• Champions League

Mancini: Mourinho does not want friends

ESPN staff
March 17, 2014
Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho are set to renew hostilities at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday © Getty Images
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Roberto Mancini has fired another pot shot at Jose Mourinho before Chelsea's Champions League meeting with Galatasaray by claiming his old rival does not want friends in the game.

Mancini and Mourinho's cold war

Jose Mourinho and Roberto Mancini are set to do battle again on Tuesday © Getty Images
  • Jose Mourinho and Roberto Mancini have hardly been the best of friends since the former replaced the latter at Inter Milan in 2008. Here are some of the best barbs they've aimed at each other:
  • Mourinho on Manchester City's Champions League group stage elimination in 2012: "I admire the fact that clubs support managers. It's good that it was City [who went out] because Roberto can work without any kind of problems. I believe if it was Real I think the press wouldn't let me return to Madrid."
  • Mancini (in response): "Mourinho is not my chairman. He is not my owner. What Mourinho said is for me not interesting. Mourinho wants to talk about everything. For me, it is not important. Sometimes it could be [jealousy]."
  • Mourinho after taking over at Inter: "I don't see Mancini's shadow over me. I'm indifferent to it."
  • Mancini on Mourinho's 2010 Champions League win at Inter: "Did I build the foundations? I built the roof too! The most difficult thing is to start a cycle. The rest follows as a consequence."

"I said some perfectly normal things but someone stirred it up into controversy and he got offended," Mancini said before Tuesday's clash.

"In Istanbul we saw each other and said only 'hello'. We certainly aren't friends. I don't think Mourinho wants to have friends, or maybe that's just the way he likes to appear."

With his side heading to Stamford Bridge following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Galatasaray manager Mancini's comments signify another renewal of hostilities with Mourinho, who replaced him at Inter Milan in 2008.

Before their first encounter in Istanbul three weeks ago, Mancini claimed Mourinho only won the Champions League at Inter in 2010 "because he took a good team".

However, Mourinho hit back by claiming Mancini is a "five-a-side" manager. He said: "It's funny because my [Inter] team in the final had Lucio, Thiago Motta, Diego Milito, Samuel Eto'o, Goran Pandev and Wesley Sneijder.

"From 11 players, he didn't work with six of them. So he made a five-a-side team because I played with only five players from his team."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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