Professional rivalry among managers is one thing and then there’s outright hate. Managers can’t help but face-off against their opposite numbers but how do you explain two men hating each other as some of the managers on this list do? Not only have they hurled abuses at each other but also come to actual blows. And they’ve not always been for the sake of the team.
Call it conflicting personalities, philosophies or loyalties, the stories of these managers going at each other are iconic and go way beyond managerial rivalry. Here’s a look at 10 instances of managers who hated one another:
#10 Ronald Koeman and Louis van Gaal
Considering Louis van Gaal and Ronald Koeman had worked so well together at Barcelona, the former as manager and the latter as his assistant, it's hard to believe their relationship soured. However, it can be traced back to the time when Koeman was appointed as manager of Ajax in 2001 and was joined by his former colleague three years later as the club’s technical director.
Things came to a head when the former Manchester United manager sold a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic on transfer deadline day with no time to find a replacement and Koeman demanded he be fired.van Gaal handed in his resignation and was gone within a few months of joining the Dutch club. Koeman didn’t come out unscathed himself. He was fired from his job just four months later for poor results.
There are stories of the former Manchester United manager pulling up a chair and commenting on Ajax first team’s training and even boasting of building a holiday villa bigger than Koeman’s in Portugal. The last time these managers faced each other was in the Premier League in charge of Manchester United and Southampton respectively.
Speaking ahead of a Premier League clash in 2014, van Gaal said, “I don’t have to describe my relationship with the trainer of the opponent. That’s more private I think. We play against Southampton and we have to speak about Southampton and not the trainer-coach.”
#9 Fabio Capello and Arrigo Sacchi
Fabio Capello was caretaker-manager of AC Milan when he was replaced by Arrigo Sacchi in 1987, a move that was not welcomed by the fans since Sacchi had never played professional football. However, dogged determination and an awe-inspiring confidence in his own methods ensured he lifted Milan out of their misery of the 80s and led them to two consecutive European titles, a feat as yet unrepeated.
However, he took it quite personally when he was replaced by Capello four years later. The former England manager was impressive in his own right winning a European title and four Serie A titles in five seasons.
Sacchi didn’t take Capello’s success in the best spirit saying he had simply inherited a great side (thanks to him) and criticised his football tactics. He even went so far to call him “evil” in his machinations.
#8 Brian Clough and Don Revie
For two people who shared such a bitter feud, Brian Clough and Don Revie had a lot more in common than you would think. Both were from Middlesbrough and hardly played much professional football but turned out to be successful managers in their own right, transforming Nottingham Forest and Leeds United respectively into title-winning sides. However, when Clough moved to Derby as manager, he became quite vocal about Revie and his side’s physical style of football.
Clough described Leeds as “dirty” and “cheating” and even suggested demoting them for their deplorable disciplinary record.Their feud was further embittered when Clough replaced Revie at Leeds. Clough pushed the former manager's buttons like never before when he told his players during a training session, "You can all throw your medals in the bin because they were not won fairly."
However, Revie had the last laugh because Clough was fired from his post just 44 days into the job after his own players turned on him. Their rivalry and hatred for each other came to the fore during a combined television interview in 1974. Want to watch two men politely trampling on each other? Allow Revie and Clough to show you the way.
Their rivalry became so iconic that it was immortalised in the film called The Damned United.
#7 Walter Mazzarri and Antonio Conte
Walter Mazzarri and Antonio Conte may be Premier League bosses at the moment but their feud goes all the way back to the time they were managers at Napoli and Juventus respectively. The two actually got off on the right foot with Mazzarri all praise for the former Juventus player when he was appointed as manager. However, things soured quickly when Mazzarri accused Conte of stealing his football philosophy. Which philosophy do you ask? The oh-so-successful three at the back.
While Conte claimed it was just a result of having three excellent centre-halves, the former Inter Milan manager refused to believe him. Their personal rivalry extended to their teams when Mazzarri ordered his players to boycott the post-match presentation of the Italian Super Cup in 2012 which saw Juventus lift the trophy after defeating Napoli 4-2 during extra time. The former Napoli manager even said the Bianconeri had an edge over Italian clubs because of their spending capacity.
After a 1-1 draw against Napoli in 2013, Conte went so far as to say, "No, I never spoke with him. Never, never, never. We didn’t even shake hands. I can assure you we didn’t even look at each other. Each to their own bench. It’s better that way." While they have dialled back their disdain for each other, Mazzarri can’t be too happy about Conte sitting at the top of the table with Chelsea and their back-three.
#6 Neil Warnock and Stan Ternent
Neil Warnock is a certifiable crazy person at times and is famous for his outbursts against managers, players and referees alike, especially Stan Ternent. Their feud can be traced back to one particular match between Sheffield United and Burnley back in 2001. Ternent accused Warnock of sending a spy to listen in on his team talk with the Clarets and didn’t waste any time in complaining to the referee.
Ternent and Warnock’s second-in-command, Kevin Blackwell got into a scuffle in the referee’s office where the Burnley manager reportedly punched and headbutted him. Since the bust up, Ternent has said, “I’ve had a friendly beer with Blackwell since, but I won’t look Warnock in the face.” Warnock, on the other hand, said, “I had always known Stan Ternent was a d***head but when Sheffield United played Burnley in 2001 he behaved like a deranged lunatic.”
