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This list of association football rivalries catalogues football rivalries around the world. This includes rivalries at the club and international level, including local derby and intercontinental competitions. It also lists rivalries between individual players, managers, and one another.
Individual rivalries[edit]
Between players[edit]
| 1st party | 2nd party | 3rd party | Timespan | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lorenzo Buffon | Giorgio Ghezzi | 1959–1965 | Played for rival cross-city clubs (AC Milan and Inter Milan) throughout two different periods and also competed for the league title and a starting role with the Italy national football team during the 1950s and 1960s. They also had a relationship with the same woman at different times (Edy Campagnoli) and played for three of the same clubs throughout different spells in a three-way exchange (AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Genoa). | [1] | |
| Gianni Rivera | Sandro Mazzola | 1960–1977 | Captained and played in similar offensive midfield positions for rival cross-city clubs (AC Milan and Inter Milan), and also competed for the league title, success in the European Cup, and for a starting role with the Italy national football team during the 1960s and 1970s (see 1970 FIFA World Cup). | [2] | |
| Roberto Boninsegna | Francesco Morini | 1969–1976 | Both players initially played for rivals clubs (Inter Milan and Juventus) competing for the league title, with Morini (a defender) often tasked with marking Boninsegna (a forward) during their encounters. | [3] | |
 Peter Shilton | Ray Clemence | 1972–1984 | Although they were friends off the pitch, both goalkeepers competed for a starting spot with England during the 1970s and 1980s, as well as for the First Division title with Nottingham Forest and Liverpool respectively. Both goalkeepers also had success in the European Cup with their clubs. | [4][5][6] | |
| Giovanni Trapattoni |  Johan Cruyff | 1969–1971 | Rivalry both as players and managers, with Trapattoni often tasked with man-marking Cruyff both at club (see 1969 European Cup Final) and international level during their playing career | [7][8][9][10] | |
 Franz Beckenbauer | 1974–1983 | Competition for being the best player of the world in their era, Germany–Netherlands football rivalry, clashed in the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final, their teams won 3 UEFA European Cups each, Cruyff won 3 Ballon d'Or and Beckenbauer won 2 | [4] | ||
 Diego Maradona | Peter Shilton | 1986–2020 | "Hand of God" goal controversy in the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter-final (part of the Argentina–England football rivalry) | [11] | |
 Michel Platini |  Zico | 1984–1987 | Competition for being the best player in the world and the top scorer of the Italian league during the 1980s | [12][13] | |
| Pelé | 1997–2020 | Since Maradona's retirement until his death, both players claimed being the greatest football player of all time and better than the other. | [14] | ||
| Lothar Matthäus | 1986–1994 | Maradona in his book Yo soy el Diego that "he is the best rival I've ever had. I guess that's enough to define him". Also joined Serie A in 1988 for Inter against Maradona's Napoli. See also: 1986 FIFA World Cup Final and 1990 FIFA World Cup Final between Argentina and West Germany. | [15] | ||
| Pietro Vierchowod | 1984–1990 | In a 2008 interview with Argentine magazine El Gráfico, Maradona dubbed Vierchowod his toughest opponent. | [16][15][17] | ||
 Andoni Goikoetxea | 1982–1984 | On 24 September 1983, Goikoetxea achieved notoriety for a foul on Diego Maradona in a league match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou, when he tackled the Argentine from behind and broke his ankle. When the two teams met in the 1984 Copa del Rey Final in May, a mass brawl erupted on the pitch, and Goikoetxea kicked Maradona's chest. (See Andoni Goikoetxea#Maradona foul) | [18][19] | ||
| Pasquale Bruno | 1987–1991 | Bruno was known for his aggressive challenges on several attacking opponents which resulted in clashes between them; some of his most famous rivals include Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, among others. | [20] | ||
| Marco van Basten | 1987–1993 | Bruno was known for his aggressive challenges on several attacking opponents which resulted in clashes between them; some of his most famous rivals include Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, among others. | [20] | ||
| Gianluca Vialli | 1987–1994 | Bruno was known for his aggressive challenges on several attacking opponents which resulted in clashes between them; some of his most famous rivals include Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, among others. | [20][21] | ||
