Mourinho-Guardiola philosophy: Former Barcelona stars, Xavi and Victor Valdes have opened up on Mourinho’s time at Barcelona.
Mourinho and Guardiola will lock horns later tonight as Premier League gears up for the first Manchester derby of the season.
The match will be played at the Etihad Stadium, where Mourinho’s side was victorious in the last clash between the two sides. Manchester United came back from two goals down to beat City 3-2, as Pogba scored a brace in the second half.
The rivalry between both the managers dates back to their time in Spain, where Mourinho was the boss at Real Madrid, while Guardiola began his managerial career at Barcelona.
Mourinho, however, has also been a part of Barcelona’s managerial staff for three years, between 1997 to 2000. The-then Barcelona manager, Louis van Gaal, saw potential in Mourinho and assigned him the managerial duty for Barcelona B side, where he introduced his own style of football.
As both the managers meet, quotes from Xavi and Valdes for Barcelona’s documentary, ‘Take the Ball, Pass the Ball,’ emphasize on Mourinho instilling the ‘Barca’ style of football.
Mourinho-Guardiola philosophy:
Mourinho has usually relied on strength rather than technicality all throughout his managerial career. Xavi, however, has revealed that it wasn’t always the case with the Portuguese manager.
“Mourinho helped us a lot when we were young Barca players. Van Gaal often sent him to take Barca B training,” Xavi stated for the documentary.
“The rondo, possession, holding onto the ball, positional play. We worked on all of that with Mourinho.”
Victor Valdes also reflected on his time at Barcelona under Jose Mourinho.
“I was with the under-19s and he’d coach us once a week. It was the same style of football, the Barca philosophy with very similar concepts,” the former Barcelona and Manchester United goalkeeper said.
Xavi stated that Mourinho’s style of football changed when he went to England.
“When he went to Chelsea, Mourinho’s philosophy of the game changed. It’s a very different style to the football we play at Barca,” Xavi said.
