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#3 Xabi Alonso
Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have seen some world-class midfielders play for them and Xabi Alonso is surely one of them. He joined Real Madrid from Liverpool in the summer of 2009 after having a more than impressive spell with the Merseyside club.
Jose Mourinho joined Madrid in 2010 and it was the start of a wonderful partnership. With the kind of game-style the former Chelsea manager preferred, Alonso was the ideal midfielder for him. With his ability to break opponents down at the heart of midfield and supply some stunning incisive passes, Jose couldn't have asked for more from Alonso. The duo won La Liga and Copa del Rey titles together.
In 2014, Alonso joined Bayern Munich joining manager Pep Guardiola. They won the Bundesliga twice and the DFB Pokal once together. The Spanish midfielder described the difference between playing for Pep and Mourinho.
Under the Portuguese, he would have had to cover a lot of ground given his game-style. Under Pep Guardiola, the positioning was rather more important as the former Barcelona manager preferred defending in a bigger space. Although the game-styles were very different under both these managers, Alonso came out with flying colors for both of them.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
There are very few players in the history of the game who have played for more top clubs than Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish striker has been a phenomenal player throughout his career, playing for some of the top European clubs in the process.
While playing for Inter Milan in the 2008-09 season, Zlatan first played under the management of Jose Mourinho. Inter won Serie A that season with the Swedish player winning the Player of the Season award. He then joined Barcelona the following season where he met Pep Guardiola.
Ibrahimovic did not get along well with the Spanish manager from almost the onset. He was of the opinion that Pep Guardiola was sacrificing other players to accommodate Lionel Messi. The relationship between the two only worsened by the end of the season, which resulted in the former Ajax striker joining AC Milan on loan the following season.
After a successful spell with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Zlatan signed for Manchester United as a free agent in the summer of 2016. It was his reunion with his former manager Jose Mourinho. The duo won the EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League together in the 2016-17 season. The former Milan striker has always loved Mourinho's leadership and, by his own admission, would even be willing to die for him.
#1 Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o was once a product of the Real Madrid youth academy. However, he was allowed to leave and in 2004, he joined Barcelona from Mallorca courtesy of his impressive performances in front of goal.
In the 2008-09 season, Pep Guardiola was appointed as Barcelona's manager. Eto'o has had a trophy-laden career with the Catalans but he has always been critical of the Spanish manager. The Cameroon striker felt that despite being with the Spanish giants for such a long time, Pep failed to understand the squad during his time. The relationship between the two was never on good terms and after one season, Eto'o left for Inter Milan.
At Inter, Eto'o met Jose Mourinho and things turned out drastically different for him there. He felt more loved and valued under the Portuguese and together they won the historic treble in the 2009-10 season. He was reunited with Jose at Chelsea in the 2013-14 season but that stint didn't turn out to be as productive as the one at Inter. To date, the former Barcelona forward remains a massive admirer of Jose Mourinho.
Poll : Which manager do you admire the most?
Pep Guardiola
Jose Mourinho
281 votes
