Pep Guardiola: Manchester City manager refuses to focus on Jose Mourinho as 'it's so difficult to win' in England

Guardiola and Mourinho have not re-ignited their famous rivalry upon their arrival in Manchester

Jack de Menezes
Friday 08 July 2016 09:12 EDT
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Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn in his rivalry with Jose Mourinho
Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn in his rivalry with Jose Mourinho (PA)

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Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn into a war of words with Jose Mourinho after he faced the media for the first time since being unveiled as Manchester City manager.

Mourinho took the same approach when he spoke of his plans as United manager last week, although whether the truce will last much longer remains to be seen as they are due to meet in a pre-season friendly later this month as part of the International Champions Cup pre-season tournament.

Asked if he is looking forward to renewing his rivalry with Mournho, whom he faced a number of times when manager of Barcelona against the Portuguese’s Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Guardiola stressed that he was not focusing on him because every manager will pose a difficult challenge.

“I think Jose said pretty well that it is not about him or me, so we are not focusing on each other,” Guardiola told the British media, who he also admitted scared him when things don’t go his way.

“From what I saw from a distance is that it is so difficult to win games, I will have to prove myself.

He added: “We’ve played many times against each other, but I can say as a coach the big coaches help me to reach another level. Playing him, Jurgen Klopp in Germany, they’ve made me better. All the managers around the world want to win and here it’s no different.”

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