The 'Special One' versus the 'specialist in failure': part 13. Maybe it will finally be unlucky for Jose Mourinho as he looks to extend his unbeaten record against Arsene Wenger, but this rivalry will never be boring.They are two of the most respected managers in the game with decorated CVs but that is about all the Chelsea and Arsenal managers hold in common as they prepare for Sunday's clash at the Emirates Stadium.
They have been clashing with each other ever since Mourinho was appointed for his first spell as Chelsea manager in 2004 with the target of knocking Arsenal off their perch following the Invincibles season.
While Mourinho snuggled up to Sir Alex Ferguson, he started a feud with Wenger that remains hostile to this day.
There is no doubt as to who has the upper hand. Mourinho's record against Wenger reads won seven, drawn five, scored 21 and conceded six. The Portuguese takes his side across London on Sunday as champions elect to face an Arsenal team that were out of the title race long before Christmas.
Even more pertinently, that title in 2004 was Wenger's last Premier League triumph (and his third overall). Since then, the Frenchman has won just two FA Cups, separated by a nine-year gap that was the basis for Mourinho's "specialist in failure" jibe.
Mourinho, meanwhile, is a serial winner. He has won two Champions Leagues, seven league titles in four countries and 10 other cup competitions. The 52-year-old scratched a three-year itch when Chelsea won the League Cup in March and will follow it up with the Premier League title in the next few weeks.
When a club hires Mourinho, trophies are a guarantee. He is the anti-Wenger, jumping from club to club implementing short-term projects with spectacular results.
Mourinho riles at Wenger's criticism of his managerial methods and past complaints about Chelsea's money. It was in that context that Mourinho crossed the line in 2007 with a distasteful verbal attack in which he labelled the Arsenal manager a "voyeur".
Maybe, though, at the heart of his feud with Wenger, there is a sense of resentment. That despite his success he has never had the same unwavering support of his board.
"At this moment [Wenger] has a dream job that we would all love to have," Mourinho told Sky Sports in February. "He has the stability and has the time to buy and sell and wait for success... and wait, and wait... I think he has the dream job."
Mourinho has spoken this season of his desire to stay at Chelsea for the next 10 years ever since his return to the club and seems to crave the support and stability that Wenger receives at the Emirates without the demand for trophies.
In an interview with Gary Neville last October, Mourinho spoke of his approach to management and insisted he is not one of the "fundamentalist" coaches who will not adapt his philosophy.
Wenger is quite the opposite, stubbornly loyal to his ways. It is the pragmatist against the professor.
While Wenger has built technically skilful teams on a budget, Mourinho constructs sides based on power, strength and their ability to pick up points. Long after the end of his first spell in charge, his original Chelsea team continued to torment Arsenal, particularly through Didier Drogba and his ability to rip apart the Gunners' defence.
"I wouldn't be so sure that the two managers would be jealous of each other in terms of what they’ve achieved," former Arsenal star Nigel Winterburn tells Goal.
"Maybe it's a case of Mourinho saying 'you know what, I know I have to be successful or maybe the clubs are not going to let me stay too long'.
"I think Sunday's game is a chance for Arsenal to put down more belief within their squad that they can beat the big teams and reaffirm their position in the league as well."
Whatever the basis of the rivalry, Mourinho gets under Wenger's skin.
In the first game between the teams this season, Wenger confronted his opposite number on the touchline at Stamford Bridge and shoved him in the chest. It was an event that might have been given more attention - with possible repercussions from the Football Association - had it been the other way around.
Mourinho is Wenger's nemesis and that is why there is something extra at stake this weekend.
Is India's anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unravelling? Weeks after staging an epic comeback - winning 67 of the 70 assembly seats in the Delhi state
Nigeria’s
President elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, has congratulated the
incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, for the statesmanship showed in conceding
even before his declaration as the winner.
The
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the
candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu
Buhari, winner of Nigeria’s presidential election, defeating the
incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan.
A
frenzy of celebrations took over the city of Ibadan, the Oyo State
capital following the results of Saturday’s presidential elections.
Tottenham
winger, Andros Townsend, came off the bench to produce a late equaliser
for England in a 1-1 draw against Italy in Turin on Tuesday.
