Mourinho v Guardiola: The Clásico years
Friday, September 9, 2016
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With José Mourinho and Josep Guardiola renewing acquaintances in the Manchester derby on Saturday, UEFA.com shines a light on the pair's rivalry while in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
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Manchester United v Manchester City. José Mourinho v Josep Guardiola.
Mourinho and Guardiola have history – from their first meeting, when the Portuguese was a member of the Barcelona coaching setup and the Spaniard still a player, to their many Clásico clashes while in charge of Real Madrid and Barça.
Now for a new chapter, with both a handful of games into their tenures at Manchester's two powerhouses. UEFA.com looks back to when they were in rival dugouts.
Head-to-head record in Spain
Guardiola: 5
Draws: 4
Mourinho: 2
Overall record
Guardiola: 7
Draws: 6
Mourinho: 3
The pair's last meeting came in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup, Guardiola’s side winning on penalties following a 2-2 draw in Prague against Mourinho's Chelsea.
Mourinho, when quizzed on his poor record against Guardiola, retorted: "Your statistics are wrong and very wrong. See what happened with Inter in the [2009/10] Champions League semi-finals. I won the Spanish cup final in Valencia, I won the Super Cup in Spain. I was champion in Spain. I won the match for the title in Barcelona with Real Madrid."
How it came to be
After excelling in charge of Barcelona's reserve side, Guardiola was given the top job at the Catalan giants in 2008, when Mourinho was in charge at Inter.
The Portuguese won the treble with the Milanese team in 2010 – knocking out Guardiola's Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League semi-final in the process – before being appointed manager of Real Madrid that summer, meaning the two would coach in the same league for the first time. It was not exactly a case of friends reunited …
The first meeting
Having made the best start of any Real Madrid coach in history, Mourinho took his side to the Camp Nou in November 2010 full of confidence. However, it was a nightmare evening for Mourinho, whose team suffered a 5-0 hammering.
Four games that shook the world
Between 16 April and 3 May 2011, Barcelona and the Merengues met four times and the Guardiola-Mourinho rivalry came to a head.
16/04/11: Madrid 1-1 Barcelona (Liga)
Goals from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ensured the spoils were shared, ensuring the Azulgrana remained eight points clear at the summit. They went on to win the title.
20/04/11: Barcelona 0-1 Madrid (Copa del Rey final)
Four days later, Ronaldo gave the capital side the bragging rights with an extra-time goal. This was Mourinho's first major trophy at the Bernabéu.
27/04/11: Madrid 0-2 Barcelona (UEFA Champions League semi-finals, first leg)
This was a tense encounter, Madrid withstanding a barrage from the visitors after Pepe's second-half red card only for two late efforts from Messi to put Guardiola's team within sight of the final.
03/05/11: Barcelona 1-1 Madrid (UEFA Champions League semi-finals, second leg)
Barça had done the hard work the previous week and all but secured their final berth once Pedro Rodríguez put them in front on 54 minutes. They went on to beat Manchester United 3-1 in the decider.
Three red cards and nine goals
The next meeting between the sides came in the Spanish Super Cup in August 2011. Both legs were memorable affairs, finishing 2-2 and 3-2; only Messi’s 88th-minute winner – his third goal of the tie – in the second leg separated the sides. That, though, barely scratches the surface of a tie in which Mesut Özil, Marcelo and David Villa were all dismissed.
The final say
As he so often does, Mourinho had the last word. It may have been only his second win as Madrid boss against Guardiola, but Madrid’s 2-1 Clásico triumph at the Camp Nou in April 2012 ended a run of 55 home games undefeated for the Blaugrana and helped ensure a first Liga title in four years for Madrid.