IS PEP v KLOPP THE GOAT PL MANAGER RIVALRY?

On the latest episode of 888sport’s The Playlist, ‪@RoryJenningsFootball‬, ‪@AdeOladipo1‬ and Abbi Summers are joined by Robbie Lyle from ‪@AFTVmedia‬ and ‪@drsportsmedia‬ to rank the Top 5 manager rivalries in Premier League history.
00:56 Top 5s revealed
02:00 Wenger v Big Sam/Tony Pulis
03:28 Ferguson v Keegan and the invention of mind games
04:00 Pep v Klopp isn't a rivalry!
05:30: Who'd win a fight between Wenger and Mourinho?
07:25 Wenger v Ferguson
09:30 Wenger v Mourinho's part II
10:24 Benitez v Mourinho
13:23 Tuchel v Conte's touchline fight!
15:10 Top 5 confirmed
The panel debate what makes a rivalry and which one was more iconic: Jose Mourinho v Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson v Arsene Wenger, as well as why Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp's rivalry is too nice to make the list.
They reminisce about Mourinho’s ‘specialist in failure’ and ‘voyeur’ jibes at Wenger when the pair managed Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, as well as the incredible incidents that dominated the Ferguson and Wenger rivalry. Who can forget the ‘Battle of the Buffet aka Pizzagate’ or Manchester United’s 8-2 demolishing of Arsenal, which ended with Wenger standing with fans at Old Trafford?
Also on the agenda is Ferguson v Kevin Keegan, the rivalry which invented the concept of ‘mind games’ as well as phrase 'I would love it if we beat them!, Rafael Benitez's 'facts' rant at Ferguson when Liverpool blew the title, Wenger v Sam Allardyce when Big Sam managed Bolton, as well as the more recent spat between Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte, which ended in fisticuffs.
What do you think is the Premier League's greatest manager rivalry? Let us know in the comments?
The Playlist is 888sport’s weekly KZbin series, where Rory Jennings, Ade Oladipo and Abbi Summers, plus another influencer/celebrity guest, settle a big debate in football by making a definitive Top 5 list.
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[@tenzinkhetsun5006]

Expressions vs Robbie 🔥🔥

[@dawitsco9283]

🤣🤣🤣

[@kgosanamoutloatse8921]

Best of enemies

[@jeremyebert3309]

The Wenger v Fergie rivalry literally changed the future of the Premier League and English football.

[@doubletapthatdotty4597]

No it didn’t. Pep changed the league. Wenger changed the league. Feegie did nothing but have the best players

[@sindimatrix]

No rivalry beats Wenger vs Ferguson -gave us invincibles - gave us the Treble - had the sub-rivalry in Vieira vs Keane -battle of old Trafford -battle in the tunnel -Pizzagate It was Box office!!!

[@MaychTV]

Pep vs Klopp is defo more of a babyface v babyface champion type rivalry, but the angst in the Keegan v Fergie, Wenger v Mourinho and Wenger v Fergie ones made those games pure box office.

[@kurtsudheim825]

Ya, it's nice between these two respectful, I don't have an issue with that, but the spice in those was mouth watering. Edit: you don't want them all to be spicy, it would water the others down, so it's nice, but you just want those few feisty ones for that little bit of extra entertainment

[@MrGonsie]

@@kurtsudheim825 agree

[@JohnSmith-ji8tu]

Putting Tuchel vs Conte over Jose vs Conte really sums ups the football knowledge in these videos… In all seriousness, love these uploads, great content.

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

Ha! Talk about a backhanded compliment 😂

[@MrGonsie]

Yeah 888 no one likes a back handed comment right...

[@CrossxFir3]

Saf Wenger was a huge rivalry. They used to make snipes in the press at each other

[@John-gi8jg]

Its sad Tuchel lost his job, some more matches between Tuchel and Conte would have been lovely!