Warnock also famously said, "The two managers I really dislike are Stan Ternant and Gary Megson. The old saying that I wouldn't p**s on them if they were on fire applies."
#5 Domenico di Carlo and Silvio Baldini
If you think Antonio Conte is passionate pitch-side then he has absolutely nothing on Silvio Baldini, although their display of passion isn’t quite on the same lines. Baldini became a journeyman manager in Italy thanks to his short temper and unabashed rudeness. Not one to hold back, his feud with Domenico di Carlo came to head in 2007 when his side, Catania faced Di Carlo’s Parma in 2007.
Baldini had been sacked from Parma three years earlier and the manager struggled to control his emotions on the touchline. The intensity of the occasion got to him and the Catania boss was immediately sent off for dissent. Baldini, however, refused to leave the pitch and the Parma manager got involved, shouting insulting words at him. The resulting bust up lead to Baldini kicking Di Carlo’s behind in hilarious fashion thus earning himself a one-month ban from the Italian FA.
To Baldini’s credit, he did apologise, although it wasn’t quite what everyone expected. He said, "To Catania's fans, to the whole city... and to Parma's fans, as my attack was certainly not intended at them. But I do not apologise to him (Di Carlo). I don't owe Di Carlo anything: he is a flawed person and he provoked me."
#4 Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon
The rivalry between McCoist and Lennon was more a result of their circumstances than any real animosity but, as Lennon himself said, “In 20 years, they'll be showing footage of me and Ally squaring up to each other.” While it hasn’t been 20 years since that day in March 2011 when Celtic squared off against a struggling Rangers for a Scottish Cup match, it continues to make a great story about two managers going at each other on the touchline.
The Old Firm rivalry was at an all-time high with Rangers on the verge of going into liquidation and the tension erupted when three Rangers players were sent off that day in the course of their 1-0 defeat against their opponents. The combative meeting didn’t stop with the final whistle. As the two managers met to shake hands, it quickly descended into an infamous brawl.
McCoist made unbecoming comments to his counterpart which lead to an immediate scuffle near the tunnel. While the confrontation itself was minor it just added to the already tense atmosphere inside the stadium. Even though both managers said they shared a beer to smooth over matters, the Scottish government got involved in the situation.
#3 Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola
Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola used to be ‘friendly’ back in the late 1990s at Barcelona but their circumstances since then have soured the relationship between two of the most successful managers of modern football. First, Guardiola was appointed the manager of Barcelona ahead of Mourinho, then it was the Champions League final between the Blaugrana and Inter Milan in 2010, their rivalry intensified as managers of Barcelona and Real Madrid and now, of course, they are in charge of the two Manchester clubs in England.
Their relationship extended far beyond managerial rivalry years ago and there seems to be nothing but a festering pool of hatred left. Both men have criticised each other's tactics repeatedly, one focused on playing pragmatic need-based football and the other insisting on playing a beautiful game.
In a famous rant after their UCL semi-final clash in 2011, Mourinho said, "One day, I would like Josep Guardiola to win this competition properly... I would be ashamed to have won it with the scandal of Stamford Bridge. If he wins it this year, it will be with the scandal of the Bernabeu... I hope one day Guardiola has the chance of winning a brilliant, clean championship with no scandal."
By the next season, the two were at it again as the Spanish Super Cup at the start of the 2011-12 season broke out into an all-out brawl where Mourinho even poked the late Tito Villanova in the eye. While hostilities have not quite escalated in Manchester in a similar fashion, there is no love lost between these two greats.
#2 Alex Ferguson and Kevin Keegan
In his 26 years with the club, Alex Ferguson racked up quite the list of managerial rivals but nothing quite exceeds the hatred between the Scotsman and Kevin Keegan. It was 1995-96 and Keegan’s Newcastle United had a 12-point lead at the top going into the new year. As the Magpies started faltering and United stayed on course, Ferguson turned the screws on Keegan, famous for his emotional nature by suggesting teams like Nottingham Forest went easy on Newcastle as opposed to his team.
His comment set Keegan off and encouraged his famous rant on television:
“I've kept really quiet but I'll tell you something, he went down in my estimations when he said that. We have not resorted to that. You can tell him now, we're still fighting for this title and he's got to go to Middlesbrough and get something.
And I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it.”
Alas, Newcastle failed and Ferguson became a master of mind games.
#1 Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger
The Special One is as gifted in nurturing hate for his fellow managers as he is when it comes to winning trophies. If you thought his dislike for Pep was fierce then it is nothing compared to the utter disdain he has exhibited for Arsene Wenger. Their contentious relationship goes back to Mourinho’s first stint with Chelsea when going up against the Frenchman was unavoidable.
When Wenger commented that Chelsea’s form had dipped in 2004, Mourinho called him a ‘voyeur’ who likes to watch people and more recently called him a “specialist in failure” for not having won a league title in 14 years. However, a war of words proved insufficient for these two managers as they longed for more satisfying outlets for their hatred of each other.
Wenger went so far as to push Mourinho near the technical area while their teams played out a league match in 2014. The two men have never seen eye-to-eye on any matter and have taken every opportunity to insult the other whether it was even relevant. This season itself, Mourinho mentioned how there is so much pressure on him despite his record while there is none on Wenger who has just won a couple of FA Cups since the ‘Invincibles’ era.