| Roberto Baggio | 1987–1994 | Bruno was known for his aggressive challenges on several attacking opponents which resulted in clashes between them; some of his most famous rivals include Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, among others. One of the most infamous disputes between Bruno and Baggio occurred during the final weeks of the 1988–89 Serie A season, on 28 May 1989, when Bruno's club Juventus faced rivals Fiorentina in Turin. Bruno kicked Baggio down when he was away from the ball, and Baggio subsequently retaliated, resulting in both players being sent-off and receiving a two-match suspension. According to Bruno, Baggio later confronted him in the changing rooms due to his actions, whilst Bruno apparently threatened Baggio further and accused him of diving and being a prima donna. Baggio's transfer to Juventus in 1990 also coincided with Bruno's departure from the club to cross–city rivals Torino. | [20][22] | ||
| Walter Zenga | Stefano Tacconi | 1983–1992 | Played for rival clubs (Inter Milan and Juventus) and competed for the league title, as well as the position of starting goalkeeper with the Italy national football team during the late 1980s and early 1990s | [23] | |
| Marco van Basten | Jürgen Kohler | 1988–1993 | Played for rival Italian clubs (AC Milan and Juventus) in Serie A during the early 90s, which directly competed for the league title, with Van Basten (a forward) frequently being marked by Kohler (a defender). The two players also competed against one another in major tournaments at international level with the Netherlands and West Germany/Germany respectively; they faced off at UEFA Euro 1988, the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 1992. | [24] | |
| Andy Cole | Teddy Sheringham | 1990–2019 | The exact origins of the feud are unknown, but it has been speculated by pundits that it exacerbated when Sheringham did not shake Cole's hand upon being substituted in a England match against Uruguay in 1995, in which Cole made his senior international debut. The pair also had disagreements during their time together at Manchester United. | [4][25][26][27] | |
| Gianluca Pagliuca | Angelo Peruzzi | 1994–2007 | Played for rival clubs (Inter Milan and Juventus) and competed for the league title, as well as the position of starting goalkeeper with the Italy national football team during the 1990s | [28] | |
 Roy Keane | Patrick Vieira | 1996–2005 | Both players played similar holding roles in midfield, which drew comparisons between them in the media, and were captains of the two dominating teams of the Premier League during their era. See Arsenal F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry | [29][30][31] | |
 Alfie Haaland | 1997–2003 | In 1997, Keane injured himself while tackling Haaland in a match against Leeds, who accused Keane of diving. In 2001, Keane tackled Haaland again, who now played for Manchester City, in the Manchester derby, kicking his right knee. Keane was sent off, fined, and suspended. Haaland later retired from professional football due to an unrelated persistng injury to his left knee. In 2002 Keane revealed in his autobiography that the tackle had been premeditated, which led to Haaland pursuing legal action against him; however, the case was dropped when medical evidence demonstrated that the tackle did not exacerbate Haaland's left knee injury. | [32][33][34][35][36][37] | ||
| Edgar Davids | Diego Simeone | 1997–2004 | Both players played similar holding roles in midfield, and faced each other often while playing for rival clubs competing for the league title (Davids with AC Milan and Juventus, and Simeone with Inter Milan and Lazio). | [38] | |
| Matías Almeyda | 1997–2005 | Both players played similar holding roles on opposite sides of midfield, and faced each other often while playing for rival clubs competing for the league title (Davids with Juventus, and Almeyda with Lazio, Parma, and Inter). Pundits also compared the two players due to their similar role and hard-tackling playing styles, while Almeyda even described Davids as his favourite opponent of his career in his autobiography, due to the fact that they had mutual respect for one another, and that neither of them would react whenever one of the them kicked the other during matches. | [39][40][41] | ||
| Paul Scholes | Frank Lampard | Steven Gerrard | 2000–2014 | Competition for the starting midfield position for England; see also: Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry between Gerrard and Scholes, with Lampard's Chelsea also competing against the former clubs for the Premier League title. See also: 2008 UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea, and 2005 Ballon d'Or, with Lampard and Gerrard finishing second and third respectively behind Ronaldinho. | [42][43][44][45][46][47][48] |
| Gianluigi Buffon | Iker Casillas | 2000–2017 | Friendly rivalry. Both players were considered the best goalkeepers of their era, and among the greatest of all time, along with Lev Yashin. See also: Italy–Spain football rivalry | [49] | |
| Francesco Toldo | 1998–2004 | Both goalkeepers played for rival clubs (Juventus and Inter Milan) and competed for the league title, the Champions League title, and the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award, as well as a starting spot with the Italy national football team (see 2002 FIFA World Cup), in particular after Toldo's excellent performances at UEFA Euro 2000, after Buffon had been ruled out of the tournament due to a hand injury. | [50] | ||
