As the final whistle went, he collapsed on his knees, fists raised, triumphant. He had done it. He raced onto the pitch, towards the stand: up in the gods sat (or more specifically, stood) his fans, his worshippers. He had done it; Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan had lost 1-0 that night in the Camp Nou, but the aggregate score read Barcelona 2, Inter Milan 3. It was tight, it was dramatic, it was controversial. The match itself embodied Jose Mourinho, which was absolutely fine by him as Inter Milan went on to win an unprecedented treble in 2010, just as Pep Guardiola had done with Barcelona in the year prior to that.

It was not exactly the beginning of the rivalry between the two, (that had started years ago when Barcelona snubbed the experienced Champions League winning coach in favour of their B team manager, Pep Guardiola) but it marked the first gauntlet thrown down in what was to become one of the most tedious, sometimes petty, but undeniably captivating rivalries in recent times.

Of course Mourinho would end up signing on as Real Madrid manager the very next season. As if to alert Pep: I’ve got your European medal, now I’m coming for your domestic title too.

He got off to an absolute flyer, with Madrid racing to the top of the table and coming into the first Clasico as league leaders, 2 points ahead of Barcelona. The reception in the Catalan capital that night was hostile, but also fearful: what if he won again? Could the cules really tolerate the Special One running celebrating on their pitch again? Did they have a choice?

In the end, it was a non-issue. Pep Guardiola had his troops ready for battle, and Barcelona put on what was one of their best performances to date and dismantled the men from Madrid.

5-0. Hands all around the stadium were raised, fingers splayed. Barcelona had gotten their ‘revenge’, redemption almost. They climbed back ahead of Madrid and remained there for the rest of the season.

That season, mind, included constant sneers from Jose, little prods, reminders almost, that their success wasn’t really ‘theirs’. It was the work of the referees, the RFEF, Unicef…

As if to add fuel to the fire, or just to see what would happen, for the heck of it, fate conspired to arrange 4 Clasicos over the course of 2 weeks- the first would be a (by then rendered meaningless) league encounter, the second a Copa Del Rey final, and the remaining two being separate legs of a Champions League semi final tie.

Madrid avoided defeat in the league encounter, and then for the first time in years, beat Barcelona to lift the Copa Del Rey in a match you couldn’t quite keep your eyes away from. Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal in extra time sealed what was to become the first signal of a shift of dominance away from the Catalans. Call it “just the Copa”, but Barcelona wanted that trophy, bad, sending out their strongest line up and competing up to the very end.

For the most part, Pep Guardiola took defeat in his stride. In the post match he mentioned that Pedro’s goal, which didn’t stand, while offside, may not have been called by most referees. Jose took his queue to add in his usual goading- “He is in a category of his own where he is upset the referee got a decision right” said Mourinho about Guardiola.

And that’s where Pep lost it, and let it rip. And how.– “I would like to know which one of these cameras is Mr. Mourinho’s camera”

“Tomorrow at 8.45 we will play a match on the field. Outside of the field he has won the entire year. He can have his own personal Champions League for that. He can enjoy it.”

“In this room, he is the *expletive* man, the *expletive* boss, and I can’t compete with that. If Barcelona want someone who can they should look for another manager”.

Suddenly, the usually graceful and nonchalant Guardiola was dredging out issues long gone, Jose style– “the penalty against Dani Alves in the San Siro”, “Diego Milito’s offside goal”… Tell us how you feel, Pep!

The subsequent match was one that many remember for all the wrong reasons. It was rife with bad tackles, bad acting, and just a general atmosphere that was absent of the excitement that a fixture of this magnitude should carry. Lionel Messi scored twice, his second a thing of beauty, which left Madrid with a mountain that they simply could not overcome, especially with their manager having gotten himself sent to the stands and was henceforth banned from the return leg, where Madrid put on a decent performance but could only manage a 1-1 draw.

Barcelona and Pep went on to achieve a historic 5 trophies in 2011, a feat any club would be proud of… but there was that niggling annoyance in the background, knowing that what stood in the way of a repeat of their 2009 sextuple, was Jose Mourinho and the Copa Del Rey they had lost to Madrid under his leadership (although the trophy subsequently ended up under a bus, but that’s irrelevant).

The 2011-12 season began with a different feel from the one before. While Barcelona’s pre season tour was largely that– a tour, Madrid were carrying out intensive training, and this difference in preparation was clear as day during the first leg of the Supercopa, where Madrid were denied a (huge) win by some heroics from Victor Valdes. The second leg was slightly more evenly contested, but Barcelona still had to rely on late Lionel Messi goal to seal their victory.

