Rarely in sports do we see two athletes at the height of glory dominating the same era. To be gifted both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the same time, with their peaks so closely matched, is something we may never truly appreciate until their careers are over.
While Ronaldo and Messi paint their respective masterpieces on the pitch, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are doing likewise on the touchlines.
They are brothers, in a sense, having spent time together at FC Barcelona—Mourinho behind the scenes, and Guardiola at the heart of the midfield.
They were mentored by the same men; moulded by the same system. For four years they shared each other’s highs, suffered each other’s lows. They talked at length during training sessions. To some degree, they were philosophers; Camp Nou their salon. But even brothers grow apart. Life sent them in different directions.
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While Guardiola finished off his playing career, Mourinho quickly rose through the ranks as one of football’s top managers. He dominated the Portuguese league, earning two league titles with Porto, and capturing the Champions League, in just two years. His sequel was a move to England, where he mirrored his league success, this time earning two titles in two years with Chelsea. Although he was never able to achieve the same international success, he left the London-based club as their most successful manager. He captured six trophies in three years, and was undefeated in all home league games.
The time had come for Barcelona to name a new manager in 2008, and Mourinho was keen on the position. A return to the system that had shaped him, he thought himself the ideal fit, but Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain disagreed. Instead, it was announced Guardiola would manage the Blaugrana. For Mourinho, it was a slight, and it has never sat well with the Portuguese tactician.
Instead, Mourinho took his talents to Inter Milan, while Pep made his breakthrough at Barcelona. Guardiola’s foray into the managerial world, and subsequent rise to the top, was quick and successful. In an instant he was simply there, standing at the top, holding three trophies. His first year as manager. His first treble.
Nearly a decade after their time together in the Catalan capital their hiatus came to an end in 2009. The Champions League group stage paired Mourinho’s Inter against Pep’s Barcelona; a pair of meetings that finished in a scoreless draw and a 2-0 Barcelona win.
Their Champions League run-in wouldn’t stop there. They met again in 2010, this time in the semifinal. The first leg saw Barcelona jump to an early lead, but Inter came from behind to win. Although Inter’s victory at San Siro was impressive, it was at Camp Nou that they would truly be tested. But even before a match of such proportions, the two were still friendly to one another, Guardiola even taking time to mention beforehand, “If I had known Mourinho had this talent as a coach, I would have gone and told the president.”
The second leg was a dramatic affair. Thiago Motta was given a red card and for more than an hour Inter was forced to play a man down. Guardiola’s side pressed, but it wasn’t until the 84th minute that Gerard Pique broke the deadlock with a Messi-esque dribble before sliding it home.
The final minutes of the match were no less frantic. After coming off the bench, Bojan Krkic made his presence felt by netting the tie-clinching goal, lashing a ball into the roof of the net deep into injury-time. But Barcelona’s joy was short-lived as the goal was called off for a handball ruled against Yaya Toure earlier in the build-up.
The final whistle sounded. Mourinho had eclipsed the team he had declared the world’s best just weeks earlier. This win was a culmination of everything he had worked for to this point. His craft was honed at Camp Nou alongside some of soccer’s biggest names, but he wasn’t like them. Mourinho didn’t bleed “total football,” he craved winning football.
It was his destiny to coach Barcelona, but instead they rejected him, in favour of Guardiola. Now he had defeated them, and as he jogged around the pitch, his finger wagging in their air, his eyes were fixed, never leaving the director’s box.
His message was clear: “I am the Special One.”
In an instant the man they had known as “the Translator” became the antithesis of Barcelona—not solely because of his actions, but because of theirs. His obsession with Catalonia had turned him into their antagonist, and his next move would only further that portrayal.
Cue his move to Real Madrid in 2011. On the world’s biggest stage Jose and Pep would square off again—a fitting backdrop for a battle years in the making, but one that would ultimately be short-lived.
Their first meeting was epic. An uncontested 5-0 win by Barca left Mourinho in unfamiliar territory. It was the worst loss of his career, but the Portuguese manager handled it with class, even offering his applause to the performance of Guardiola’s side. His first loss to his friend was handled with uncharacteristic grace.
The same could not be said for the rest of the season.
An extra-time header from Cristiano Ronaldo and a Pedro strike called back for offside delivered the Copa del Rey trophy to Real Madrid, leaving Guardiola visibly frustrated. After the match he suggested the assistant referee must have “great eyesight” to see that Pedro was offside.
This time Mourinho was less graceful. Ahead of the teams’ Champions League semifinal tie, Mourinho sneered at his counterpart, calling him out for complaining about an offside call that the ref got right. Any history of good will between the pair evaporated in an instant, with Guardiola mocking Mourinho for thinking that he “knows more than everyone else.”
Guardiola’s verbal assault had the desired effect. Not only did he receive a standing ovation from his players at the team hotel, they also dominated on the pitch, dispatching Madrid 2-0 (3-1 on aggregate).
After the match Mourinho, in the trademarked pout that only he can manage, quipped, “One day, I would like Josep Guardiola to win this competition properly.”
And like that it was finished. From brothers on the forefront on innovation to football’s Cain and Abel, in the span of a week the Mourinho-Guardiola rivalry was born.
Now to 2016, and this weekend’s Manchester derby. Their duel dons a new battleground. Gone are the Culés and Madridistas, in their place throngs of Mancunians adorned in red and blue. Unlike before, the two find themselves at the heads of teams without an extensive feuding history. Although recently their cross-town rivals have pestered them, Manchester United has historically had bigger foes to face; be it Wenger’s Arsenal, or previously Mourinho’s Chelsea.
The introduction of these two men into a battle already in progress is the catalyst for what should be a truly great rivalry. Although the Manchester derby has had memorable moments in the past, it lacked the gritty, vindictive edge.
That’s what these two bring: a quarrel that only brothers could reproduce—the squabbling, the bitterness, and the bad blood that can only be caused by betrayal. It’s the drama that football rivalries are made of, and it’s the spark the Manchester derby deserves.
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