Jose and Pep — the best of enemies
How bust-up with Mourinho sent Guardiola over edge
IF there was a Champions League for talking then Jose Mourinho would win it every season. that was what Pep Guardiola was implying when, after almost an entire season of turning the other cheek, he finally gave in to provocation in a Press conference diatribe directed at his rival in which he famously referred to him as el puto jefe (the f***ing boss).
It came ahead of the first leg of real Madrid and Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final in 2011 after Mourinho had suggested his rival was breaking new ground by criticising referees when they were right.
Mourinho said: ‘ Up until now, there was a very small group of coaches who didn’t talk about referees and a larger group who did. Now, with Pep’s comments, we have started a third group, featuring only one person, a man who criticises them when they make good decisions.’
the Barcelona players, who were watching the Press conference in their Madrid hotel, saw their manager pushed over the edge. he did not like the first-name familiarity of Mourinho’s dig or the suggestion that Barcelona were constantly whining about referees or winning because of them.
that evening, when i t was his turn to address the media, Guardiola began: ‘As Senor Mourinho has called me Pep, I’m going to call him Jose. tomorrow 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 puto jefe and the one who knows more than everyone else.’
Guardiola went for Mourinho in a 45-minute rant in which he even asked ‘ which camera is Senor Jose’s?’ so he could look his rival in the eye. When he got back to the team hotel the players gave him a standing ovation and the following day beat real Madrid 2-0.
When Guardiola left Barcelona it was not the case that Mourinho had pushed him out. he left drained by the strain of managing one of the most political clubs i n football. But the at- times poisonous atmosphere t hat polluted the Clasicos had added to the sense that he was better out of it.
their relationship will not be t he s a me in england. Manchester City’s rivalry with United cannot compare with Barcelona’s with real Madrid and the nature of the Premier League will mean the spotlight will not always fall on them. No matter how incendiary their rematch, there will be other battles being fought.
Mourinho knew he was up against the best team in club football when he last took on Guardiola and saw getting under his skin as a necessary tactic.
If he takes over at Old trafford in the summer, and the club spends well, he may feel that he can match City on the pitch.
Meetings have been few and far between since Guardiola l eft Barcelona. the two met at the Nyon managers’ forum in 2014 and there was a polite greeting and then a respectful distance maintained.
But there will still be a large amount of needle between the pair as Mourinho has been second choice to Guardiola too many times for him to be able to forget all about it.
In Spain, there is not usually a post-match glass of wine between managers, although Guardiola is f ond of the tradition and occasionally did it with a select few, though never with Mourinho.
Next season could be the chance for a first.
“As Mourinho calls me Pep, I’ll call him Jose”