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

It won't be long before he's back in the dugout at a Champions League team - so probably won't have to wait too long for them to clash...

[@bmbm1]

Wenger vs Fergie will always be the best rivalry

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

iconic!

[@FatTodd]

It made the prem what it is

[@tyleru96]

@sae Everyone knows Pep vs Mourinho was an all-time great rivalry but it doesn't apply to this video because the discussion is about "PL history."

[@kurtsudheim825]

@sae yes, but the title is pl managers, so overs in this league. & Add heated as it was, because it was for the title, Jose might've had a harder battle against Joseph because they were the two best teams, but he airways has more of a hatred/jealousy for Wenger

[@HumanBeingsRThinkingBeings]

What other Managers have battled so high(90pts+),so close(98,97pts),so elite(PL,CL) and so long(4,5yrs on bounce) as Pep v Klopp,was Ferguson v Wenger as neck and neck year after year?

[@bigchedda3747]

Great group of people, good chemistry between you all. Hope this series continues

[@yashtiwari117]

Some kids will never know what a real rivalry looked like. Wenger vs Fergie was the greatest, most aggressive rivalry of all time - the players, fans, managers and even people in different countries supporting the teams hated each other to the core.

[@RoryJenningsFootball]

Rivalries these days are far too kind and respectful, give me a real venomous rivalry any day of the week!

[@Pineapple16]

Should do “biggest Prem club rivalries/derbies” like arsenal spurs and Utd Liverpool

[@iimrohtak8363]

How the hell did you guys completely miss Conte vs Jose? Sensational in both the years when Conte was at Chelsea.

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

Yes, definitely one to consider. where would you put this?

[@michaelchon6468]

@@ThePlaylistFootball Not a top 5 rivalry, Jose v Conte. Honestly, I miss the manager feuds of the late 90's, early 2000's. The managers were stars as well and the squads certainly took on the personality of their manager.

[@di_Ricci13]

For Football, Europe, for spain, yes. But in England, Pep vs Mou was not prime time. And Mou was having too many issues. So respectfully it's not no 1.

[@mrhussain9008]

An underrated one, Fergie Vs Mancini

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

Yes, perhaps...where would you put this on the list though?

[@mrhussain9008]

@@ThePlaylistFootball underrated. Definitely higher than Conte and Tuchel, which was literally one moment. My list (also whoever is written first, won the rivalry imo) 1. Jose v Wenger 2. Fergie v Wenger 3. Jose v Rafa 4. Jose v Conte 5. Mancini v Fergie

[@ryiin]

City has cheat modes on not a rivalry. Every manager of city will have a * next to their name.

[@belgianheskey]

Wenger and Fergie was something else. Mourinho vs Pep in La Liga was kinda mad also

[@Danifedi]

Arteta vs Klop are more rivals than Klop Vs Pep

[@kurtsudheim825]

That was just a heated match, they're not rivals

[@ConcreteCrescent]

@@kurtsudheim825 Which is the point, it's not a rivalry but has still had more heated moments than Klopp vs Pep.

[@killiemucken]

@@ConcreteCrescent but not every rivalry has to be filled with hate 😂 if you go by facts on the football that’s being played it’s pep vs klopp they have both brought the best out of each other

[@ConcreteCrescent]

@@killiemucken I didn't say it had to be filled with outright hatred, but their rivalry is pretty sterile. It's like eating a fantastic cut of meat that hasn't been seasoned at all - high quality yet far less exciting than it could have been.

[@kurtsudheim825]

@@ConcreteCrescent I think you need to check the title of the video, it says rivalry, they're not rivals. It's a singular moment, it might grow into something in the future, but as for now, they're just colleagues, just with a footnote. It's less like no seasoning on one, it's got seasoning, but it's just salt & pepper, with a simple mustard, because it's certainly not bland, whereas the ones listed have coriander, paprika, thyme, then you add Dijon. The steak is still the star of the show, but those extras just bring out that little bit more, the chest on the cake...

