‘Of Course I Will Shake His Hand’ – Pep Guardiola Plays Down Jose Mourinho Rivalry Ahead Of Manchester Derby In Beijing

Alan Duffy

24th, July 2016

New Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said that he’ll have no problem shaking Jose Mourinho’s hand when the Citizens play Manchester United on Monday in Beijing.

The two managers locked horns a number of times in Spain while managing Barcelona Real Madrid, where tensions often rose between the two coaches.

Both managers won one La Liga title each between 2010 and 2012, but Guardiola’s Champions League success in 2011 (when Barca beat Manchester United) gave the Spaniard the edge.

Mourinho was regularly irked by Barcelona, finding himself sent to the stands for protesting Pepe’s sending off in the Champions League semi-final clash with the Catalans in 2011. While, most famously of all, the Portuguese coach was banned after jabbing his finger in the eye of Barca assistant manager Tito Vilanova in August 2011. Although the ban was ultimately revoked.

Speaking about Mourinho ahead of the friendly clash in China, Guardiola played down the rivalry, saying:

Of course I will shake his hand. Why shouldn’t I? We are polite guys. I want to win. So does he.

One wonders if the City boss will manage to stay equally calm after another season of Mourinho bitchiness. Whatever happens, it should be a cracking 2016/17 Premier League campaign.

Posted in Man City, Man Utd

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