We all know that José Mourinho the tendency of upsetting and provoking opponents, colleagues, and quite frankly everyone in between. A second thought, that is putting it mildly. Jose has quite frankly been at war for most of his career. Here are some of the most remarkable fights the Portuguese has been embroiled in.
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Mourinho Vs. Guardiola: Tactics & Mindgames
A fight of philosophies. The two greatest of mangers of their era, the pair have collided numerous times — from tactical masterstrokes on the pitch, to the cerebral assault in the presser, Jose’s rivalry with Pep has gone on to define a generation. The two first clashed when Mourinho’s Inter knocked out Guardiola’s Barça during their semi-final bout in 2009/10 edition of the UEFA Champions League. The following year Mourinho made the move to Spain to manage Real Madrid which was like pouring gasoline on the already existing fiery conflict between Los Blancos and La Blaugrana. As fate would have it, Jose’s Madrid and Guardiola’s Barça would come face-to-face in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals once more. The wily Mourinho had been playing mind games all week leading up to the game, and finally Guardiola snapped — “He has already won the battle of the pitch, he has been winning all season. He can do or say whatever he wants. In this room (press room) Mourinho is the f****** chief, the f****** boss. I do not have to compete with him here.” blasted Pep. This time around Pep overcame José on route to Barça’s second European crown in the space of 3 years.
Mourinho Vs. Wenger: The Shove
Heading into Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea on October 5, 2014, Arséne Wenger had failed to beat Jose Mourinho in any of their previous encounters. Hostilities were resumed between the old foes when the Frenchman shoved the Portuguese in the technical area following Gary Cahill’s crunching tackle on Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez. After things cooled down on the touchline Eden Hazard and Diego Costa scored as The Blues condemned The Gunners to a 2-0 defeat to cement their position atop the Premier League table. Mourinho had the last laugh as his unbeaten streak against Wenger extended to 12 games.
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Mourinho Vs. Vilanova: The Eye Poke
The eye-poke of doom! A moment of pure madness from José Mourinho. Once again it was a clash of titans as Barcelona butted heads with foes Real Madrid. Lionel Messi struck in the 88th minute to put Barça ahead, before Madrid Marcelo put in a ferocious challenge on Catalan midfielder Cesc Fabregas, which saw a scuffle ensue between players and staff from both sides following the final whistle. Amidst the skirmish Mourinho gouged his finger straight into the eye of Barça’s assistant manger Tito Vilanova. Mourinho was banned for two games by the RFEF for his vile actions, but it was later rescinded much to Barça’s fury.
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Mourinho Vs. Carneiro: Civil War
Well it looks like no man or woman is safe from the scorn of José Mourinho, not even if she is a part of his medical staff! According to the former Chelsea physio, “The Happy One” — as José had labelled himself during his second stint with The Blues — had called her a “filha da puta” (which translates to daughter of a whore) when she ran onto the pitch to treat an injured Eden Hazard. This meant that Chelsea were reduced to nine men during the closing stages of their 2-2 draw against Swansea. As a consequence of her actions Carneiro was removed from her duties with the first-team and decided to leave the club six weeks following the incident.
Mourinho Vs. Valdés: The Pitch Invasion
José Mourinho’s Inter Milan took a 3-1 lead from the first-leg of their semi-final encounter with FC Barcelona to the Camp Nou on 28 April 2010. But such was Barça’s dominance in Europe at the time that Inter entered the game as underdogs. Things got off to the worst possible start when midfielder Thiago Motta was sent off for a dubious second yellow-card in only the 28th minute of the game. Mourinho’s men stood resolute, enduring an onslaught on their goal for the better part of an hour. Gerard Pique’s late strike setup a heart-stopping finale but Inter held on to advance to the final in spite of defeat on the night. After the final whistle Mourinho stormed on to the pitch with his hand held above his head, signalling to the 96,000 Catalans inside the stadium that he indeed was the best in the world. Barcelona keeper Víctor Valdés took exception to The Special One’s raucous celebrations and tried to put a halt proceedings by trying to escort him off the turf physically. In the post match conference Jose described the victory as the greatest moment of his career.