| Nélson Dida | 2002–2008 | Both goalkeepers played for rival clubs (Juventus and AC Milan) and competed for the Serie A title as well as the UEFA Champions League (see 2003 UEFA Champions League final), as well as the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year and IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Awards. | [51] | ||
| Júlio Cesar | 2005–2012 | Both goalkeepers played for rival clubs (Juventus and Inter Milan) and competed for the league title and the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award, as well as the unofficial title of best goalkeeper in the world. | [52] | ||
| Thierry Henry | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 2001–2006 | See: Arsenal F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry, Premier League Golden Boot rivalry; both strikers competed for the Premier League title and Golden Boot award | [53] | |
| Ronaldo | 2002–2006 | Competition for being "the best striker of the world". Individual trophies heavily contested between the two were the 2003 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2004 European Golden Shoe. The rivalry peaked in 2006 with both players facing each other in the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup. | [54][55][56][57] | ||
| Zinedine Zidane | 1996–2006 | Competition for being the best player in Serie A, the world, and of their generation during the late 1990s and early 2000s, with both players competing regularly for the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year (with both players sharing a record of winning the latter award three times). Both players played for rival teams (Juventus and Inter Milan respectively) during their time in Italy and competed for the 1997–98 Serie A title, with Zidane's Juventus beating out Ronaldo's Inter Milan. Both players also faced off in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final, with Zidane's France beating out Ronaldo's Brazil, culminating in Zidane winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or and the 1998 FIFA World Player of the Year ahead of Ronaldo; Ronaldo was instead named Serie A Footballer of the Year and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 1998 (after winning the 1998 UEFA Cup Final), also winning the award for best UEFA club forward, while Zidane was named the best club midfielder by UEFA. Both players later became teammates at Real Madrid in 2002 until Zidane's retirment in 2006, after Ronaldo had claimed the 2002 Ballon d'Or and 2002 FIFA World Player of the Year awards ahead of Zidane following his 2002 FIFA World Cup victory; however they faced off again at international level in the quarter-final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, with France beating out Brazil once again. | [55][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70] | ||
| Alessandro Del Piero | 1997–2002 | Competition for being the best player in Serie A. Both players played for rival teams (Juventus and Inter Milan respectively) and competed for the 1997–98 Serie A and 2001–02 Serie A titles, with Del Piero's Juventus beating out Inter Milan on both occasions. Ronaldo was named Serie A Footballer of the Year in 1998 ahead of Del Piero, who was instead named Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year. Juventus fans also nicknamed Del Piero "Il Fenomeno Vero" ("The Real Phenomenon," in Italian), a reference to Ronaldo's nickname "Il Fenomeno." Both players also sufferred career–threataning injuries during their time in Italy. | [62][63][65][71][72][73][74][75] | ||
| David Beckham | Aldo Duscher | 2002–2007 | Hard fouls by Duscher in matches between Deportivo de La Coruña and Beckham's teams (Manchester United F.C. and Real Madrid CF) (also part of Argentina–England football rivalry) | [76][77] | |
| Ronaldinho | 2003–2007 | Both arrived to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF in the 2003 summer market. The two clubs were interested in both players, but could only sign one each. Part of FC Barcelona–Real Madrid CF rivalry. | [78][79][80] | ||
 Olof Mellberg | Freddie Ljungberg | 2002–2006 | The two players had a rivalry while playing in England, which developed during their time together with the Sweden national team. Mellberg made a hard tackle on Ljunberg in a trainings session in the lead-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which led to an altercation between them. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ljungberg blamed Mellberg for his repetitive use of long balls from the back in Sweden's draw against Trinidad and Tobago. Ljunberg then replaced Mellberg as Sweden's captain later that year. | [81][82][83][84] | |
| Jens Lehmann | Oliver Kahn | 2002–2011 | Competition for the starting goalkeeping position for Germany | [85][86] | |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | Rafael van der Vaart | 2004–2014 | A rivalry that resulted in an injury and a transfer, the two settled their differences in 2014. | [87] | |
