Not long ago I got into a slightly heated debate with a
friend about who was the better manager out of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola.
He strongly backed Mourinho whereas I backed Guardiola for the sake of playing
devil’s advocate more than anything else. However I thought it would be
interesting to tackle a ‘who vs who’ that didn’t involve Messi and Ronaldo for
once so I wanted to really delve into this quite deeply.
If one were to use the amount of trophies won as an
indicator for comparison, then I would have to say that Guardiola would have to
come out on top. I am fully aware that Mourinho has won more trophies than
Guardiola. I am not an idiot. But when contextualised, I don’t believe Mourinho
having a greater number of trophies is enough for him in this case. It comes
down to a simple matter of time. Mourinho has been in management for 12 years
and has won 20 major trophies. Guardiola has been in management 6 years and has
won 18 major trophies – exactly half the time and nearly as many trophies. It
is true that being a manager for longer doesn’t guarantee you more trophies as
I’m sure Harry Redknapp would tell you. However for me, what Pep has managed to
do in half the time that the Special/Happy One has had, is enough for him to
have the edge in the trophy department. People may argue that Guardiola had it
easier by taking over at Barcelona, and a Bayern Munich team that had just won
the treble, whereas Mourinho at Chelsea for example completely transformed a
team and made them winners. What I would say to that is that taking over a
strong team does not guarantee that you will be successful and you still have
to have something about you to deliver the goods. My evidence of this? I’m
sorry to say again its Moyseh…
The next point of comparison for me would be the legacy that
these two will have left in the game. Both men in my opinion have left an
everlasting mark on the way the game is played, as they have gone some way to
actually creating new positions on the football pitch. When was the last time
you watched a football match that didn’t have a player playing CDM? Mourinho’s
use of Claude Makalele more or less resulted in the invention and constant use
of the holding midfielder role in the modern era, perhaps to the detriment of
the game’s entertainment at times (*cough* 2010 World Cup final *cough*).
Nonetheless, the position is here to stay and Mourinho is a big part of that.
Guardiola’s contribution to the tactics board came in the final third, as he
created the false 9 position in an ultimately successful attempt to get the
best out of Lionel Messi. It was a tactic adopted by the Spanish national team
during their European Championship victory in 2012, a team touted by many as
the greatest international side of all time. To make such a significant and
long lasting impact on football takes something special, so both men deserve
tremendous credit for that. In terms of a legacy Guardiola shades it for me again.
The Barcelona team of 2008-2011 is arguably the greatest club side in history.
He completely reinvented the way they played, making Tika-Taka the standard
which people strived for. Not only will that Barca team be known as legendary,
but Lionel Messi is sure to go down as the best footballer of all time. Pep
Guardiola’s role in Messi’s career shouldn’t be underestimated, as his creation
of the false 9 position mentioned earlier gave Messi the chance to truly flourish.
Guardiola was then able to bring the Barcelona style of play that Andy Tate
would’ve dreamed to Bayern Munich, and won the Bundesliga in record time. As of
yet, a Mourinho team hasn’t shown such a level of domination that would go down
in history. This would mean that for me, Guardiola has had a greater impact on
the game thus far.
A manager can have the motivational skills of a Gandhi/Martin
Luther King love child, but if they have the tactical knowledge of a goat then it’s
all for nothing. I will go out on a limb and say that Jose Mourinho is the most
tactically gifted manager in the game today. Given his involvement in football
before management it isn’t a great surprise that he is so adept. Plying his
trade as a scout, and then working under prestigious managers such as Sir Bobby
Robson and Louis Van Gaal, Mourinho had a pristine footballing education. There
is a chance that someone who knew they wanted to become a football manager in their
early 20’s rather than retirement would be something special, and it turns out
Mourinho has been. Guardiola knows what he is doing to say the least, but he
hasn’t been tested as much as Mourinho has. He’s managed in 4 different
leagues. 4 different styles of play. 4 different tempos. He has won doubles in
England, trebles in Italy and Portugal. He has had to show an adaptability not
yet shown by Guardiola. The fact that Mourinho is a serial winner is seen by
his desire to sacrifice performance for results – the 2010 Champions League semi-final
between Jose’s Inter Milan and Guardiola’s Barca illustrates that perfectly. There
have been times where Guardiola has seem to lack a plan B in matches, making it
easier for teams to play against a more predictable style. With the murder/decimation/complete
and total annihilation of Tika Taka by the Dutch at the World Cup, Guardiola
would need to develop a solid back up plan pretty sharpish.
Both men are great man managers. Everywhere they go players
buy into their philosophy and they effortlessly command respect. Mourinho’s
supreme tactical knowledge makes him more complete, which is why he has the edge
over the Spaniard. It isn’t his fault that history won’t remember him as fondly
Guardiola. When it comes down to it the nitty gritty day to day management,
Mourinho’s ruthlessly methodical and ruthlessly successful approach makes him
the best. The fact that he’s proven himself in multiple leagues with impressive
win percentages means that he will truly be one of the greats. His unwavering
charisma makes him entertaining to watch whether you love him or loathe him. If
he were to settle down at one club and build a sustained legacy, he could even
reach Fergie-like levels of greatness.
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