That would not be the end of the festivities though, as in the dying moments, Marcelo did what has become a hallmark of Madrid - Barcelona matches under Mourinho– he slid in madly on Barcelona’s shiny new signing, Cesc Fabregas, got himself sent off and ignited a war on the touchline which was epitomized by Mourinho walking up to Barcelona’s assistant coach and sticking his finger right into his eye socket.

Many asked, “What was he thinking?” Surely any manager must know that such an action was off limits, but this was typical of Mourinho’s time in Spain. He would often do things that appeared illogical and incomprehensible, but would generally get off scot costless, due to the reluctance of the RFEF to take any considerable action against him.

Despite an initial excellent start, Barcelona did not have their best season, and rolled into the first Clasico at the Bernabeu at risk of slipping 9 points behind Madrid before the first half of the season was even over. When Benzema put los Blancos ahead within the first 16 seconds, the league looked to be out of Barcelona’s reach. However, the Catalans rallied, and managed to secure a 1-3 victory against the odds.

The euphoria was short lived, mind. In the months that followed, little was heard from Mourinho and Madrid. They did their talking on the pitch. The better Madrid were doing, the less you heard from Jose. The more remarkable the performance was, the less remarkable the press conference would be. It seemed like the tables were turning.

Barcelona could not build on their Clasico triumph, and their title bid was dealt a devastating blow after losing to Osasuna in Pamplona on a costlesszing winter’s night. In any other league, a loss would not have been catastrophic, but Mourinho’s men were setting a pace never before seen in Spain, and the slightest error committed by Barcelona was fatal.

Months ago, it looked like Jose would be out of Madrid by the end of the season, while Pep was comfortable in his surroundings.  Now, there was noise coming out of the Catalan capital that Guardiola was readying himself for a departure come the end of the season, while Jose was extending his contract until 2016 and seemed to be handed full control, especially having ousted sporting director Jorge Valdano before the season had even begun. It was a wager Jose took: if he failed despite having all control, it would have been disastrous as there would have been no one to shove the blame on to. But what if he won?

And win he did. Madrid arrived at the Camp Nou for the penultimate Clasico of the season (after 2 draws and 2 defeats earlier on) knowing that a win would all but crown them champions of Spain, after three years of finishing second to Barcelona. It was no mean feat, as even Jose, despite having given Barcelona so much trouble over the years, had yet to win at the Camp Nou. Barcelona were also riding a wave of momentum, having narrowed the gap from 10 points to 4 points, and looked to be coming for the title that many had assumed Madrid had sewed up months ago.

But it was not to be. Mourinho executed the perfect game plan, and had his team make the champions of Spain look painfully ordinary. The game ended 1-2 to Madrid, but in all respects but the scoreline, it was a complete and utter thrashing. Barcelona’s sole goal came as a consequence of an error against the run of play- aside from that, they hardly mustered a single meaningful attack.

This victory would have been seen as a momentous moment for Madrid, and it was… but it was dampened by their subsequent elimination from the Champions league at the hands of Bayern Munich. Barcelona too were knocked out by Chelsea, and despite the decision apparently being made months ago, Guardiola’s decision to leave the club in the immediate aftermath left a bitter taste in the mouths of many. Mourinho came forward and claimed that it was the fault of Madrid for not ending the league earlier and rendering the Clasico meaningless when they had the opportunity to do so, and he was right.

Guardiola received a proper departure, bidding goodbye to the Camp Nou personally, and then going on to win his last trophy with Barcelona, the Copa Del Rey, 3-0 against Athletic Bilbao.

Mourinho hung around Spain for another season, but it proved to be a mistake as his team, clearly drained from the mental and physical exertion over the last season headed their worst ever league in recent memory. The cheekiness in the press room was lost as Tito Vilanova was simply not as much fun to try and irritate as Guardiola was. Feuds within the Madrid dressing room began to develop- there was no longer an “us against the world” mentality in the dressing room. Players, one by one, began to turn on Mourinho. It was one thing to go along with him when they were winning, but now that wasn’t even the case.

Next season, Mourinho will be in London, managing the only other club that he was unable to lead to Champions League glory, Chelsea FC. Guardiola meanwhile, will be looking forward to taking charge on Bayern Munich in Germany, a country famed for being more interested in football and the fans rather than post match controversy.

It makes sense then, that their first competitive match will be against each other, in the UEFA Supercup. You couldn’t write this stuff.

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About the author
Sidhu Sheena
18 year old Malaysian currently studying in London. Aspiring journalist. Short. Does not like carrots. Twitter: @sheenasidhu