It all started when Pep was appointed as coach in Barcelona, and Mourinho was appointed as coach in R.M.
Barcelona and R. Madrid are rivals, and it is understandable for the coaches to create tensions through media right?
Well, not really.
There were tensions before Morinho and Guardiola entered the scene, but they sure got all the attention through their comments.
But things got out of control when the tensions were moved on the pitch. Players getting red cards, hard tackles on Barcelona players, and Mourinho provoking Vilanova.
This is only one example:
Both Ronaldo and Guardiola were out of line on this one. But you would expect from a pro like Ronaldo to keep it cool and ignore Guardiola’s intention to influence his temper.
But this is where the rivalry reached its peak. Barcelona needed to score, and Guardiola was preparing Ibrahimovic to enter the game. Mourinho took the opportunity to say a few words to his bitter rival.
We’re not sure what he actually said to Guardiola, but we’re guessing it wasn’t pleasant to hear.
Mourinho on Guardiola
“Up until now there was a very small group of coaches who didn’t talk about referees and a larger group who did,” said Mourinho ahead of the teams’ Champions League semi-final first-leg.
“Now, with Pep’s comments, we have started a new era with a third group, featuring only one person, a man who criticises [the referee] when he makes good decisions. This is completely new to me.”
“One day, I would like Josep Guardiola to win this competition properly”
“Josep Guardiola is a fantastic coach. But I have won two Champions Leagues and he has won [only] one Champions League – and that is one that would embarrass me. I would be ashamed to have won it with the scandal of Stamford Bridge.
“If he wins it this year, it will be with the scandal of the Bernabeu. Deep down, if they are good people, it cannot taste right for them. I hope one day Guardiola has the chance of winning a brilliant, clean championship with no scandal.” – Source.
Guardiola on Mourinho
“As senor Mourinho has called me Pep, I’m going to call him Jose,” he said in his pre-match press conference in the Champion Leagues.
“Tomorrow at 8.45pm we will face each other on the pitch. Off the pitch he’s won. He’s been winning off the pitch all season. “
“Let them give him a Champions League for it so he can enjoy it and take it home. In the press room he is ‘el p*** jefe’ (the ******* boss) and the one who knows more than everyone else.” – Source.
They meet again in the Premier League
But they’re no longer the same rivals that they used to be.
“They are completely different situations,” says Mourinho, comparing the Premier League with what’s gone before.
Mourinho talked about the derby against Guardiola’s Man City.
“No. On the touchline probably nothing,” he said. “But inside, in the dressing rooms, fine – I met him a couple of weeks ago. You want stories but I don’t have them.”