[@nikhilmahala2855]

Pep vs Klopp is similar to Federer vs Nadal. No need for hatred to form a great rivalry. Just two giants going head to head to be the best in the game.

[@trashed4005]

One point, Mourinho and Wenger were analysing the Champion's League final between Liverpool and Spurs together. So yeah you can get them in the same room together and respect each other.

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

I imagine all is forgotten now...🤔🤭

[@yusufn2346]

Jose V Conte would've made my last spot.

[@josephjoestar995]

Slating Pep v Klopp who have been battling at an extremely high level for a decade now from Bayern Dortmund to City Liverpool, but Conte Tuchel which was a rough handshake is better? Pep and Klopp do the talking on the pitch, so in its own way its a top level rivalry of FOOTBALL ⚽️ this ain't WWE fgs

[@josephjoestar995]

@Dragon Ball fans can't read yeah I didn't think of it in that way too

[@jerrishjesupillai8628]

Exactly, watch them ignore this comment lmao

[@rayfootblogs]

The Mourinho vs Wenger was the best rivalry for me. The Arsenal vs United rivalry was built on the players as both Wenger and Fergie had alot of respect for each other. Rafa had a greater rivalry with Mourinho than he did with Fergie. Both Mourinho vs Fergie and Pep vs Klopp are matches where both managers have the utmost respect for each other.

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

Why do you think the latter is the case?

[@rayfootblogs]

@@ThePlaylistFootball I suspect them managers were the best in the world at the time meaning the huge respect for each other.

[@imneverwrongsometimestruthlies]

Fergie - Wenger rivalry hands down

[@gspvideo5543]

Different forms of rivalries. In terms of top quality games and title races, it’s an excellent rivalry.

[@Mr.Aviator4]

I love how you instantly wrote off Pep v Klopp but still dropped their names in the title for views 😂

[@FDAR786]

Did ade actually watch football back then? The beef between the players only started because of fergie and wenger

[@oufc90]

‘Then go down the sexy fish together and order the black cod’ 😂

[@solidasarock06]

Mourinho v Wenger is number one. United v. Arsenal is more of the players on the pitch. Wenger and Fergie were more about mind games. Fergie tried getting Wenger with the mind games when he first came in the league, like he did to Keegan, but when he realized that wouldn't work, he stopped. Now Mourinho and Wenger, that was a full out war lol.

[@MrMusic238]

9:24 "Jose and Wenger, couldn't put them in a room" Yeah except when they do punditry together.

[@Uglyweezer]

That was years later though

[@Mohammed_Gidado]

Wenger Vs Fergie. Is an all time Classic

[@larrydavid6575]

SAF vs Wenger = Austin vs Rock

[@luke-qq1sd]

one of the best groups on the show

[@HumanBeingsRThinkingBeings]

Revolutionaries - Rinus,Cruyff,Sacchi Serial Winners - Ferguson,Mourinho Pep - tops both 👑

[@splyce9712]

That episode was great. I forgot the keegan fight. Great show.

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

We can be sure that that's going to get some KZbin hits right now haha

[@stevenmwamba2129]

Mourinho - Wenger was the best. Robbie doesn't want to recognize that because Arsenal was always on the losing side. Wenger played Mourinho 15x during the latter's first spell, they lost 12 and drew 3. Arsenal always lost against Mourinho's Chelsea.

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

Why do you think Jose got the better of Wenger on so many occasions? mind-games? better players?

