There’s a ritual in La Liga that stipulates rival managers ought to spend some time together on the pitch before a game. A moment to put the match in perspective, to discuss shared ideas, and to show respect.
It’s a tradition that Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino eventually gave up on, not due to the deep-rooted hostility between Barcelona and Espanyol, but for a much simpler reason: they were meeting far too often.
“Aneu a escampar la boira” – one of the city’s more colourful idioms, and one which roughly translates to “leave me alone”. The two managers’ parallel paths have meant that they have been unable to avoid each other, with circumstance and success eventually bringing them both to England.
Perhaps it was fitting that in what is now a polarised Catalonia, there was a humungous gulf between their respective clubs. In the Premier League, what separates Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur is less significant, but the Argentine once again finds himself the underdog.
When the two men share a post-match glass of wine at Wembley, one derby is sure to come up in conversation: their first. Pochettino’s first victory as Espanyol manager and simultaneously, Guardiola’s first defeat at the Nou Camp. A first win over Barca in almost 10,000 days, or 27 years – a statistic that will sound familiar, no doubt, to a club that has just broken its own derby hoodoo with a first win at Stamford Bridge in 28 years.
It was 2009 and the newly-installed Pochettino’s minnows were struggling to avoid relegation. This was a Blaugrana line-up featuring Lionel Messi, Yaya Toure, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, and Xavi. Barcelona at their utterly dominant, terrifying best.
Espanyol played like their new chief had done until his retirement only three years earlier; brutal, brave, and downright merciless. Not the most civilised brand of football, but the complete antithesis of their rivals – and it worked very well, the hosts slipping to a shock 2-1 reverse.
Maybe it would have consoled Guardiola if he had been able to fast forward to October 2016, when he had had more time to reflect on his managerial counterpart.
It was 2009 and the newly-installed Pochettino’s minnows were struggling to avoid relegation. This was a Blaugrana line-up featuring Lionel Messi, Yaya Toure, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, and Xavi. Barcelona at their utterly dominant, terrifying best.
Espanyol played like their new chief had done until his retirement only three years earlier; brutal, brave, and downright merciless. Not the most civilised brand of football, but the complete antithesis of their rivals – and it worked very well, the hosts slipping to a shock 2-1 reverse.
Maybe it would have consoled Guardiola if he had been able to fast forward to October 2016, when he had had more time to reflect on his managerial counterpart.
“I don’t think he’s one of the best managers in England; he’s one of the best managers in the world,” a press conference heard.