'Specialist in failure': Timeline of the long and creative feud between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger could offer some interesting insights this weekend when they serve as pundits on beIN Sports for Saturday’s Uefa Champions League final. And while Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur promise to supply the fireworks on the pitch in Madrid, seeing old rivals Mourinho and Wenger working together, albeit on beIN’s Arabic coverage, should also prove riveting viewing. The two clashed plenty of times during their managerial careers, chiefly in England when Wenger was a constant at Arsenal and Mourinho spent two stints at Chelsea and one at Manchester United. Infamously, they once nearly even came to blows on the touchline at Stamford Bridge. OK, the pair have presumably mellowed (Jose?), and will most probably be rather more congenial in these latest roles. But, still, it’s worth revisiting the times when they regularly butted heads. Wenger hits out first, accusing Mourinho of parking the bus… “I know we live in a world where we have only winners and losers, but once a sport encourages teams who refuse to take the initiative, the sport is in danger.” Jose retaliates as only Jose knows how… “Wenger has a real problem with us and I think he is what you call in England a voyeur. He is someone who likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have this big telescope to look into the homes of other people and see what is happening. Wenger must be one of them. It is a sickness.” After consulting his lawyers, apparently, Wenger responds… “He’s out of order, disconnected with reality and disrespectful. When you give success to stupid people, it makes them more stupid sometimes and not more intelligent.” True to form, Mourinho doesn’t back down. Even if they go to court… “At Stamford Bridge, we have a file of quotes from Mr Wenger about Chelsea football club in the last 12 months. It is not a file of five pages. It is a file of 120 pages.” Wenger labels Mourinho a chequebook manager… “If you would like to compare every manager you give each one the same amount of resources and say ‘you have that for five years’. After five years you see who has done the most.” Even when sacked by Chelsea, Mourinho makes headlines… “The English like statistics a lot. Do they know that Arsene Wenger has only 50 per cent of wins in the English league?” Despite being in Italy with Inter Milan, Wenger remonstrates with Mourinho… “I’m not the person to be in a club three or four years without winning a trophy. Maybe Wenger should explain to Arsenal supporters how he cannot win a single little trophy since 2005.” Wenger slams Mourinho’s Real Madrid for tactical fouling against Galatasaray, saying: “It looks, frankly, horrible. It’s a pity to see that from a big club.” Of course, it struck a nerve with Mourinho… “Instead of speaking about Real Madrid, Mr Wenger should speak about Arsenal and explain how he lost 2-0 against a team in the Champions League for the first time. The history about the young kids is getting old now. Sagna, Clichy, Walcott, Fabregas, Song, Nasri, Van Persie, Arshavin are not kids. They are all top players.” Having returned to Chelsea, Mourinho questions Arsenal’s fortitude… “You know, they like to cry. That’s tradition. But I prefer to say, and I was telling it to the fourth official, that English people – Frank Lampard, for example – would never provoke a situation like that.” Wenger isn’t happy about Mourinho selling Juan Mata to Manchester United… “Chelsea have already played twice against Man United, they could have sold him last week. I think if you want to respect the fairness for everybody, this should not happen.” Mourinho strikes back… “Wenger complaining is normal because he always does. Normally he should be happy that Chelsea sold a player like Juan Mata, but this is a little bit his nature. I think what is not fair is that his team always has the best days to play.” Asked why title rivals downplay their chances, Wenger suggests it’s because of a fear of failure. Mourinho doesn’t necessarily agree… “Am I afraid of failure? He is a specialist in failure. I’m not. So if one supposes he’s right and I’m afraid of failure, it’s because I don’t fail many times. So maybe he’s right. I’m not used to failing. But the reality is he’s a specialist because, eight years without a piece of silverware, that’s failure.” Chelsea defeat Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, Wenger shoves Mourinho. Wenger says he felt he was provoked, but does show a little remorse post-match. Mourinho? Well… “I’m not surprised, I’m not surprised. [Me] charged? Charged? If it was me it would have been a stadium ban.” Wenger questions Mourinho’s defensive tactics, saying it’s pretty simple to defend. Mourinho disagrees, especially after Arsenal exit Champions League last 16… “It’s not easy. If it was easy, you wouldn’t lose 3-1 at home to Monaco.” Wenger calls for more respect… “I think I just told you that the biggest thing for a manager is to respect other managers and some people have to improve on that. The rivalry is real. But it has to be respectful.” One month after surprising everyone by describing Wenger as a “top manager”, Mourinho reverts to type by highlighting Arsenal’s spending. Wenger responds… “We spend when we think we have to spend and do not listen too much to what people think or say. I believe that one day, if you make real statistics of the players we have developed here, and you compare them to all the other clubs, you would be surprised.” In the Community Shield, the pair refuse to shake hands pre-match, drawing plenty of attention. Arsenal then defeat Chelsea 1-0 – Wenger’s first win against Mourinho in 14 attempts. Jose wouldn’t accept that poor a record, obviously, if the other way around… “I think I would ask myself why. I would to try to answer but not because of a mental block but because I would want to try to find solutions to help my team to do it. This, yes, try to find different way, try to find the reasons why it goes all the time against my team, but just that.” After a fiery league encounter at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho claims Wenger gets an easy ride. From his employers at Arsenal, from referees, from the FA… “In this country only one manager is not under pressure. Every other manager is. I am under pressure, Steve [McClaren] is under pressure, Pellegrini is under pressure, Brendan [Rodgers] too. We cannot be below par. We have to meet the objectives. I have sympathy with all of them because it’s a difficult job. There’s one outside that list but good for him. I have sympathy for Steve. You know. The one who can speak about the referees before the game, after the game, can push people in the technical area, can moan, can cry in the morning, in the afternoon, and nothing happens. He cannot achieve [success] and keep his job, still be the king. I say just one.” Mourinho in typically bullish mood at his official introduction as Manchester United manager… “There are some managers, the last time they won a title was 10 years ago. The last time I won was a year ago. I feel I have to prove – not to the others – to myself. I will never be able to work without success. That’s my nature. If I have something to prove, imagine the others! To finish fourth is not the aim.”

'Specialist in failure': Timeline of the long and creative feud between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho

Former managerial rivals will sit opposite each other in the TV studio this weekend working as pundits for the Uefa Champions League final