[@stevenmwamba2129]

@@ThePlaylistFootball I don't think it was because of better players considering that Arsenal had just been invincibles the season before. Tactically Jose was better. Truth be told: if Mourinho studies well the opponent and lines up his motivated boys and they stick to his game plan, he can beat any team. That's how his Porto team could beat the likes of Man United and go all the way to winning the CL. That's how his Inter team destroyed one of the best teams of modern era(Barcelona) and win the treble. But also it's hard to deny that Jose got into Wenger's head and used his WiFi for free. The guy could provoke him in the pre-match conference, beat him on the pitch and then provoke him again in the post-match interviews. Wenger kinda went crazy. Not knowing how to stop Jose on the pitch and all those provocations had Wenger feel and keep so much hate of Jose Mourinho and never recovered from it to this date. That's one of the reasons he didn't even mention him in his book. But the one big reason was that JOSE WAS BETTER TACTICALLY. And many Arsenal fans will always deny the Wenger-Jose rivalry being the best because admitting that is like adding salt into the wounds that shameful period left in all of them. They'll stick to anything in which Wenger wasn't that much on the losing side, a bit heroic. Mourinho-Wenger was the best rivalry, imo.

[@victorynwachukwu9762]

I’m loving this channel the more I watch it🔥

[@UnitedViewTV]

Fergie & Wenger by far! Pep & Klopp can have their hugs & smiles 😅

[@wesley5900]

Flex is that you 😃😃

[@Mr.Aviator4]

@@wesley5900 no way this wasn’t lol

[@sonh788]

Not having Ferguson/Wenger first ? Absolute wallads, those 2 dons Defined the premier league .

[@ans2810]

Wenger v Fergie (1998 - 2006) is number one. Idk how no one mentioned it here when Wenger made a throwaway comment about "having the prettiest wife at home" and Fergie lost his shit at that. They had a lot of animosity towards each other for a lot of years but also a lot of respect. Jose v Wenger was such a weird dynamic, it was Jose trying to pick a fight with a man who wanted nothing to do with him, also both Arsenal & Chelsea were so uneven at that time that a rivalry becomes hard to form, Jose was extremely classless in how he behaved with regards to Wenger. Jose v Pep in La Liga was the last great managerial rivalry, we haven't seen anything like it since, the hate, the animosity, the fights, it was intense. Jose v Pep in the PL wasn't a rivalry since again, both their sides were so uneven.

[@tashrif46]

1. Sir Alex Ferguson vs Arsene Wenger 2. Arsene Wenger vs Jose Mourinho 3. Jurgen Klopp vs Pep Guardiola 4. Sir Alex Ferguson vs Jose Mourinho 5. Jose Mourinho vs Rafael Benitez

[@HumanBeingsRThinkingBeings]

What other Managers have battled so high(90pts+),so close(98,97pts),so elite(PL,CL) and so long(4,5yrs on bounce) as Pep v Klopp,was Ferguson v Wenger as neck and neck year after year?

[@christopherdouglas6590]

But does that make the pep-klopp rivalry better than fergie-wenger? I don't think so.

[@Nathan-zd8ew]

Arteta and klopp for sure. They had fight too

[@adeadefemi3299]

I don’t think you guys know what you are talking about. Fergie vs Wenger was the most iconic rivalry. It was the rivalry that made the premier league a global powerhouse. After Arsenal’s first double, United players talked about how mad Fergie was the next season. Jose picked on Wenger just to make headlines, and because he had figured Wenger’s game out, so he always beat him and everyone knew Wenger will never change his game no matter the opponent and finally Jose now has a lot of respect for Wenger. They were pundits for a champions league match together and mourinho was so respectful to him, he kept referring to him as Mr Wenger. Get your facts right guys

[@EsteemedKompany]

I actually agree with this. In terms of sheer quality, Pep vs Klopp is up there, but its in general far too cordial for a PL manager rivalry. Wenger Mourinho - now that's some genuine hatred stuff ha. Reckon its probably Wenger Fergie though overall.

[@tashrif46]

7:34 I dont know what he is talking about, but Sir Alex Ferguson would always used to provoke Arsene Wenger through the press especially from 1998-2006. There was visible animosity between them

[@TheMeloman79]

Gotta be Wenger vs Fergie

[@ryiin]

I totally agree Keegan's melt down is a Hall of Fame moment and has to be on the list.

