Mourinho vs Conte and the fiercest managerial feuds in football history

With the Chelsea and Man Utd bosses landing blows on each other via recent press conferences, let's take a look at some famous managerial feuds

With the Chelsea and Man Utd bosses landing blows on each other via recent press conferences, Goal takes a look at some famous managerial feuds

1 Jose Mourinho vs Antonio Conte

New year, same Mourinho - 2018 began with the Manchester United boss claiming that he 'does not have to act like a lunatic on the sideline' during matches, something which hit a nerve with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte. The Italian bit back, but only to be met with a stinging reply from Mourinho in regards to a match-fixing scandal which Conte was caught up in during his time in charge of Juventus. The Chelsea boss slammed Mourinho as 'a little man' and called him a fraud for his public reaction to the sacking of Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri in 2017. The two have put a lid on the row for now, but it'll certainly boil over again during the rest of the season.

2 Sir Alex Ferguson vs Arsene Wenger

Arguably the biggest managerial rivalry the Premier League has ever had, the battle between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger peaked in 2004 when Cesc Fabregas comically threw a slice of pizza at the former Manchester United boss in a post-match brawl. Following a heated match at Old Trafford which would end the Gunners' 49-match unbeaten run, a number of players and staff from both sides were involved in the incident which only highlighted the tension between the two parties further. A true battle of two managers on a quest to secure their club's status as the best in the country.

3 Jose Mourinho vs Arsene Wenger

Jose Mourinho has always enjoyed sharing his success and has never been shy in downplaying opposition managers, which Arsene Wenger found out when 'The Special One' was appointed Chelsea manager for the first time in 2004. The two would trade blows via the media throughout Mourinho's first spell in England, with the now-Manchester United boss labelling Wenger as a 'specialist in failure'. The way in which the two approach the game has also been the centre of rows, with Arsene's 'Wengerball' disagreeing with Mourinho's pragmatic approach. 

4 Jose Mourinho vs Pep Guardiola

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola would first come up against each other while the former was in charge of Inter, and the latter Barcelona. Champions League clashes turned sour and it would end with Mourinho's infamous charge across the Camp Nou pitch after the Italian side knocked Barca out of the competition in 2010. The rivalry would then be intensified by Clasico surroundings once Mourinho took over at Real Madrid, with eye-poking and name-calling just two examples of the relationship between the two camps under the managers, and again in the Premier League with both Manchester clubs.

5 Sir Alex Ferguson vs Rafa Benitez

Rafa Benitez's time at Liverpool naturally saw him come up against Sir Alex Ferguson and the Spaniard would waste no time in getting under the Scotsman's skin. Benitez's repetitive claims that Ferguson spent too much time talking about referees and trying to influence decisions led to one of the most memorable rants in English top tier history, with Benitez presenting a number of facts to his United counterpart.