The debate over who is the better coach has been raging on ever since Mourinho moved to Spain to manage Real Madrid. The enigmatic Portuguese has already edged ahead of his new rival by winning the FIFA World Coach of the Year 2010 award. Now, Mourinho can add yet another notch to his belt.
Pep Guardiola has ensured he will go down in Barcelona folklore for his role in leading the Catalans to six major titles between 2009 and 2010. However, even Barcelona’s unprecedented sextuple was not enough to impress the legendary Maradona.
Diego Maradona has claimed that he prefers Jose Mourinho over the Barcelona boss any day.
The legendary Argentinean said, “If I were a president, I would hire Mourinho first, certainly because of his experience. I believe however that Pep is a guy who has been touched by a magic wand, make no mistake that he is a hard worker. If Mourinho had the time that Guardiola has had [in Spanish football], things might be more equal."
Mourinho has certainly lived up to his reputation as the Special One in recent seasons. The enigmatic manager earned his name during his time with Porto and Chelsea, before leading Inter Milan to a historic treble in the 2009-10 campaign.
Maradona’s preference of Mourinho would not have come as much of a surprise, but his thoughts on the best player in the La Liga certainly raised a few eyebrows. When asked who he considered to be the best footballer in the Spanish League, Maradona replied, “Removing Messi and Ronaldo, (Real Madrid defender) Marcelo is the best player in the league right now.”
Guardiola though, has the edge over his Real Madrid counterpart in head-to-head meetings. Guardiola’s Barcelona defeated Mourinho’s Madrid 5-0 at the Nou Camp earlier in the season.
However, with Real Madrid and Barcelona set to meet two more times this season, the Special One has time to turn things around before the end of the season. (blogs.bettor)