| Marco Materazzi | 2004–present | Rivalry over Materazzi's aggressive playing style while playing for rival clubs (Ibrahimović played for Juventus between 2004 and 2006, and AC Milan between 2010 and 2012, while Materazzi played for Inter Milan during that time; the two were Inter Milan teammates between 2006 and 2009) competing for the Serie A title. During a 2010 Derby della Madonnina match in the 2010–11 season, Ibrahimović kicked Materazzi, which forced the defender off the pitch; the striker commented that he had been waiting to do so for "four years," following a bad challenge he suffered at the hands of Materazzi in a 2006 Derby d'Italia match. Milan went on to win the league title in 2011. Materazzi later mockingly thanked the Swede on Twitter for leaving Inter for Barcelona in 2009, as, in his absence, Materazzi went on to win the continental treble with Inter during the 2009–10 season. | [88][89][90] | ||
| John Carew | 2002 | When Carew questioned the need for Ibrahimović's excessive use of skills, flicks, and tricks in 2002, the latter retorted: "What Carew does with a football, I can do with an orange." | [91] | ||
 Romelu Lukaku | 2020–2021, 2022 | Rivalry over supposed "King of Milan" title. Part of the Derby della Madonnina (Ibrahimović played for cross–city rivals AC Milan) until Lukaku's transfer from Inter Milan to Chelsea. | [92][93] | ||
| Steven Gerrard |  El Hadji Diouf | 2002–2015 | The pair often clashed during their time together at Liverpool. Gerrard later criticised Diouf in his autobiography; the latter responded by controversially accusing Gerrard of racism and jealousy. | [94][95] | |
| Zinedine Zidane | Marco Materazzi | 2006–2010 | Zidane headbutted Materazzi after the latter insulted his sister in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final, and was sent off. | [96] | |
| Xavi | Andrea Pirlo | 2006–2015 | Both players competed at club and international level as two of the best midfielders of their generation. See also: Italy–Spain football rivalry and 2015 UEFA Champions League Final | [97][98] | |
| Lionel Messi | Robinho | 2005–2008 | The press touted both players as the rising stars of Barcelona and Real Madrid (formerly part of El Clásico until Robinho was transferred to Manchester City) | [99][100] | |
 Cristiano Ronaldo | 2009–2024 | Messi–Ronaldo rivalry (formerly part of El Clásico from 2009–2018 until Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus) they were fighting for the pride of being the best player in the world | [4] | ||
| Carlos Tevez | 2011–2014 | Both players are from Argentina, had similar qualitites, and were considered two of the best players in the national team at the time. While Messi was considered the best player and the main star, Tevez wanted to occuppy that role. However, Tevez was considered to be a fan favourite in the media, due to his humble origins, and as – unlike Messi – he had grown up playing football in the Primera División Argentina, starring for Boca Juniors, in a similar manner to Diego Maradona, to whom both players were often compared. In the 2011 Copa América on home soil, tension began to rise between them, in particular when announcers described Messi as "the best player in the world," while Tevez was dubbed "the player of the town." The situation exacerbated when they did not perform well together, which reportedly frustrated Messi further; moreover, Argentina suffered a quarter-final elimination to eventual champions Uruguay on penalties, with Tevez missing the decisive kick, which slightly diminished the latter's standing among the public. When Alejandro Sabella took charge of the national team, he excluded Tevez in favour of a more calm environment, citing his lack of playing time with Manchester City as the reason for his exclusion, with the latter missing out on the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad that went on to reach the final. In 2014, when Sabella left, Tevez was called up once again by the team's new manager Gerardo Martino, and the relationship got better, with both players being more mature, and participating at the 2015 Copa América; the two embraced following Tevez's decisive spot-kick in the quarter-final penalty shoot-out victory over Colombia en–route to the final. Argentine journalist Andrés Garavaglia felt that the tension between the players and the public's perception of the two of them had been exaggerated, however, with Tevez also denying any rift between them in 2015, with Tevez praising Messi, and even stating that they had spoken before they faced off in the 2015 UEFA Champions League final. | [101][102][103][104][105][106] | ||
 Luka Modrić | 2006–2023 | Frequently compared in the press due to former club rivalry (part of El Clásico from 2012–2022 until Messi's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain) and similar playing positions. | [107] | ||
| Joey Barton | Ousmane Dabo | 2006–2007 | Barton assaulted Dabo following a clash during a Manchester City training session in May 2007. Barton was charged by the police and sentenced. | [108] | |
