Two of the best managers in the world renew their rivalry on Thursday as Antonio Conte’s Napoli travel to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City in the Champions League.
Both Conte and Pep Guardiola praised the other in the build-up to the contest. Conte led Napoli to the Serie A title last season, while Guardiola has dominated the Premier League in recent seasons with six of the last eight titles won by City.
Napoli become the fifth club Conte has managed in the Champions League after Juventus, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Tottenham, and the showdown will put two icons of the game against each other in the technical areas.
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Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League
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And while there is a mutual respect between Guardiola and Conte, their relationship hasn’t always been plain sailing.
Antonio Conte’s Instagram post in 2022 riled Pep Guardiola after Tottenham beat Manchester City
There was a high-profile tunnel row between Pep Guardiola’s staff and the Chelsea backroom staff in 2017 when Conte was manager at Stamford Bridge, but relations between Guardiola and Conte had improved in subsequent meetings.
When Conte’s Spurs beat City at the Etihad Stadium in 2022, Guardiola said: “They played the way I expected them to play.
“They were good in the build-up and created a lot of space to run on the counter attack, but in general we coped well and played a good game.”
In response, Conte posted a clip from the game to Instagram with the caption: “Counter attacks?!? Maybe not…” with laughing emojis.
He later used a press conference to explain in detail how his tactics were not counter attacking, attempting to diffuse the situation but also back up his post.
Antonio Conte part of exclusive club against Pep Guardiola alongside Jurgen Klopp and Luis Enrique
City vs Napoli on Thursday is the eighth meeting between Conte and Guardiola – and offers Conte the chance to remain in an exclusive club of managers.
Antonio Conte of Napoli celebrates with the trophy at the end of the Serie A match between Napoli and Cagliari at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Including Conte, only three managers who have played Guardiola more than once have won more games against the City boss than they have lost.
Conte has won four and lost three of his seven clashes with Guardiola, joining only Jurgen Klopp and Luis Enrique in boasting a better head-to-head record.
And in total, only three managers have won more games against Guardiola than Conte has – Klopp, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti.