It's not just about Pep Guardiola conquering his first Premier in a historic Manchester derby; to defeat Mourinho would mean putting everyone in a place, the victory of respect for this sport over its most Machiavellian version.
Agree that soccer does not have only one way. The rudimentary Greece was champion of Europe. The Simeone method gave birth to two Champions finals. Capello's defensive Milan showed Cruyff how to embroider football at OAKA. All the booklets have their opportunity; but not all masters should be considered examples.
Guardiola vs. Mourinho, the yin and the yang of football. Two winning philosophies, two almost equal curricula, with a pair of Champions per flag each. If Pep wins against Mou, he will have equaled the Portuguese, who had already lifted the title in three of the big leagues (Spain, Italy, England). But no, neither that nor the Premier will suppose its great triumph.
While he sublimated his career and the glory of Barcelona, the one of Santpedor had a fly on his ear. Mourinho, his nemesis, proposed a double challenge: to win and convince. The Luso was more worried than the account in annoying the eternal rival; At times, he seemed more focused on establishing himself as the "Antiguardiola" than with making Real Madrid the champion. That obsession has slowed him down as a coach.
Triumphs and defeats
While Pep was thinking about winning the war, Mou turned up in every battle, with some previous knock at Chelsea and even when he left the white bench. While the Catalan won, with a sextet, with the triumph of a philosophy, with an eleven of quarry, the Portuguese, he believed winning. With fingers in the eye. With pyromaniac press conferences. Perviritiendo and sobrexcitando footballers like Pepe, Sergio Ramos or Motta. With whispers in Pep's ear. Poisoning Casillas against Xavi to destroy the essence of 'La Roja', that scorn him for having clear Barça DNA.
Not even Mourinho's great triumph was such. When the Inter fell in the semifinals of Champions to the great Barca, the night of the sprinklers, essentially did not win. The anything goes took him to locate his kings, Eto'o and Milito, from the side. To destroy, waste time and perpetrate the most creepy celebration. Namely representative of football that we do not want for our children.
Nor was that the great defeat of Guardiola. Not even in the Cup final that Madrid beat Barca in extra time. The day that Pep really lost against Luso was in the first leg of the 2011 Champions League semifinals.
Guardiola succumbed, tired of so much provocation. "In this room he is the put boss, the put master, I give him his particular Champions outside the field, enjoy it and take it home", he came to claim a conference almost exclusively in Portuguese. Hours later, in the field, Messi ajustició to Madrid. But there Guardiola knew he had lost.
And now...
Seven years later, their face to face are handled more meek. Mourinho is still a guy who likes to fill the path of rivals with stones; Guardiola, in Germany and now in England, continues to open new paths to football, even redoing their fiascos, as the Bayern.
That's why on Saturday City, with 16 points ahead of United, will surely be crowned Premier. Achieving a historical advantage. With only one defeat, and before the only one who tries to win really playing football, Jürgen Klopp.
But, above all, in the face of Mourinho. To remind him that his triumph transcends the points and even the championship. It is an attractive philosophy and respect for football. Of a selfless type and that has wanted to evolve. An admirable trainer beyond yellow ties and political phobias.
Portuguese continues to live on its curriculum and its verbiage. More and more manidos. That they have gotten even the temple of respect, Old Trafford, to have punched him. Rácano and lacking in self-criticism, all that remains is to avoid the 'citizen' alirón in the Manchester derby as a consolation, a consolation that he will try to equate media with an alirón.
Close statistics
Guardiola is the coach who has won Mourinho the most, on nine occasions. The tenth, if it occurs, will have closed the cycle and the wounds. The Luso may self-expel to escape the opprobrium or have already prepared a repertoire of smoke screens in the subsequent press conference. Trying to be the put *, the put * master.
Aspiring to win only there while football really triumphs.