'd toughened up sufficiently was the right one. He took Wayne Rooney out of the side for a home game match against champions Leicester in September—and United scored four and gave one of their best home performances of the season.
Rooney, the popular and respected club captain and best-paid player, could have become a thorn in Mourinho's side, but Mourinho got it right as he gradually decreased the playing time of a striker whose best days are behind him, while still giving him sufficient minutes to become the club's all-time leading scorer.
Mourinho's tough love tactic of publicly criticising a player and then giving him an opportunity to play saw Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial and other young stars respond to the challenge and return fired up to impress. But it's not always enough. Rashford was the best player at Anderlecht last month, yet he was criticised by his hard-to-please boss along with other forwards.
Transfers done and transfers to come
Both managers have stated that they're still getting to know their players, as Guardiola admitted in January: "I'm still in the process to know the players, to know what is the best position, the best way to play, to adapt to them."
While all four of Mourinho's summer signings—Paul Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly—can feel satisfied with their first seasons, City's signings under the Catalan have been less successful, especially the most controversial one, Claudio Bravo, for whom he dispensed with Joe Hart. The Chilean was dropped for the first time in January, with Guardiola explaining a month later why he wants a sweeper goalkeeper.
City have been busy in terms of looking at players for next season, with Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang their top target. They have also asked Crystal Palace about ex-United player Wilfried Zaha.
It's in defence where both teams' greatest problems lie, and they're both after full-backs. City were keen on Benjamin Henrichs at Bayer Leverkusen, though he signed a new contract recently. Guardiola also likes Tottenham's Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, but he's been made aware of the resolve of their chief executive Daniel Levy not to sell. United want a central defender, a midfielder and a forward—at least.
United or City will not accept fourth and fifth in the league next season. They've invested too much money for that, it would be a regression from where they've been, but Mourinho is convinced United are on an upwards curve and Guardiola insisted that "next season we will be stronger" after the Wembley loss.
By the time they next meet in a U.S.-based friendly game scheduled for Houston's huge NRG Stadium on July 20, expect both squads to have gone through significant changes as Guardiola and Mourinho push closer to their personal visions of Manchester City and Manchester United. Unlike the game postponed in Beijing at the start of this season following floods, this one should take place—the stadium has a roof. But first, and far more important, is Thursday's six-pointer.
Mourinho has a slight edge
Thursday's derby is not as important as the one at the Etihad in April 2012, when City's win was a crucial in them winning a first League title since 1968—at United's expense. That was the biggest derby in history, with only a March 1968 game to push it for importance when both teams were also pushing for the title. City won the league in 1968; United became the first English team to win the European Cup.
Manchester football ruled back then. Its profile still does, but there are better teams around this season. City fans had hoped to go better than last season's semi-final performance in the Champions League, while in polls more United fans thought the Reds would finish first than any other position. United officials saw that sentiment and wondered whether they should dampen down those expectations, but their new manager had already aimed high publicly.
Mourinho goes into the game having had the better season so far thanks to cup successes, but City outclassed United in the Old Trafford league derby, and the twists and turns which have afflicted both clubs all season are likely to continue until the very end, with both clubs balanced on a knife edge.
Mourinho and Guardiola will not be league champions in their first season in Manchester, something they've achieved at previous clubs, but they retain significant credit among their fans.
