Bayern Munich v Chelsea: Jose Mourinho disputes poor record against Pep Guardiola ahead of Super Cup
Chelsea manager refuses to fan flames ahead of meeting on Friday
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho refused to fan the flames of his rivalry with Pep Guardiola ahead of a reunion at the European Super Cup on Friday night, but disputed his poor record against the Spaniard.
As head coaches of Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively, the pair enjoyed a fierce rivalry which has endured ahead of the Prague clash between European champions Bayern Munich and Chelsea, the Europa League winners.
The first question posed at Stadion Eden on the eve of the match provoked Mourinho's anger.
The inquisitor asked former Real boss Mourinho why he found it difficult to win matches against Guardiola's Barca, pointing out the Portuguese has three wins from 15 games over his old adversary.
"Your statistics are wrong and very wrong," Mourinho said.
"But I don't want to discuss that. Because it's not important. It's wrong.
"Go there and see what happened with Inter in the Champions League semi-final. I won the Spanish Cup final in Valencia, I won the Super Cup in Spain. I was champion in Spain.
"I won the match for the title in Barcelona with Real Madrid.
"You are very, very wrong, you are wrong."
Asked if Mourinho had the real statistics, he relented somewhat, suggesting his inquisitor may, in fact, be correct.
"I don't know," the Portuguese added. "Maybe you are right and I am wrong. But I don't care. It's not important."
The three wins for Mourinho are correct, but he did enjoy aggregate success in two-legged ties over Guardiola.
Mourinho was then asked about the portrayal of Barcelona as a beautiful footballing side and his functional Madrid, who broke the Catalans' hegemony by winning the 2012 Primera Division title.
The self-proclaimed Special One, in his second spell at Chelsea after leaving Madrid in acrimonious fashion at the end of last season, grabbed the badge on his white polo shirt and pointed at it.
"It's white, but it's Chelsea," he said.
"If you want questions about Chelsea I'm here until four o'clock.
"If you want questions about Real Madrid and Barcelona or wherever, I'm not here.
"That's not about me and Pepe. It's about Chelsea and it's about Bayern Munich.
"It's about a Super Cup where the European champion is playing against the Europa League champion.
"Pepe is not European champion and I'm not Europa League champion.
"We just coach now the European champion and the Europa League champion. This is not about us. It's about Chelsea and Bayern."
The match is a re-run of the 2012 European Cup final, won by Chelsea, but, as Mourinho points out, two of the main protagonists are different.
Guardiola, following a year's sabbatical after leaving Barcelona, has replaced Jupp Heynckes, who retired after lifting the European Cup in the all-German final at Wembley in May.
Mourinho, meanwhile, returned to Stamford Bridge in place of Rafael Benitez, who as interim boss led Chelsea to the Europa League title in Amsterdam in May.
PA
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