Monday, August 30, 2010

No love lost between Mourinho and Benitez


The rivalry between Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez is well-documented. The duo have squared off in English Premier League match-ups when Mourinho was with Chelsea and Benitez was with Liverpool, and their battles in the UEFA Champions League have been epic.

With both managers moving on to greener pastures - Mourinho in Spain with Real Madrid, and Benitez actually taking over for Mourinho with Inter Milan in Italy - Grahame Jones of the LA Times writes about the new subplot in the soap opera-like rivalry between two of the game's top managers.

The one is Portuguese. The other is Spanish. The one is arrogant. The other is stubborn. The one is a hugely successful coach. So is the other.

But the crucial thing to remember about Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez is that they can't stand each other.


All of which gives the new European soccer season a delicious soap opera of a subplot. Already, the latest volleys have been fired in the continuing verbal warfare between the two, even though their respective Spanish and Italian seasons began only Saturday.

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