The beginning of the 2010s saw the genesis of the famous rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but on the sidelines of those ElClasicos, another tension-laden battle reached its zenith as Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho would embody one of the game's most iconic battles.
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Prior to becoming a manager, the "Special One", as he famously came to be known, was an assistant and translator to the late Sir Bobby Robson at Barcelona. With the pair working together in Catalonia, the Barca captain during that time happened to be a holding midfielder by the name of Josep Guardiola.
Fast-forward to 2008, when Frank Rijkaard left his position as manager of the Blaugrana, and on the shortlist to succeed him were two candidates. They were the two former Barca colleagues in Mourinho and Guardiola. While, at this point, the Portuguese had already achieved a tremendous amount of success with FC Porto and Chelsea, having won the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League and the Premier League titles from 2004 to 2006, the only managerial experience the Spaniard had was coaching the Barca B side. Regardless, then-Blaugrana president Joan Laporta appointed the inexperienced strategist instead, thus sowing the seeds of animus that were to flourish in the years to come.
When the two tacticians met in the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2009/10 season, the rivalry that was to explode would show itself a bit as Mourinho masterminded a famous Inter Milan win over the reigning European champions. While the tensions may have started bubbling under before then, it was once the Special One became Real Madrid boss that things between the two became really heated.
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In his first Clasico, the Setubal native was humiliated with a 5-0 loss to the Spanish champions, and after what he would describe as the worst defeat of his career at the time, there seemed to be a shift in the way he would approach games against his seemingly brilliant counterpart. From a Los Blancos perspective, for the remainder of Mourinho's tenure as Real manager, his clashes with Guardiola in Spain would be highlighted by plenty of acrimony. The two managerial greats contested 11 Clasicos during this time, but it was during the 2010/11 season when they perhaps contested their most infamous battle as they two sides would meet four times in the space of 17 days.
Those matches would be highlighted by the large number of fouls Real would concede against their opponents as they seemingly tried to play the game within the game. Barca would get the better of their bitter rivals in their UEFA Champions League ties, winning 3-1 over the two legs, and would also draw 1-1 in the league, but it was in the Copa del Rey where Mourinho was victorious during the quartet of encounters. Red cards would become commonplace for these affairs, with Sergio Ramos and Pepe seemingly the main culprits whenever these two teams met.
However, the animosity was not only on the pitch as a war of words would ensue in press conferences too, Mourinho being the chief instigator. After winning his first title in Spanish football at the expense of Guardiola in the Copa del Rey, the two-time European champion threw a jab at his rival, stating: "Up until now, there was a very small group of coaches who didn't talk about referees and a very large group, in which I am included, who criticise referees." This came after Guardiola had claimed that Pedro Rodriguez's disallowed goal was incorrectly ruled out, as per Goal.
"Now, with Pep's comments, we have started a new era with a third group, in which there is only him, that criticises the referee when he makes correct decisions."
Speaking to Sky Sports recently, former Barca central defender Gerard Pique alluded to the fact that Mourinho would intentionally use the media to try and evoke a siege mentality from his players whenever they come up against Barca.
"Since he arrived, he knew that on the pitch they were weaker than us," he explained.
"We had a better team, for sure, and even the relationships between players.
"I remember going to the national team, and after those games it was tough because Mourinho goes to the mind of the player and he says: 'These guys hate you', then you believe that."
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A lot of the controversy that exists between them has been instigated by the Portuguese, but he has perhaps been the only manager who has been able to sway Guardiola off his axis of composure. It may have only been two years as they coached Spain's two biggest sides, but the duo developed a rivalry that has managed to stand the test of time.
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