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The Premier League has been graced by many world-class managers. Some tasted great success, while others faded away after failing to live up to the pressure of managing a Premier League team.
The legacies of clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and in recent years, Manchester City, were built by great managers. Some stayed at their clubs for decades, like Sir Alex Ferguson at United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Others, like Jose Mourinho, Claudio Ranieri and Antonio Conte, achieved success in much shorter stints at various Premier League clubs.
Here is an interesting tweet from 2018 to provide a perspective on Wenger's and Ferguson's legendary tenures:
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With the stakes set higher and higher each year, the tension between clubs competing for the Premier League title has also grown. Managers often get caught up in the middle of it all. They are answerable to the press, fans, club hierarchy and, of course, their players. That has, at times, led to feuds between managers, making for unsavoury moments.
From scuffles on the touchline to taking digs at one another during press conferences, bringing up past incidents and using mind games, Premier League managers have done it all.
On that note, here's a look at the five greatest managerial rivalries in Premier League history.
#5 Jose Mourinho (Manchester United) vs Antonio Conte (Chelsea)
Antonio Conte arrived at Chelsea in 2016, ready to take on his first challenge in the Premier League. Jose Mourinho was then newly appointed as the Manchester United manager. Fans and pundits alike were curious to see how their rivalry would develop as the two men competed for silverware.
Mourinho had managed in the league before and was no stranger to the intensity of the Premier League - on the pitch, sidelines or behind the scenes. Conte, meanwhile, like Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola and Rafael Benitez, was at the receiving end of Mourinho's sly remarks. However, he was not one to back down.
During the pair's stints in the Premier League between 2016 and 2018, several spats took place between them.
After Conte's Chelsea beat Mourinho's United 4-0 at Stamford Bridge in 2016, the latter slammed his counterpart's celebrations at full time, labelling them excessive. A few months later, Conte questioned why Victor Moses was sent on several loans by Chelsea, a player whom Mourinho had managed at the time. The Italian questioned Mourinho's ability to spot talent, as he left Moses out of his team.
Later in the season, in the early months of 2017, as Chelsea looked like title favourites, Mourinho praised The Blues with a backhand compliment, saying:
"Chelsea are a very good defensive team. They defend very well and with lots of players, and, I think, in this situation, a very defensive team wins the title."
The two managers had some very colourful words for each other over the two years. The Italian mentioned to the press that Chelsea wanted consistency, and wanted to avoid a season like Mourinho's last at the club.
When asked what he thought about Conte's remarks, Mourinho took a trademark dig at the Italian, commenting on his hair transplant, saying:
"I don't know. I could answer in many different ways, but I'm not going to lose my hair to speak about Antonio Conte."
When asked for a response, Conte tried explaining in Italian, and ended up using a phrase that, in English, roughly translates to 'senile dementia'.
It was a rivalry that was entertaining, both on and off the pitch. However, Conte had the last laugh as his Chelsea team walked away with the Premier League title, with Mourinho's United coming sixth.
#4 Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) vs Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
Arsene Wenger signed as Arsenal's manager in 1996, winning three league titles in his 22-year tenure. Under the Frenchman, The Gunners impressively went an entire season unbeaten, during the historic 2003-04 'Invincibles' campaign. However, that came before Jose Mourinho arrived in the Premier League as Chelsea's manager later that summer.
The Blues went on to create history. The Portuguese manager, in his first season in charge, won the Premier League with 95 points and a record-low of 15 goals conceded. Wenger's Arsenal finished a distant second, a whopping 12 points behind The Blues.
Mourinho made it successive Premier League titles in his next season in English football as Chelsea announced themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
However, what started as an exciting rivalry on the pitch soon moved away from football, and turned into a war of words. In one instance, it blew over as the two managers were involved in an infamous touchline scuffle during a Premier League game in 2014.
Here's a montage by Eurospork UK that encapsulates the pair's intense rivalry in a nutshell.
However, Wenger later apologised for the push in an interview, following a sending off and a touchline ban, saying he regretted his actions. Mourinho, too, came out and acknowledged he was shocked, as the Frenchman was 'the last of that type'.
The pair has, since then, worked together on the same panel on multiple occasions during international tournaments. However, their rivalry in the Premier League gave fans some of the spiciest games and moments.
#3 Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) vs Jose Mourinho (Manchester United & Tottenham Hotspur)
Three-time Premier League winner Pep Guardiola first arrived in England after two immensely successful spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
The Spaniard arrived at Manchester City with 21 major honours to his name as manager. That included two UEFA Champions League and six league titles. Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, had tasted success across Europe, engaging in battle with Guardiola during the pair's time in Spain.
In England, though, the clubs they managed could not have been further apart in terms of trajectory and ambition. However, that did not stop them from taking jibes at each other. Here is Mourinho's witty response when faced with a statement from Guardiola.
Mourinho, in several instances, has passed comments on Guardiola's typically animated behaviour on the touchline. He once said regarding the Spaniard:
"By the way, if I behaved the way on the touchline like he does, I have no chance to stay there - I'm out."
However, over the years, their rivalry has been much less in the spotlight, with the Manchester City tactician acknowledging that the pair share a 'good relationship'. Guardiola said in this regard:
"I absolutely prefer this; I don't like being in the limelight. His business is Tottenham, or before, United mine is City. We have to handle our team and backroom staff ,and we don't have time (for) other clubs - and could not care less. The only concern is what we have to do (against opponents)."
Guardiola is now looking to deliver yet another Premier League title for Manchester City. Meanwhile, Mourinho made a return to Italy with AS Roma to try and turn their fortunes around.
#2 Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) vs Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are arguably two of the most animated managers in world football.
Their antics and dynamism on the touchline have resulted in both managers building reputations as 'peculiar characters in football'. Klopp's Liverpool and Guardiola's City have given us some of the most mouthwatering clashes in recent Premier League history.
The two have had some fiery words for each other over the years, but have always shown respect at the end of it. That makes for one of the most exciting rivalries in Premier League history.
Pep Guardiola's City team, over the years, have often faced still battles for the Premier League title. The Spaniard has acknowledged Klopp's ability to fight and rally his troops.
Klopp, meanwhile, lost the Premier League title to Guardiola's City by a solitary point in 2018, despite garnering 97 points that season. However, he has maintained a respectable relationship with his counterpart, congratulating him and City on their Premier League title win last season.
Liverpool once again lost the 2021-22 Premier League trophy to Manchester City by a point, but there is no doubt the two sides will do battle next season.
#1 Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) vs Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge of Manchester United for an astounding 27 years, winning a record 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues. Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, was Arsenal's manager for 22 years, winning three Premier League titles and a record seven FA Cups.
The pair was in the league together for 17 years, sharing 13 Premier League league titles during this period. In 2017, Arsene Wenger went past Ferguson's record of most Premier League games (811) in charge of a club.
Their teams faced off in intense games that had a direct impact on the title race, as they were the two frontrunners for the league title. That often led to fiery encounters on the pitch, led by captains Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) and Roy Keane (Manchester United).
However, as the years passed and the two gentlemen mellowed down, Wenger and Ferguson became more relaxed and graceful with each other. When Wenger's biopic recently came out, Ferguson heaped praise on the Frenchman for his incredible achievements with The Gunners.
The pair has long since retired from their roles, leaving a huge rebuilding task to be accomplished at both Arsenal and Manchester United. Their legacies, however, will remain a part of Premier League folklore.
