Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola will test their wits against each other once again tomorrow when they lead their teams out for the UEFA Super Cup clash at the Eden Arena in Prague.
Two years ago the two coaches led their respective teams to an exciting Primera Liga two-horse race with Guar-diola’s Barcelona prevailing over big rivals Real Madrid, led by Mourinho.
This summer Guardiola returned to the bench, this time at European champions Bayern Munich, after taking a year’s sabbatical while Mourinho parted ways with Real and is now back at Chelsea, the Europa League holders.
The match in Prague will be a repeat of the 2012 Champions League final − Chelsea beating Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
In direct encounters between Guardiola and Mourinho, the latter lags behind the Spaniard 7-3 with five other matches finishing in a draw.
This is perhaps the most telling of statistics when comparing the two as Mourinho can have few excuses this time.
In fact, despite convincing Real to spend big and sign star players, Mourinho came up short against Guardiola who focused more on developing what he had and getting the best out of the likes of Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are still to inscribe their name on the European Super Cup as they lost on three occasions they appeared in the decisive match, originally the official opener of a new season.
1975: Bayern lost to Dynamo Kiev 0-3 on aggregate.
1976: Bayern lost to Anderlecht 3-5 on aggregate.
1998: Chelsea beat Real Madrid 1-0.
2001: Bayern lost to Liverpool 2-3.
2012: Chelsea lost to Atletico Madrid 1-4.
Chelsea lost to Spain’s Atletico in 2012 in the last of the Monaco curtain-raisers. That 4-1 scoreline was the biggest margin of victory in a one-off Super Cup.
To qualify for tomorrow’s contest, Chelsea beat Benfica 2-1 in the Europa League final while Bayern overcame Borussia Dortmund by the same scoreline in the decisive Champions League match at Wembley.
English teams have a record of seven wins and seven losses, while German clubs have finished on the losing end in all seven Super Cup showings so far.
Apart from the Champions League final of 2012, Chelsea have met Bayern only once in past commitments. In season 2004-05, the duo met in the quarter-finals of the competition.
After a 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge, the Blues lost their away tie 2-3 but proceeded to the last four 6-5 on aggregate.
Last season at the Amsterdam Arena, Chelsea became the first English club to win three different tournaments and ranked among Europe’s elite clubs.
In fact, the London club became only the fourth team to win all three UEFA trophies – the Champions League, Cup Winners’ Cup (now defunct) and Europa League.
Only Juventus, Ajax Amsterdam and Bayern Munich, three of the continent’s most decorated clubs, have previously achieved the feat.