[@apurvsingh61]

Honorable mention: Wenger vs Martin Jol

[@Itsthecreative]

If you're hugging and high fiving before during and after a game it's not a rivalry. Nothing will ever top Wenger/Fergie. 96-05 it was war. And from that war, they built up what would become a real friendship.

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

Often the case, once career comes to an end. Mutual respect.

[@OsAbliNgin911]

Rafa Benitez vs Fergie came to my mind. I think it is because Benitez wrote a speech or had notes, and read it during a press conference.

[@manmohandhama7775]

Mourinho vs conte

[@gameiasaji470]

What about Mourinho and Conte?

[@tashrif46]

9:30 what does one push have to do with nearly decades worth of heated action on and off the pitch? Like what are we doing here?

[@FatTodd]

98 to 04 was the greatest rivalry in English sporting history. Nothing will ever come close, it was pure hatred. Top class players, key battles all over the pitch. Even a young goat in the making and the king of the premier league were involved. Arsenal, man united, Wenger, fergie, vieira, keane. Prime time football.

[@mpd7878]

Jose and wenger have been on TV together lol in the last 2 years

[@frankiemunthali1999]

Rory is growing on me u know

[@Pathogenixdnb]

Big up Shy Fx with Original Nuttah 🔥

[@phillipmukama6796]

U can say right now it is among the best rivarly right now

[@robertson68]

I will never take Rory serious after his diss of Haaland.

[@LawsonSims44]

Those 3 are dumb, robbie an arsenal fan saying wenger and fergie was a better rivalry than jose vs fergie, you listen to him

[@amirtamboli234]

This all spot on but if u look at title challenging riverly head to head, neck to neck pep-klopp broke all the records to fight for title.

[@kyleb91]

Every 2 seconds Abbie day dreams looking at Rory lol

[@rhysagrey]

She likes short men

[@Gwacoon]

Fertile vs Wenger has to be 1st! It lasted for years and they were basically the top 2 teams for a long period as well so the stakes were the highest!

[@karleccles32]

Sorry saying you couldn’t put mourinho and Wenger in a room, did you see what mourinho did and said in Wenger’s last year, there was so much respect at the ene

[@shaunlouis9854]

Don’t often agree with Robbie but his top 3 is what I would go with

[@Maj1794]

Wenger vs ferguson by far the best.

[@namirkhalil3633]

Ty would’ve been perfect for this

[@tashrif46]

9:10 no it was not just the players Ale. If anything the teams were the mirror reflection of what the managers were.

[@nakedbutler74]

If wasnt PL only then Clough v Revie makes tp 3

[@ressurectionnane8095]

Mourinho vs Pep (real madrid vs barcelona) is the greatest managerial rivalry in football history

[@rajkaranvirk7525]

Pep and Klopp is being too disrespected it all started at Bayern-Dortmund and transferred to City-Liverpool. As a rivalry it literally transcends leagues. But apparently one fight between Conte-Tuchel is better than that. Also Fergie-Mancini is a shout btw

[@inquisitorsneed2]

Pep and klopp have literally never had a falling out

[@rajkaranvirk7525]

@@inquisitorsneed2 Neither have Nadal-Federer yet it’s one of the greatest rivalries ever

[@SubZeroDNB]

Wenger vs Fergie is the only rivalry to result in a slice of pizza being thrown at one of the managers. that wins hands down.

