Has Antonio Conte replaced Pep Guardiola as José Mourinho's nemesis?
At the heart of the clashes that took place a few years ago between Mourinho and Guardiola, lay an ideological difference of how the beautiful game was to be played as well as a stark contrast in how the two behaved themselves on the sidelines as well as during press conferences. Mourinho's outspoken larger than life persona was inevitably going to collide with the Catalan tactician's demeanour who was fully engrained in FC Barcelona's low-key Mes Que Un Club philosophy.
Many of us expected that rivalry to carry on over to the Premier League, especially with each man being in charge of a club stemming from the same city, when battling it out over the Premiership title as well as the bragging rights within the city itself. However, this has not come to pass as Antonio Conte's entrance last season in English football, when leading Chelsea to the Premier League title, caused the most heated encounters to take place between the Italian tactician and the man who dubbed himself as the 'Special One' over a decade ago.
Whilst the clashes between Mourinho and Guardiola are born out of the sheer contrast and differences between them, this particular feud stems from the protagonists being far too similar in character. Who can forget the now iconic images of then Porto manager Mourinho celebrating down the touchline at Old Trafford after defeating Manchester United on their route to winning the Champions League? Now compare that to Antonio Conte goal celebrations, pretty much every time Chelsea score a goal anywhere, home or away.
Both men's obsessive desire and passion to win has more times than not crossed the line of what constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct during their careers, however, the difference now is that for the first time in their careers they are facing an opponent who reacts and behaves in precisely the same manner. After their first encounter last season Mourinho heavily criticized Conte for excessive celebration following Chelsea's 4th goal in the Blues 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Conte never really replied but why bother getting involved in spats when your team is top of the league and has just humiliated your opponents in a direct encounter.
Mourinho, however, never forgets anything, and this season he mocked Conte for 'complaining over too many injuries' which prompted the current Chelsea manager to remind his predecessor that he is no longer in charge of the West Londoners, and instead should focus on his own team.
This afternoon, the two biggest managerial primadonna's of world football collide yet again, this time on Bonfire Night, the day when all of the UK remembers the failed plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament by setting bonfires alight. The question remains if the biggest sparks wont fly when two alpha-males in charge of two teams with Premier League winning aspirations, go head to head at Stamford Bridge. No matter the outcome of the fixture, one thing is for certain, that the question poised in the beginning of this text will be answered unequivocally.
Nima Tavallaey