 Samuel Eto'o | Ronaldinho | Deco | 2007–2008 | After being accused of lack of professionality, Eto'o denounced a schism in the locker room of Barcelona. The team did not win any silverware until Ronaldinho and Deco left. | [109] |
| Romário | Edmundo | 1998–present | According to a 2015 article by Tom Beck of World Soccer magazine, the pair's friendship reportedly ended when Romário opened up a bar in Rio de Janeiro: "Café do Gol." A cartoon of Edmundo sitting on a deflated football was allegedly placed on one of the toilet doors, while another cartoon of the player's former lover was posted on the cubicle door next to it. Edmundo demanded that the drawings be removed, but Romário refused, insisting that it was a joke. | [110] | |
| Pelé | 2007–2022 | Still active at age 41, Romário claimed to had overtaken Pelé as the all-time top scorer in the history of the game. | [111] | ||
| Gerard Piqué | Sergio Ramos | 2009–2021 | Both players played for rival clubs – Barcelona and Real Madrid (see El Clásico) – competing directly for titles across all club competitions, and were involved in arguments, in addition to disagreeing about the Catalan independence debate | [112] | |
| Mauro Icardi | Maxi López | 2011–present | The current and the former husband of Wanda Nara | [113] | |
 Luis Suárez | Patrice Evra | 2011–2015 | Luis Suárez alleged racial abuse incident (part of the Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry at large) | [113] | |
| Giorgio Chiellini | 2014–2017 | Luis Suárez–Giorgio Chiellini 2014 World Cup incident: Suárez allegedly bit Chiellini in Italy's final group match of the 2014 World Cup against Uruguay; the incident was not seen by the referee and Uruguay won a corner, from which they scored the winning goal, eliminating Italy from the tournament. Following the match, Suárez was subsequently banned from playing professional football for four months. | [114][115] | ||
| Manuel Neuer | Marc-André ter Stegen | 2012–present | Competition for the starting goalkeeping position for Germany, FC Barcelona 2–8 FC Bayern Munich | [116] | |
| Neymar |  Juan Camilo Zúñiga | 2014–2015 | Neymar–Zúñiga 2014 World Cup incident: Zúñiga kneed Neymar in the Vertebral column during the 2014 World Cup quarter-final between Brazil and Colombia; the Brazilian playmaker was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament as a result of the inury and was unable to take part in the semi-final. | [117] | |
| John Terry | Wayne Bridge | 2009–present | John Terry allegedly had an affair with the model Vanessa Perroncel shortly after she split from his former Chelsea teammate Bridge, who retired from the England national football team after this incident | [118] | |
| Kevin De Bruyne | Thibaut Courtois | 2014–Present | In 2013, De Bruyne's girlfriend at the time cheated on him with Thibaut Courtois, his teammate with the Belgium national football team. | [119] | |
 Arturo Vidal | Claudio Bravo | 2018–2021 | According to Vidal, Bravo's wife allegedly accused him and other Chile players of drinking and partying excessively during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and of not putting enough dedication into training. | [120][121][122] | |
| Kylian Mbappé | Erling Haaland | 2019–present | Seen as the two biggest talents in the world of football, with comparisons already being made with the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. | [123] |
Between players and managers[edit]
| Player | Manager | Timespan | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louis van Gaal | Guy Thys | 1973–1977 | Van Gaal and his Royal Antwerp F.C. manager Thys came into conflict when Van Gaal was annoyed at his lack of playing time, with Thys criticising him for being too slow. Van Gaal was also disappointed with Thys's tactical approach and requested a transfer. | [124][125] |
| Marco van Basten | Arrigo Sacchi | 1987–1991 | The relationship between the two reportedly deteriorated during the 1990–91 season, when Van Basten complained about Sacchi's behaviour to AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi; Sacchi consequently requested that Van Basten be sold and ater did not renew his contract with the club, eventually leaving in 1991 to become manager of the Italy national football team. | [126][127][128] |
| Gianluca Vialli | 1992–1996 | It is rumoured that Vialli played a prank on Sacchi, which led to the manager dropping him from the Italy national football team, resulting in the striker being left out of Italy's squads for the 1994 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996. | [129][130][131][132] | |
| Roberto Baggio | 1994–1997 | Baggio believed that the two fell out after he missed the decisive spot kick in Italy's penalty shoot-out defeat to Brazil in the 1994 FIFA World Cup final; there had already been tension between the two, however, when Sacchi substitued Baggio in the first round of the tournament against Norway, following Gianluca Pagliuca's sending off, leading Baggio to describe the manager as "crazy." Tensions between rose them rose further during Italy's qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 1996, with Baggio asking for the manager's dismissal following a defeat to Croatia, and Baggio was later left out of the squad for the final tournament, with Sacchi citing fitness issues as the reason for his exclusion. Baggio later also experienced limited playing time when Sacchi was appointed as AC Milan's manager during the course of the 1996–97 season. | [133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140] | |
