The eyes of the football world will be on Manchester this evening. Manchester United, the powerhouse of English football over the past two-and-a-half decades will be up against their so-called "noisy neighbours" Manchester City. Though City have two Premier League titles compared to United's 13, it is fair to say that the balance of power that lay so firmly with United for so long has slowly been shifting to the blue half of the city over the past five seasons.
Though it may lack the history of their rivalry against Liverpool, there is little doubt that City have become United's fiercest rivals in recent times. Once not even a regular participant in the top tier of English football, the Citizens, in no small part due to Arab investment, have become a formidable opposition, and results-wise have been the better team in the northwest of England over the past few seasons.
The tense rivalry between these two clubs will get an added dimension this season, as two old foes, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, will lock horns. While Roberto Mancini was the architect of City's epochal title campaign in 2011-12, relations between him and the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson were always civil, despite the see-saw rivalry between the two clubs in the three years they both went up against each other in the league.
It is highly unlikely that there will be any such civility between Mourinho and Guardiola. The two men first faced off in the 2009-10 Champions League with the then defending champions, Barcelona, managed by Guardiola, beating Mourinho's Inter Milan in the league phase. However, when these two teams were drawn to face each other in the semifinal, Mourinho got his revenge. A 3-2 aggregate victory over the two legs sent Inter through to the final that they won. Mourinho further angered Barcelona fans by going and celebrating on the pitch after the win.
A continental rivalry soon became a domestic one when Mourinho joined Real Madrid. While the El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona has historically always been the most storied and fierce of football rivalries, it is unlikely that in recent times it has ever reached the bitter and acrimonious level of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, when Mourinho and Guardiola were at the helm.
It came as a surprise when Guardiola, after four marvellous years at Barcelona, stepped down a few weeks prior to the end of the 2011-12 season and decided to take a one-year sabbatical. It was felt that Mourinho and his constant jibes at him over two years had worn him out mentally, although there was no doubt who was better on the pitch - Mourinho won just two of the 11 encounters against Guardiola. However, in some sense being credited with his arch nemesis stepping away, it could be said that Mourinho won the mind games.
What happened in Spain between these two managers may count for little when hostilities resume today. But there could be a precedent. Much like Manchester United now, Real Madrid had ceded ground to Barcelona when Mourinho arrived. Though this is the debut season for both at Manchester, the presence of Guardiola in the blue half could just be the added motivation Mourinho needs to bring glory back to Old Trafford.
The two men, once believed to be quite close, when Guardiola was a player and Mourinho was assistant manager at Barcelona in the late 1990s, saw their relationship sour when the latter was overlooked for the post of Barcelona manager in 2008, which went to Guardiola.
The tense relationship could well spill up over in the Manchester derby - there are already reports of extra police personnel being deployed given the volatile history between the the two clubs.
Manchester United vs Manchester City will be live today, 5 pm on Star Sports 2
