Mourinho vs Guardiola: Could José be about to have the last laugh? | OneFootball

Ali vs Frazier. Blur vs Oasis. Alien vs Predator. Mourinho vs Guardiola.

As rivalries go, José’s long-running battle with Pep is up there with the very best of them, but their once fiery feud has been a little too cordial in recent times.

It all started many moons ago back in Barcelona.

Barça were on the lookout for a new coach following Frank Rijkaard’s departure and Mourinho was the favourite, but to his eternal chagrin, the job went to the inexperienced Guardiola instead.

Mourinho got his revenge two years later when his Inter side overcame Barça in the Champions League semi-final, and his exultant celebration on the Camp Nou pitch was the spark that soon became a roaring flame.

It wasn’t long until the two managerial behemoths locked horns again, when Mourinho was appointed by Real Madrid with the sole aim of stopping the dominant Barcelona in their tracks.

The next two years saw numerous epic battles between the two clubs, on and off the pitch. Eyes were gouged, red cards were brandished, the press conferences alone were legendary and when all was said and done, Guardiola had to take a year’s sabbatical to recover from the exhaustion.

After a brief renewal of acquaintances while Guardiola was at Bayern Munich and Mourinho was at Chelsea, they properly met again in Manchester in 2016. This town ain’t big enough for the both of us.

Both men were appointed by their respective clubs to deliver silverware and though that’s exactly what they both did, Guardiola’s time at City has to be considered more of a success than Mourinho’s tenure at Old Trafford.

City finished 19 points ahead of United as they romped to the 2017/18 Premier League title and while Guardiola was lapping up the plaudits, Mourinho was beginning to look like a relic from a bygone age.

Mid-way through the following season Mourinho was sacked. Well and truly seen off.

Or was he? Because just when you think Mourinho is finished, he comes back to the floor for one last dance.

Mourinho’s Tottenham got the better of Guardiola’s City when the two sides last met in February, but this Saturday’s clash will be one of much greater significance.

Spurs are in fine fettle at the moment. They had one of the best summer transfer windows of any club in Europe and with Harry Kane playing some of the best football of his career, their attack will cause havoc among any defence in the land.

Saturday’s game will be a huge test of City’s defence, which has been significantly bolstered by the summer arrival of Rúben Dias.

Guardiola’s side have conceded just four goals in eight matches since Dias’s debut and their performance against Liverpool before the international break suggested that last season’s woes and their 5-2 defeat to Leicester in September may not have been signs of terminal decline after all.

It feels like this season’s Premier League title will be won by whoever can control the chaos the best and with their relatively deep squads, there is no reason Spurs and City shouldn’t fancy their chances.

And if they’re both still in contention towards the end of the season, we might just see José and Pep putting their table manners to one side and firing up the old rivalry again.

Those who watched Tottenham’s All or Nothing documentary will have seen a lighter side to Mourinho that he doesn’t already show to the public and you can always tell things are going well for him when the Portuguese’s dry sense of humour comes out of the woodwork.

After Guardiola celebrated signing a new City contract earlier this week, his old adversary will be doing everything in his power to spoil the party come Saturday.

And if José can have the last laugh by pipping Guardiola to the title this season, it might just be enough to send the Catalan packing on another sabbatical.