As Manchester United Manager Jose Mourinho prepares to come up against his old enemy Pep Guardiola of Manchester City on Saturday in what could be one of the most hyped-up Premier League games of all time, we take a look at what the pair have said about each other over the years.

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola worked together at Barcelona between 1996-2000, when Mourinho was a coach and Guardiola was a player.


15. After Chelsea’s match with Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup final…

‘‘The best team clearly lost. They just scored one more penalty.’’



14. Mourinho’s analysis of the infamous semi-final between Barcelona and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which saw referee Tom Henning Ovrebo reject a number of penalty claims from the Blues.

‘‘A year ago Chelsea were crying and Barca were laughing with the referee. They laughed because he denied my Chelsea boys their rightful place.’

13. After his Inter Milan side booked their place in the Champions League final at the expense of Pep’s Barcelona despite 1-0 defeat at Camp Nou.

“It is the most beautiful defeat of my life,” he said. “It is a style of blood not skill. We were a team of heroes. It’s a pity I could not play because I have got the same blood. I have already won a Champions League but today was even better. We made huge sacrifices.”

12. After Guardiola complained about Pedro’s goal being ruled out for offside in a Copa del Rey tie…



‘‘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 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.’

11. After Barca beat Real 2-0 in the Champions League semi-final in 2011…

‘‘One day, I would like Josep Guardiola to win this competition properly. If I tell UEFA what I really think and feel, my career would end now. Instead I will just ask a question to which I hope one day to get a response: Why? Why Ovrebo? Why Busacca? Why De Bleeckere? Why Stark? Why? Because every semi-final the same things happen. We are talking about an absolutely fantastic football team, so why do they need that? Why?

”Why does a team as good as they are need something [extra] that is so obvious that everyone sees it? I don’t know if it is the UNICEF sponsorship or if it is because they are nice guys. I don’t understand. They have power and we have no chance. All I can do is leave that question here in the air and hope that one day I will get the response. They have to get to the final, and they’ll get there, full stop. 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.’’

10. Mourinho on Barcelona’s playing style after the Spanish Super Cup final in 2011…

‘‘I’m not going to say we’re happy because we didn’t win the Spanish Super Cup, that would be hypocritical of me. But we intended to play like men and not fall on the ground at the slightest touch. I have been taught to play like a man and not to fall first.’’

9. His thoughts on Guardiola’s one-year sabbatical…

‘It’s his life, but for me it’s unthinkable to take a sabbatical. He is younger than me, but I’m not tired.

Read more: http://www.istylmagazine.com/news/sports/the-15-best-rivalry-quotes-between-jose-mourinho-and-pep-guardiola/