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Mourinho and Guardiola make Manchester derby focal point of the English calendar

Manchester United appointed Jose Mourinho as manager this week, finally putting to an end one of most tedious sagas in recent memory. Two giants of the game, both recently knocked off their perch whilst showing little humility, have been brought together in a relationship that has seemed destined for years.

United supporters will be desperately hoping that the divisive Portuguese coach is the man to lead a new era of hoovering up silverware; the club have just ended a three year trophy drought by winning The FA Cup under much maligned coach Louis Van Gaal. However, the Reds won’t be the only side in Manchester who will benefit from the arrival of a new manager. As everybody knows, Pep Guardiola will take the reigns at the Etihad on July 1st; the eyes of the football world are about to be concentrated on Manchester.

Sine the takeover of City in 2008, the Manchester derby has been one of the biggest fixtures in the English football calendar. It came to a head in 2012 when a match between the two at the Etihad Stadium was billed as a title decider, taking place just three games from the end of the season. Many saw it as the biggest game in the history of the Premier League; City came out on top and went on to win the league.

December 2012 then saw another mammoth fixture between the two played out at the Etihad; United stole a stoppage-time win with a deflected Robin Van Persie free-kick. They went on to reclaim their title that year. The derby has remained a big game since but, in truth, those two fixtures in 2012 represent the last time the derby was a real showpiece occasion.

There have been big games since, of course. The recent 1-0 victory for United at Old Trafford seemed like a significant result in the battle for a top four position. However, with the Reds eventually missing out and City scraping a fourth place finish, it proved inconsequential. Lots of supporters on either side spoke of feeling apathetic before the game; my own experience was that that defeat hurt less than other derby loss I can remember. Two dull sides battled it out for a disappointing league position – not exactly one to get pulses racing.

However, with Guardiola taking the reigns at City and Mourinho taking up residence in the Old Trafford dugout, all of that is about to change again. Guardiola and Mourinho have a long-standing rivalry that escalated during their time in Spain whilst managing Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively. Pep has, by some distance, the better of the head-to-head record which should give encouragement to City fans that they can regain the upper-hand on derby day, having not won any of the last three.

Guardiola has never really been a man to lose his rag in public. However, Mourinho is the one man to cause him to do it. After one meeting between their sides, the Portuguese made some ridiculous claims about Guardiola criticising a referee for getting a decision right – the Spaniard had in fact been praiseful of the referee. Irked by his rival’s comments, Guardiola unleashed an expletive-laden but measured rant in a press conference. It earned him a standing ovation from his playing squad, who subsequently went on to beat Madrid in a Champions League semi-final. Mourinho might be seen as the master of mind –games and manipulation but, when he had to, Pep showed he had his number all along, not only on the pitch but in the press-room too.

Many City fans have come to find Mourinho something of a loathsome figure. His comments about the club’s spending power – whilst managing Chelsea, of all clubs – were tedious and hypocritical. His moaning to the press about refereeing decisions against his team have gone from being calculated and clever to being telltale signs of paranoia. He has become a hate figure at the Etihad. Beating United has always been important and euphoric; doing it against a Mourinho lead United might just feel even better than it did against a team managed by Alex Ferguson. In one move, United have made themselves relevant again and made sure the Manchester derby will be as passionate as ever.

The likelihood is that City and United will be battling each other for titles again soon. Their new managers are too good, too proven to expect anything else. Derbies will no longer be about competing for a top four position or mere bragging rights; they will be about winning the Premier League, just like they were in 2012. We could be heading for a new era of English football with Manchester firmly at the forefront – City coming out on top could provide the most glorious era in their history.