Jose and Pep ‘twinned’ in hunt for glory

MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola says he and Jose Mourinho’s obsession with winning trophies makes them “twins” despite the perceived difference in their styles as the two great rivals prepare for the Manchester derby.

Guardiola is renowned for his philosophy of possession-based, passing football, which has he slowly instilled at Manchester City since his arrival as coach in 2016.

Manchester United boss Mourinho meanwhile is often seen more as more pragmatic and obsessed with winning, something that has brought him 25 trophies during his 17-year managerial career, including Champions League titles with Porto and Inter Milan.

Yet as the two managers prepare to face each other at Old Trafford today, Guardiola, himself a winner of 22 trophies and the same number of Champions Leagues, says they share that hunger for success.

“Definitely,” he said. “In that, we are twins. They want to win trophies, we want to win trophies. I think Antonio Conte is the same as well, and Jurgen (Klopp) and Mauricio (Pochettino) and in all the leagues around the world, the managers are there.”

Guardiola suggested in an interview with the BBC in September that United “play long balls up to (Marouane) Fellaini and (Paul) Pogba” as a priority, a criticism that appears to irk Mourinho.

Guardiola and Mourinho have often been at loggerheads in the past, with a rivalry that dates back to their time as rival managers in Spain between 2010 and 2012.

While Guardiola was widely praised for his aesthetically pleasing approach at Barcelona, at Real Madrid Mourinho was seen as a coach for whom winning was the be all and end all, despite the record number of goals, points and away wins his team racked up in winning the 2012 La Liga title. AFP