Rewind to 5 of the most famous verbal clashes between football’s top coaches

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  • Each coach has a different personality and they all want to win for their team.
  • That often leads to verbal clashes between the two managers.
  • Here are 5 of the most famous coach clashes that many people may have forgotten ever happened.
Rewind to 5 of the most famous verbal clashes between football's top coaches

For every manager, there are usually different personalities, but the main goal is to do everything for the team to be successful, and protecting the https://ufabet999.app team’s interests is normal, even if it means clashing with the opposing team. And here are 5 incidents where great managers waged fierce wars of words on the field.

1. Pep Guardiola vs Jose Mourinho

The incident took place in El Clasico, where Guardiola’s Barcelona met Mourinho’s Real Madrid in the 2011 Champions League semi-final, which the Blaugrana eventually went on to win. Mourinho accused Guardiola of criticising referees, 

to which Guardiola fired back, saying: “He won it off the pitch. I will give him the Champions League for winning it in the press conference.”

The two managers did meet again in the Premier League, however, with Guardiola’s Manchester City beating Mourinho’s Manchester United in three of their six meetings.

2. Antonio Conte vs Jose Mourinho

No one can hold back after a game, especially when the team has just lost, and Mourinho certainly clashed with Conte after his United side were thrashed 4-0 by former club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October 2016.

Mourinho was unhappy with Conte’s wild late goal celebrations, saying: “Some managers like to be clowns on the touchline.”

However, Conte hit back in 2018 by calling Mourinho “childish” and a “liar”.

3. Sir Alex Ferguson vs Rafael Benitez

Benitez’s Liverpool were top of the Premier League in early 2009 and Ferguson’s United were second, and Rafa appeared to have lost his mind during a press conference, accusing Ferguson of influencing referees and match officials.

United eventually came from behind to win the title, four points clear of Liverpool, and Ferguson wrote in his autobiography: “The mistake Benitez made was to take the opposition personally and when you take it personally you don’t have a chance because success comes from focusing on your own team.”

4. Arsene Wenger vs Sam Allardyce

In the mid-2000s, Arsenal and Bolton were polar opposites in terms of style of play, with Wenger’s Gunners focusing on flamboyant, technical play, while Allardyce’s Trotters were more long-ball and physical.

However, Arsenal won just one of their eight meetings with Bolton between September 2004 and February 2007, with Allardyce’s side winning four of them.

In his autobiography, Allardyce wrote: “I enjoyed beating Arsenal more than any other team when I was in charge of Bolton. We were tough on them and Arsene Wenger hated us.”

In an interview in December 2016, Wenger said that the 2-2 draw with Bolton in 2003 was the most painful because it denied the team the title, stating: “You have those awkward moments and you never forget them. They scar you and your heart forever.”

5. Jose Mourinho v Arsene Wenger

Since stepping into Stamford Bridge in 2004, Mourinho has described himself as the “Special One” and he has certainly challenged Premier League legends Ferguson and Wenger head-on, with Wenger particularly controversial. In 2006, Wenger criticised

Mourinho’s tactics, saying they were ruining football, to which the Portuguese hit back, branding Wenger a voyeur. He also attacked Wenger again in 2013, calling him a “specialist in failure”, and in 2014 the pair had a heated exchange on the touchline, with the referee having to intervene.