| Robert Prosinečki | Miroslav Ćiro Blažević | 1987–2002 | According to a 2001 article in The Guardian, upon seeing Prosinečki play as a youngester, Blažević stated: "If this boy becomes a professional footballer, I'll eat my coaching certificate," which ignited their feud. During the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Blažević, the Croatia national football team's coach at the time, dropped Prosinečki from the starting XI ahead of the semi-final against hosts France; Prosinečki temporarily retired from international football after the tournament. | [141] |
| David Ginola | Gérard Houllier | 1994–2020 | Missed Cross | [142] |
 Cuauhtémoc Blanco | Ricardo La Volpe | 1996–2016 | According to former teammate Germán Villa, La Volpe blamed Blanco for Club América's 5–0 defeat to Chivas Guadalajara in a Súper Clásico in the winter of 1996, and had even argued with him when he came on in the second half. La Volpe caused further controversy when he left Blanco out of Mexico's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when he was regarded as one of his nation's best players at the time. The manager later revealed that while he respected the latter as a great player, the reason behind the exclusion was that he believed that Blanco's style would not fit into his system and game plan, and that for him the system was more important than the individual. | [143][144][145][146] |
| Marcelinho Carioca | Vanderlei Luxemburgo | 1998–present | The two got into a physical altercation in 1998 during their time at Corinthians; they later argued again in 2007 on the show "Por Dentro da Bola" over Luxemburgo's role as a manager. | [147][148] |
| Rivaldo | Louis van Gaal | 1997–2002 | Barcelona manager Van Gaal refused to deploy Rivaldo in his preferred position as an attacking midfielder behind the forwards, and instead used him out of position as a left winger and later relegated him to the bench. | [124][149][150] |
| Roberto Baggio | Marcello Lippi | 1999–2000 | In his 2001 autobiography Una Porta nel Cielo, Baggio accused Lippi of leaving him out of the Inter Milan first-team squad during the 1999–2000 season after Baggio had refused a request from Lippi, who allegedly asked him to report to him which Inter players who had expressed negative opinions about the manager. | [151] |
| Christian Panucci | 1999–2006 | The pair argued during their time together at Inter Milan, culminating in Panucci insulting the manager; as a result of the row, Panucci believed that Lippi later left him out of Italy's 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning squad. | [152] | |
| Antonio Cassano | 2004–2010 | Lippi left Cassano out of the Italy national football team, including Italy's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, due to his lack of discipline. | [153][154] | |
| Ronaldo | Héctor Cúper | 2001–2002 | Ronaldo stated that his poor relationship with Inter Milan manager Héctor Cúper led him to depart for Real Madrid in the summer of 2002; Cúper denied this and accused the striker of telling "lies." | [155][156] |
| Fabio Capello | 2006–2007 | Capello was critical of Ronaldo's weight and fitness during their time together at Real Madrid and left him out of the first-team squad, culminating in Ronaldo's departure from the club. | [157] | |
 Dejan Savićević | 1992–1998 | Capello and Savićević often clashed during their time together at AC Milan due to their strong characters, and as Capello often criticised the playmaker for his lack of discipline in training, his inconsistency, and his poor defensive work-rate on the pitch, while the club's president, Silvio Berlusconi, instead admired the player for his skill. | [158] | |
| Roberto Baggio | 1995–1997 | Capello and Baggio often clashed during their time together at AC Milan, as Capello often substituted Baggio throughout the 1995–96 season, believing that he was not fit enough to play a full match. Upon his return to the club in 1997, he left Baggio out of the squad, resulting in the latter's departure from the club. | [133][159] | |
| Antonio Cassano | 2001–2007 | Capello and Cassano often clashed during their time together at Roma and Real Madrid due to the latter's poor behaviour, diet, and work-rate. | [112] | |
| Alessandro Del Piero | 2005–2006 | The pair often clashed during their time together at Juventus as Del Piero was increasingly used as a substitute during Capello's stint as the club's manager. | [112][160] | |
