England is the second league in the world where both managers are going to settle down and meet each other, and as the stage get sets for the resumption of both Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola in England, Sports Intelligence looks at the previous relationship that existed between the two world most fascinating managers, who both met in Spain as arch-rivals and took the rivalry of both clubs to another level.
- In Spain they were arch-rivals jostling for the premier league title but from different cities, while in England they would meet as arch-rivals and also as derby jostling for the league and the neighbourhood;
- In Spain players from both clubs set aside spirit of sportsmanship and their matches were usually characterized with a lot of disorderliness, grievances and quarrel.
- In Spain it got to a level that Pep and Mourinho exchanged pleasantries for the sake of doing so, not necessarily because it came from their hearts, as they greeted each other looking away;
- In Spain Jose Mourinho suffered his worst defeat in life as a manager in the hands of Pep, after the Catalan’s side beat Mourinho’s side 5-0;
- In Spain both managers met 11 times Pep Guardiola defeated Mourinho five times while Jose Mourinho won on two occasions, the rest of their other meetings ended in a draw;
- In Spain there meetings were usually characterized by a lot of media outburst, drawing attention of football lovers around the world and leading to disagreement among pundits and bookmakers;
- In Spain both managers managed the world’s most rated footballers, while Pep had Lionel Messi as his talisman, Mourinho had Cristiano Ronaldo for himself;
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