[@kurtsudheim825]

That "fight" it was a bit of pushing & grabbing, there were no fist thrown) - I know Wenger admitted It was more good fault, & he's ashamed & apologised, esp because that's what he tells his players bit too du etc idk about Jose, in pretty sure he'll never apologise for anything - was on Wenger thousandth game (all comps), it was the 6-0 where the ref sent off the wrong guy. I don't know if it's slower to be incl, because it is about that pl, but what Rory eluded to there, that Jose Rafa one went around other leagues, because Rafa was always "cleaning up his mess", in Milan, Madrid, & then it really must've stingb when he went to chelsea. It wasn't direct like at lvpl & chelsea, but it was always words even when they were in different leagues

[@granit5934]

Underselling Pep vs Klopp by overrating off the pitch antics. Pep vs Klopp is a strictly footballing rivalry which is exciting in a different way. It's the clash of the styles. Two juggernauts getting close to 100 points to beat each other to be the best team on earth. All these rivalries are smaller on a footballing level since they never were the very best in the game at the same time.

[@bilalkamal3701]

I would have put Fergie vs Mancini. Great Memories!!

[@allround2136]

If pep starts taking dig at other managers no one can come close to him except mourinho

[@Luka-st4uf]

Lol they're clueless about Wenger and Mourinho not being able in a room together now when they literally have been in the studio plenty times together as pundits for BeIN.

[@ryiin]

Ferguson vs Wenger is the correct answer.

[@siralexferguson4640]

Rivals ? Pep and Klopp are best friends.

[@ryiin]

Rory gets Chelsea on this list and about 50 people support Chelsea.

[@mazimazu8122]

Ferguson vs Wenger

[@statisticallysound]

I’m an Arsenal fan but Wenger vs Mourinho can’t be the top rivalry because we almost never beat them

[@shanebyrne6625]

Wenger vs Pardew

[@jodaco3869]

Wtf was he saying Wenger and Mourinho can’t be put into a room? They did punditry together.

[@rahulvkrishnan]

Fergie vs Mancini was great as well

[@hakeemw8910]

Mourinho took Wenger’s lunch money in front of everyone

[@ToffeeTVEFC]

Ferguson v Wenger ✊️

[@timmy5876]

in terms of quality yes, in terms of rivalry like aggression etc there’s many bigger

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

what do you think makes a true rivalry then?

[@invisible3237]

Jose was such a gangster

[@davidfreeman6753]

tuchel v Conte has to be recency bias because that isn't a rivalry it was just a little tantrum. might aswell have arteta v klopp since they had a little bust up. but seriously love the videos 😂

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

Yeah, pretty short-lived to be fair. Time will tell if it develops into anything or if they were just throwing a few toys out of the pram

[@hussey1990]

Lot of hot takes but the only correct answer is Fergie vs Wenger...

[@ffbear8078]

In case you didn't hear it said enough times... they had a fight!

[@kurtsudheim825]

Conte vs Thomas shouldn't be anywhere near top10, 20 of lucky: it was just annoyance/frustration over the incidents in the match, & the way Germans have to do everything properly, when you shake hands or clink glasses, you have to look in the eyes, it's super disrespectful not to. It was just a little book over, to call or a rivalry is insane

[@richieshour]

1.Mourhino vs Wenger For Me 💥💥 2.Robbie vs Ex 3.Fregie vs Keagen 4.Mourhino vs Bentiza 5.Fregie vs Wenger

[@ThePlaylistFootball]

wow! Fergie v Wenger 5th? controversial...

[@Datguy931]

Jose was just a massive see u next Tuesday

[@stretchystretch269]

Arsenal played such beautiful football in that era but they didn’t like a fight that’s y Eduardo and Ramsey happened

[@wayne4797]

Robbie on it today 😂

[@TheIrishHotspur]

Mourinho is the goat when it comes to insults he belited wenger a specialist in failure and voyeur haha im dying

[@pricey6177]

Fergie vs Wenger was more about the players so it can’t be 1st.. so then they put it 2nd then go on about Benitez and Mourinno lol. Mate if it’s about the players then how could they put it 2nd lol.

[@WINGSTARX]

Raf vs fergue

[@dannyupthereds4729]

Klopp vs Arteta 😂😂

[@briceanderson9127]

I know it’s not premier league exclusively, but pep mourinho is top top