Ranking the 5 greatest managerial rivalries in Premier League history
The Premier League has been graced by many world-class managers. Some tasted great success, while others faded away after failing to live up to the pressure of managing a Premier League team.
The legacies of clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and in recent years, Manchester City, were built by great managers. Some stayed at their clubs for decades, like Sir Alex Ferguson at United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Others, like Jose Mourinho, Claudio Ranieri and Antonio Conte, achieved success in much shorter stints at various Premier League clubs.
Here is an interesting tweet from 2018 to provide a perspective on Wenger's and Ferguson's legendary tenures:
This will be the first time since 1986 that Manchester United and Arsenal have faced each other without Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger ⏳ https://t.co/ZoVjK8VHIX
With the stakes set higher and higher each year, the tension between clubs competing for the Premier League title has also grown. Managers often get caught up in the middle of it all. They are answerable to the press, fans, club hierarchy and, of course, their players. That has, at times, led to feuds between managers, making for unsavoury moments.
From scuffles on the touchline to taking digs at one another during press conferences, bringing up past incidents and using mind games, Premier League managers have done it all.
On that note, here's a look at the five greatest managerial rivalries in Premier League history.
#5 Jose Mourinho (Manchester United) vs Antonio Conte (Chelsea)
Antonio Conte arrived at Chelsea in 2016, ready to take on his first challenge in the Premier League. Jose Mourinho was then newly appointed as the Manchester United manager. Fans and pundits alike were curious to see how their rivalry would develop as the two men competed for silverware.
Mourinho had managed in the league before and was no stranger to the intensity of the Premier League - on the pitch, sidelines or behind the scenes. Conte, meanwhile, like Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola and Rafael Benitez, was at the receiving end of Mourinho's sly remarks. However, he was not one to back down.
🗣 "I consider him a little man."
Throwback to when Antonio Conte called Jose Mourinho 'fake' in 2018
Conte vs Jose returns next season 👀 🔥 https://t.co/7kxzmo6gxj
During the pair's stints in the Premier League between 2016 and 2018, several spats took place between them.
After Conte's Chelsea beat Mourinho's United 4-0 at Stamford Bridge in 2016, the latter slammed his counterpart's celebrations at full time, labelling them excessive. A few months later, Conte questioned why Victor Moses was sent on several loans by Chelsea, a player whom Mourinho had managed at the time. The Italian questioned Mourinho's ability to spot talent, as he left Moses out of his team.
Later in the season, in the early months of 2017, as Chelsea looked like title favourites, Mourinho praised The Blues with a backhand compliment, saying:
"Chelsea are a very good defensive team. They defend very well and with lots of players, and, I think, in this situation, a very defensive team wins the title."
The two managers had some very colourful words for each other over the two years. The Italian mentioned to the press that Chelsea wanted consistency, and wanted to avoid a season like Mourinho's last at the club.
When asked what he thought about Conte's remarks, Mourinho took a trademark dig at the Italian, commenting on his hair transplant, saying:
"I don't know. I could answer in many different ways, but I'm not going to lose my hair to speak about Antonio Conte."
When asked for a response, Conte tried explaining in Italian, and ended up using a phrase that, in English, roughly translates to 'senile dementia'.
JOSE v CONTE 🥊
🔴 "I'm not going to lose my hair to speak about Antonio Conte."
🔵 "Sometimes I think there is, I don't know the name, but demenza senile... when you forget what you do in the past."
Timeline here: skysports.tv/fjyg8i
It was a rivalry that was entertaining, both on and off the pitch. However, Conte had the last laugh as his Chelsea team walked away with the Premier League title, with Mourinho's United coming sixth.
#4 Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) vs Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
Arsene Wenger signed as Arsenal's manager in 1996, winning three league titles in his 22-year tenure. Under the Frenchman, The Gunners impressively went an entire season unbeaten, during the historic 2003-04 'Invincibles' campaign. However, that came before Jose Mourinho arrived in the Premier League as Chelsea's manager later that summer.
The Blues went on to create history. The Portuguese manager, in his first season in charge, won the Premier League with 95 points and a record-low of 15 goals conceded. Wenger's Arsenal finished a distant second, a whopping 12 points behind The Blues.
Mourinho made it successive Premier League titles in his next season in English football as Chelsea announced themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
What a season 2004/05 was for Jose Mourinho & Chelsea. https://t.co/iFCTNTigU2
However, what started as an exciting rivalry on the pitch soon moved away from football, and turned into a war of words. In one instance, it blew over as the two managers were involved in an infamous touchline scuffle during a Premier League game in 2014.
Here's a montage by Eurospork UK that encapsulates the pair's intense rivalry in a nutshell.
The insults, the legal threats... the push.
We look back at the most intense moments in the Wenger-Mourinho rivalry, as they face each other for the final time today 👊 https://t.co/zj8cQQzZ8W
However, Wenger later apologised for the push in an interview, following a sending off and a touchline ban, saying he regretted his actions. Mourinho, too, came out and acknowledged he was shocked, as the Frenchman was 'the last of that type'.
Unbelievable coup from BeIN Sports to have Mourinho & Wenger as a pundit double-act tonight - exceptional quality of analysis throughout. Both linked with moves to France, both equally unsure about their futures here. https://t.co/fn2PJdWfoc
The pair has, since then, worked together on the same panel on multiple occasions during international tournaments. However, their rivalry in the Premier League gave fans some of the spiciest games and moments.