Mourinho meets Allegri in Serie A throwback
There has never been any love lost between the two coaching masterminds
Declared enemies from the very beginning, Jose Mourinho and Massimiliano Allegri have never shied away from antagonizing each other.
The coaching masterminds have feuded ever since Mourinho’s very first season in Italy when the outspoken Portuguese manager was bothered that Allegri won a coach of the year award with Cagliari even though Mourinho had just won his first Serie A title at Inter Milan.
Having moved on to jobs
at AC Milan and then Juventus, Allegri at times criticized Mourinho as “pathetic” and “lacking respect,” while Mourinho reverted to loaded hand gestures aimed at the fans of Allegri’s Juventus teams - most recently during a Champions
League clash with Mourinho’s Manchester United in 2018.
Now, with Mourinho back coaching in Italy after more than a decade and Allegri back in Turin after two seasons away, the rivalry resumes on Sunday when Mou’s Roma visits Max’s Juventus.
It’s shaping up as a pivotal match, too, with Juventus having registered three straight wins before the international break after a horrendous start, and Roma facing a title contender for the first time this season.
Both coaches are also in need of a convincing performance to shed their “defensive” and “catenaccio” labels in an age when free-flowing attacks have become the preferred style - as demonstrated by Italy’s run to the European Championship title.
Having been fired by Tottenham in April after 17 months at the London club - his shortest spell at a club since he broke into the big time as a slick and self-confident coach of Porto at the start of the century - Mourinho has shown signs that he’s open to change.