There are rivalries that never grow old: even in a Netflix documentary about his life’s work (“Mourinho”), Jose Mourinho could not resist a jibe at Pep Guardiola.
“Some people need a sabbatical,” “The Special One” scoffed when asked about a voluntary break from coaching, in a clear swipe at Guardiola. Once he got going, Mourinho doubled down: “For me, a sabbatical is a sign of weakness, something I hate. I hate that word. So don’t talk to me about it any further.”
After leaving Barcelona in 2012, Guardiola took a year out. The Catalan is currently enjoying a break after ten years in charge of Manchester City. A role as Italy national coach recently fell through.
By contrast, Mourinho said he could not imagine a life without football. His world was made up of “stadiums with 50,000 or 90,000 fans”. He wants to work as a coach for at least another ten years, possibly even into his 70s. “I want to win more titles,” stressed the 63-year-old. He will only find peace “when He up there decides that I should come”, he added with a symbolic gesture of the finger towards the sky.
Jose Mourinho vs. Pep Guardiola: from colleagues to rivals
Mourinho, a two-time Champions League winner, has a bitter personal feud with Guardiola. Former colleagues at Barcelona in the late 1990s, they had become long-time rivals by Mourinho’s first spell at Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013. Guardiola was coaching the Blaugrana at the same time and the pair clashed in numerous heated Clásicos. While the Spaniard’s future is currently unclear, Real Madrid announced Mourinho’s return to Madrid in June.