I’d rather have played for Jose!

As Pep gets ready for another battle with old rival

JOSE MOURINHO and Pep Guardiola is a classic rivalry, Yin and Yang. Guardiola adored by purists for sticking to his philosophy, Mourinho intent on doing anything to win.

Pep has built some of the greatest teams in history but Jose still found a way to beat him at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and even Manchester United. I don’t agree the modern game has passed Mourinho by. He’ll have a clear gameplan today.

I’d love to have played for either manager but maybe Mourinho would have suited me more. The most successful periods of my career came in teams where I was required to be disciplined and tactically aware in midfield.

I remember Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry asking senior players in 2004 what type of manager we needed after Gerard Houllier. I believe Jose was interested but Liverpool ultimately opted for Rafa Benitez. When I left Anfield and saw the success Chelsea were having under Mourinho, I admit there was a little sense of ‘what if?’

This is an important time in their careers. Once, Jose and Pep dominated the domestic and European landscape but Jurgen Klopp has raised the bar even higher.

And while Mourinho and Guardiola don’t need to prove anything to the outside world — they are already legendary in the record books — they will want to prove a point to themselves.

It’s in the nature of top managers to be single-minded and extremely competitive. Of course they will dream of knocking Klopp off his perch. Does Pep want to be sat there talking about how great Liverpool are? Does he heck. In football, you get fed up with someone else getting all the accolades.

Mourinho is the older at 57 but I don’t feel he’s a busted flush. My instinct tells me he’s going to be at Spurs for the long haul, certainly longer than the two- and- a- half years he spent at United. You can already see a more patient approach from him, interested in building a team rather than buying readymade. The London aspect may be part of that — living at home rather than in a hotel apartment is always helpful for long-term planning.

Last month Spurs signed two players in their early-20s, Steven Bergwijn and Giovani Lo Celso, on permanent deals. The manager also gave an unexpected chance to a young homegrown defender, Japhet Tanganga, who has looked outstanding. Mourinho will see the massive potential and I think he will win something. He’s never failed to win a trophy at any club so it’s logical to believe that. While it was a brave decision by Spurs to bring him in, it made sense given they have only won one cup this century.

Mourinho will be excited about developing the potential of Dele Alli, Harry Kane, when fit, and Bergwijn, who’s hungry and at 22 the right age. I can see Jose still being at Tottenham when Pep moves on from City, even though this season is far from a disaster. Still fighting in three cups despite seeing their title slip away suggests the mindset in the group is very good.

The little dip can be explained by the injury to Aymeric Laporte on top of losing Vincent Kompany in the centre of defence. Fernandinho has been moved to cover and his influence in midfield has been missed.

Last season Laporte and Kompany were together with Fernandinho in front. None of those pieces have been in place this season.

Guardiola had a sabbatical earlier in his career and at 49 he’s young enough to do it again, possibly at the end of next season. He won’t want to leave having finished second so I see him having a crack at winning the title next year and leaving on a high like Sir Alex Ferguson. Mourinho will just be getting into his stride at Spurs!

I hope some kind of mutual respect has developed between them over the years after the very hostile rivalry at Barca-Real. But when you think about their history, don’t bet against more sparks.