Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will play the English League Cup final on April 25, but before that they will face off on Saturday in the Premier League, in the duel 25 of their strategies, Josep Guardiola and José Mourinho, a rivalry that was born 12 years ago.
Beyond the attractive duel on the field between Manchester City, Premier League leaders, and Tottenham, 14 points away, the real protagonists will be Josep Guardiola and José Mourinho, who have met 24 times as strategists, with a slight advantage for Guardiola, who won 10 and lost 7, in one of the biggest rivalries in current football in the technical direction.
He won on penalties
This rivalry began in 2009, during a tough draw between Inter Milan and Barcelona. And, without a doubt, he gave great confrontations when they faced as coaches of Barcelona and Real Madrid in three intense seasons.
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Now he continues his confrontation in England, without the same anger, but with the bitter memories of those duels of the last decade.
So far, Guardiola has beaten Mourinho ten times, with seven victories for the Portuguese, the last two in a row, since he coached Tottenham, which is Mourinho’s best personal series in his matches against Guardiola.
We remember their five duels that started the rivalry
INTER 0-0 BARCELONA
Their first meeting as coaches was on September 16, 2009, in the group stage of the Champions League. Inter and Barcelona drew 0-0 in Milan. It was their reunion after the meeting at Can Barça, one as Bobby Rodson’s assistant and the other as a player. It all started with mutual praise. “I hope Guardiola will be Barça’s coach forever,” but in reality, Mourinho was upset that Guardiola won the race for the Barcelona bench in the summer of 2008. The storm was about to begin.
BARCELONA 1-0 INTER
The fire starts. In the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, Inter won 3-1 with goals from Sneijder, Maicon and Milito, while Pedro scored against Barcelona. Mourinho turned on the security: “For us, the final at the Bernabéu is an illusion; for them, an obsession ”. The return game featured the scene known as “Night of the Sprinklers.” Mourinho, despite falling 1-0, ended up running for the Camp Nou.
BARCELONA 5-0 REAL MADRID
The meeting between Pep and Mou maintains an unforgettable curiosity.
EPA
The classics arrived consecutively and the rivalry became stronger. Therefore, the semifinal of the first stage press conference was one of the rarest. Mourinho said: “Until now we had two groups of coaches, one very small, who does not talk about referees; and a larger one in which they are and who criticize referees when they make important mistakes. Now begins the new era, with another the third group, it’s just Guardiola: the group that criticizes the referee’s success, something I had never seen in the world of football in my life. “
The press conference and Guardiola’s response were left for posterity. “As he guided me, I will do the same. Tomorrow we will face on the field at 20:45, off the field, he has already defeated me. I give him his Champions off the field, which he enjoys in this room he is the bastard “boss, damn master, and I don’t want to compete at any time. I just remind him we’ve been together for four years. He knows me and I know if he wants to stay with Florentino Pérez’s friends and the dairy, but I’ve worked with him.” for four years. ”
Barcelona won 0-2 at the Bernabéu, with the controversial expulsion of Pepe. The second round ended 1-1, with several controversies and the elimination of Real Madrid against Guardiola.
BARCELONA 3-2 REAL MADRID
One of the most embarrassing episodes of this rivalry. The first stage of the Spanish Super Cup ended 2-2, and in the second stage, Barcelona won the title with a goal from Messi in the 88th minute. But at the end of the game there is a confrontation on the bench after a harsh attack by Marcelo, who is expelled. In confusion, Mourinho stuck his finger in Tito Vilanova’s eye. Mourinho continued his show: “Pito Vilanova? I don’t know who that Pito is. Let whoever saw him or the fourth official speak.”Source