Rivalry is one of the things that makes football great. It adds an element of excitement, thrill and even a certain degree of hostility and as long as things don’t escalate, rivalries are definitely good for football. There is more than one type of rivalry between clubs. There’s geographical rivalry where two clubs are based in the same area of a larger city, in the same city or larger town, or in two neighbouring smaller towns. Examples of this type of in English football rivalry are- West Ham- Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday- Sheffield United and Newcastle- Sunderland. Then we have rivalries between teams who were performing well and fighting to win titles in the same longer period of time. A typical example of this type of rivalry is the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United, clubs which also hail from neighbouring cities.
A different kind of Rivalry
But nowadays we’re witnessing a new type of rivalry. Rivalry between football managers. Surely, up to a certain degree there were such rivalries in the past as well, but many would agree that the last decade has been marked by the fierce and intense rivalry between two of the very best even not the best managers in the whole world - Jose Mourinho and Josep Pep Guardiola.
How it all began for Jose and Pep
In the past Jose was Bobby Robson’s assistant at Camp Nou, at the time when Pep was playing for the club. Surely at that point nobody even suspected that these two will become the greatest managers of our time. Jose started his career in 2000 with Benfica, a Portuguese club, whereas Pep’s coaching career began later, in 2007, when he was in charge of Barcelona B. Soon after, or precisely next year Pep became Barcelona’s manager. At that time Mourinho was already a proven manager, having won the Champions League with both Chelsea and Porto. At 2008 Mourinho became manager of Inter Milan, a team with which he also managed to win the Champions League.
![]()
But Pep’s star was also rising, and during his second year he managed to win a record of six titles, including the Spanish La Liga and the Champions League. He became the first ever manager to do so. People already started comparing the two managers, since they were the two most successful managers of the period. But the rivalry was taken to a new level when Real Madrid appointed Jose Mourinho as their manager in 2010. In the first El Classico with the two men on charge of the respective teams, Pep’s Barcelona won 5-0, and that’s when it all really began.
The Barcelona - Real Episode
The following years until the end of the 2012 season, Spanish football and European football in general were marked between the rivalry of these two men. That didn’t change even when both of them left the Spanish club and went on to coach Chelsea (Mourinho) and Bayern Munich (Pep, after he took a one year sabbatical). In the 16 matches that the clubs these two led played against each other, 7 concluded for a victory for Pep, 3 for Jose and 6 draws. Guardiola has a higher win percentage of 74%, whereas Murinho’s number is a bit lower, 66%. Jose has won a total of 22 trophies, compared to 19 medals won by the Spaniard, but one should bear in mind that Pep has fewer years behind him.
The upcoming Manchester Episode
Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and their rivalry have been all over the press, again, for the past few weeks. And the reason for this is the fact that Manchester City have recently announced that Pep will take over the managerial position at this club from 2016/17 season. Mourinho who has been fired from Chelsea is now the bookmakers’ favourite for being hired as Manchester United’s next manager. Mourinho already said that he’s ready to take on another club and that he would like to stay in England. The rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United is as fierce as a rivalry gets. Both clubs are from the same city and they have been at the top of English football in the past several years. So, provided that Mourinho is the next manager of United, which is very likely to happen, we can expect a lot of great duels between the two old rivals- Pep and Jose. We’ll see who will be more successful in this new, English episode of their rivalry.
Trying to guess who will be more successful in the new upcoming clash between Jose and Pep would be really unpredictable. But that’s what makes football fun. If you enjoy taking chances and like to try and win money online, you may be interested in online casinos. If you want to know more, read the full story on pureplaytech.org and see why there are so many people who are trying their luck online.
A different kind of Rivalry
But nowadays we’re witnessing a new type of rivalry. Rivalry between football managers. Surely, up to a certain degree there were such rivalries in the past as well, but many would agree that the last decade has been marked by the fierce and intense rivalry between two of the very best even not the best managers in the whole world - Jose Mourinho and Josep Pep Guardiola.
How it all began for Jose and Pep
In the past Jose was Bobby Robson’s assistant at Camp Nou, at the time when Pep was playing for the club. Surely at that point nobody even suspected that these two will become the greatest managers of our time. Jose started his career in 2000 with Benfica, a Portuguese club, whereas Pep’s coaching career began later, in 2007, when he was in charge of Barcelona B. Soon after, or precisely next year Pep became Barcelona’s manager. At that time Mourinho was already a proven manager, having won the Champions League with both Chelsea and Porto. At 2008 Mourinho became manager of Inter Milan, a team with which he also managed to win the Champions League.
But Pep’s star was also rising, and during his second year he managed to win a record of six titles, including the Spanish La Liga and the Champions League. He became the first ever manager to do so. People already started comparing the two managers, since they were the two most successful managers of the period. But the rivalry was taken to a new level when Real Madrid appointed Jose Mourinho as their manager in 2010. In the first El Classico with the two men on charge of the respective teams, Pep’s Barcelona won 5-0, and that’s when it all really began.
The Barcelona - Real Episode
The following years until the end of the 2012 season, Spanish football and European football in general were marked between the rivalry of these two men. That didn’t change even when both of them left the Spanish club and went on to coach Chelsea (Mourinho) and Bayern Munich (Pep, after he took a one year sabbatical). In the 16 matches that the clubs these two led played against each other, 7 concluded for a victory for Pep, 3 for Jose and 6 draws. Guardiola has a higher win percentage of 74%, whereas Murinho’s number is a bit lower, 66%. Jose has won a total of 22 trophies, compared to 19 medals won by the Spaniard, but one should bear in mind that Pep has fewer years behind him.
The upcoming Manchester Episode
Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and their rivalry have been all over the press, again, for the past few weeks. And the reason for this is the fact that Manchester City have recently announced that Pep will take over the managerial position at this club from 2016/17 season. Mourinho who has been fired from Chelsea is now the bookmakers’ favourite for being hired as Manchester United’s next manager. Mourinho already said that he’s ready to take on another club and that he would like to stay in England. The rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United is as fierce as a rivalry gets. Both clubs are from the same city and they have been at the top of English football in the past several years. So, provided that Mourinho is the next manager of United, which is very likely to happen, we can expect a lot of great duels between the two old rivals- Pep and Jose. We’ll see who will be more successful in this new, English episode of their rivalry.
Trying to guess who will be more successful in the new upcoming clash between Jose and Pep would be really unpredictable. But that’s what makes football fun. If you enjoy taking chances and like to try and win money online, you may be interested in online casinos. If you want to know more, read the full story on pureplaytech.org and see why there are so many people who are trying their luck online.