jose Mourinho has insisted he will always retain a capacity for controversy but claimed he will only play into the hands of other Premier League managers if he allowed himself to become obsessed by Pep Guardiola in Manchester.
Mourinho and Guardiola are about to resume a bitter rivalry from their time coaching Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain as the new managers of Manchester United and Manchester City respectively.
The pair used to be allies in the late 1990s at Barcelona, whenMourinho was an assistant coach and Guardiola a player, but their relationship has since deteriorated to the point where they have become sworn adversaries.
The nadir came in 2011 when Mourinho poked a finger in the eye of Tito Vilanova, Guardiola's assistant at Barcelona, after a tempestuous Spanish Super Cup match.
Mourinho was given a two-match ban for the incident although the suspension was later listed. The former Chelsea manager has a long history of finding himself in hot water with the authorities, though
Mourinho vs Guardiola | A brief history of their rivalry
14 May 1997
Early success
Barcelona win the Cup Winners' Cup under Sir Bobby Robson. His assistant, an unknown Portuguese called Jose Mourinho, had spent hours discussing tactics with midfielder Pep Guardiola.28 April 2010
Glorious defeat
After Mourinho's Inter fail to score in two group games against Pep's Barcelona, they meet again at the quarter final stage and Inter win the first leg 3-1. Down to 10 men early on in the second leg, Inter hold out for a 1-0 defeat that sends them into the final. Mourinho celebrates by running across the Nou Camp pitch, first finger raised in the air.29 Nov 2010
Revenge is sweet
In Mourinho's first Clasico as Real Madrid manager, he is on the wrong end of a 5-0 humbling - his heaviest ever defeat.20 April 2011
Pep outfoxed
The second of four tempestuous Clasicos in 17 days is the Copa del Rey final. With centre-half Pepe playing a spoiler role in midfield, Mourinho's negative tactics kept the game scoreless until a Ronaldo extra-time winner.May 3 2011
'The f***ing boss'
Mourinho's constant insinuations of institutional favouritism towards Barcelona have Pep crack at last. Ahead of their Champions League semi-final, Guardiola cedes press conference defeat: "He is the f*ing boss, the f*ing man, and he can have his own title for that."May 3 2011
Last laugh for Pep
Despite losing his cool before the first leg, Pep oversees a 3-1 aggregate victory over Madrid to take Barcelona to the Champions League final. They beat Manchester United to cap another astonishing year.August 17 2011
One in the eye
Relations reach a new low as Mourinho gouges the eye of Guardiola's assistant Tito Vilanova in a Super Cup brawl.April 27 2012
Guardiola exhausted
Six days after Mourinho wrests the title from all-conquering Barcelona with a 2-1 Clasico victory, Guardiola announces he is stepping down at the end of the season. He says he has "nothing left" and needs to recharge his batteries.August 30 2013
New clubs, old story
Guardiola's first trophy for Bayern Munich is the Super Cup win over Mourinho's Chelsea. The win on penalties is especially sweet after Mourinho belittles Pep - who replaced Champions League-winning Jupp Heynckes - ahead of the match.23 April 2016
Here we go again
Guardiola has agreed to take over at Manchester City, but it wouldn't be complete without his old enemy. Happy to poop Pep's party, Mourinho is set to replace Louis van Gaal at the help of city rivals Manchester United.