It’s football not war

LONDON. — Barcelona great Xavi says Jose Mourinho needs to resist his urge to favour “war not football” if Manchester United are to succeed during his tenure. And Xavi thinks the renewed rivalry between Mourinho and Manchester City boss Pep Guradiola is a very exciting prospect for football.Xavi currently plays his football for Al Sadd in Qatar but witnessed the Mourinho-Guardiola battle at close quarters when the latter was his coach at Barca while Mourinho was in charge at Real.

The coaches will clash again in tonight’s EFL Cup fourth-round tie at Old Trafford and Mourinho is under pressure after Sunday’s 4-0 hammering at his former club Chelsea. And Xavi told the Daily Mirror that Mourinho can adopt a confrontational approach at times, which he does not think will serve him well in this instance.

“Sometimes, when things don’t go well for Mourinho, he wants war not football, like when he was at Madrid,” said Xavi. “I hope we don’t see that again in England.”

However, Xavi was quick to add that the English game is fortunate to have such fine coaches as Mourinho and Guardiola going head to head.

“When I knew they would be rival coaches again, I knew it would be good for football,” added the 36-year-old. “I knew it would be especially good for English football. They’re two of the best coaches in the world and their duel can be the best in football.”

Xavi says there is no question of either manager taking tonight’s game lightly.

“Both coaches are going to want to win this game,” he said. “I don’t believe this is a competition they will not take seriously. “Pep will not be worrying, that’s not his way. But he will not have been happy with recent results and a good win against their biggest rivals could put them on a good run again.

“Pep will also want to win his first competition with City, that will be important for him.

“Even with City dropping some points in the league, I still think under Pep they’ll be champions this season. “The domestic competitions have to be everything for United and Mourinho this season. I don’t think this season they can win the Premier League, these competitions are their hope for a trophy.

“Once Mourinho has had another transfer window, maybe they’ll be ready, but for now they must secure a finish in a Champions League spot – that’s where United belong.”