Pep Guardiola has revealed what he learned from Jose Mourinho when they were together at Barcelona.
The Manchester City manager was captain of the Catalan side under Bobby Robson and Louis Van Gaal , who both had ex- Manchester United man Mourinho as their assistant.
It was a fruitful period for the club, winning two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup, with Guardiola as the midfield mastermind.
Mourinho had started out as Robson’s interpreter but gradually moved into a coaching role – and at Barca he was largely responsible for the defensive side of the game, with Robson more adept at attacking.
Mourinho was also a skilled organiser, known for planning training sessions and offering tactical advice and opposition analysis, while Robson was the man manager.
But the two men later became bitter rivals when Guardiola was Barcelona manager and Mourinho took the reins at Real Madrid - the relationship was so unhealthy at one point that the Spanish media would call it "The Disease".
Things calmed down when the two men came to Manchester in 2016 to take over at City and United, but it was clear they would never again be close friends.
Guardiola was asked what he had learned from Mourinho in that four-year spell together, and he pointed to the defensive side of the game.
“At Barcelona, the first coach that put me on alert to counter-attacks was Mourinho, with Di Maria, Bale, Benzema,” he told Gol.
“I'd think 'careful when we lose the ball.”
Dealing with counter-attacks has become a key part of Guardiola’s possession-based game, with most opponents happy to let his City team have the ball and then use fast counters to try to hurt the Blues.
After teething problems in his first season, City have developed that side of their game, and over the last two seasons have the best defensive record in the league.