| David Beckham |  Alex Ferguson | 2000–2003 | Beckham and his Manchester United manager Ferguson started having problems during the 2000–01 season, in part due to the former's fame off the pitch, as well as his highly publicised relationship and marriage with Victoria, which Ferguson believed was impacting the winger's performances. Their relationship deteriorated further during the 2002–03 season, with Beckham facing competition for a starting role from Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Moreover, following a defeat to rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup in February 2003, in the dressing room, Ferguson threw or kicked a football boot that struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches. Beckham subsequently left the club for Real Madrid that summer. | [161][162][163][164][165][166] |
| Roy Keane | 2005–present | MUTV interview incident | [167] | |
| Mick McCarthy | 2002–2007 | Saipan incident | [168] | |
| Juan Román Riquelme | Louis van Gaal | 2002–2003 | Van Gaal reportedly did not approve of Barcelona acquiring Riquelme, insisting that his arrival was a "political signing" made by the club without his knowledge. He often omitted the Argentine from his starting line-ups and also deployed him out of position on the wing, in a similar manner to Rivaldo during the manager's first spell with the club. Van Gaal also reportedly told Riquelme upon his arrival at the club: "You're the best player when you have the ball, but when you don´t we play with one less." | [149][150][169] |
| Diego Maradona | 2008–2020 | The feud between the two began when Maradona was manager of the Argentina national football team and left Riquelme out of the squad. Riquelme stated "As long as Maradona is coach I will not return to the national side. We are not on the same wavelength. We don't agree much. My codes are not his and it is clear that we cannot work together." | [170] | |
 Aleksandr Mostovoi | Georgi Yartsev | 2004 | Mostovoi's criticism of Yartsev | [171] |
| Robert Pires | Raymond Domenech | 2004–2010 | Domenech allegedly did not call up players with the zodiac sign of scorpio | [172] |
| Nicolas Anelka | 2010–present | Anelka World Cup incident | [173] | |
 Ivica Dragutinović | Luiz Felipe Scolari | 2007–present | Following a 1–1 draw between Portugal and Serbia in Lisbon in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier, Portuguese winger confronted Ivica Dragutinović; Portugal's coach, Scolari, subsequently intervened. When Dragutinović slapped away the manager's arm, Scolari punched him in retaliation. | [174] |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | Pep Guardiola | 2009–present | Ibrahimović controversies | [175] |
| Samuel Eto'o | 2008–2019 | In 2014, Eto'o crticised Guardiola for his lack of "respect" towards him during their time together at Barcelona during the 2008–09 treble–winning season, adding that his manager barely spoke to him and "never had the courage to say things to [his] face." Although Eto'o had a prolific and successful season, he had several disagreements with his manager: Eto'o – along with Ronalidnho and Deco – was initially not part of Guardiola's plans, and was encouraged to accept a transfer offer from another club, but was ultimately allowed to remain with the team. The pair also clashed over Eto'os role within the team in comparison to Lionel Messi's, with the striker demanding an apology from his coach, stating: "I said to Guardiola [that] you'll have to apologise to me because it's me that will make Barcelona win, not Messi." Eto'o also accused Guardiola of lying to the press, and was critical of the manager's player–management skills given his lack of coaching experience at professional level. He also reportedly did not approve of Guardiola's suggestions regarding his playing style as a striker, telling him that he was "not normal." In the summer of 2009, Eto'o was informed by his lawyer that he had been transfer listed by Barcelona; he eventually left the club in an exchange deal with Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, going on to win another treble with the Italian club the following season. Upon his retiement in 2019, when asked about the best coach of his career, Eto'o stated: "I love [Guardiola] as a coach, but not as a person," also admitting that his former manager had apologised to him, however. In 2022, Eto'o also contrasted Guardiola's style with that of his subsequent manager at Inter, José Mourinho, whom he praised for being "upfront." | [176][177][178][179][180][181][182][183][184] | |
 Yaya Touré | 2008–present | Touré began to be left out of the starting midfield in favour of Barcelona youth product Sergio Busquets, and was increasingly deployed in defence by Guardiola during the 2008–09 season. His playing time was more limted the following season, leading to his departure to Manchester City in 2010. Touré commented that after receiving an offer from the English club, his manager no longer spoke to him, which cemented his decision to leave Barcelona. Upon Guardiola's appointment as Manchester City's manager for the 2016–17 season, Touré further clashed with the coach when he began to be left out of the first team, accusing him of favouring players who were deferential towards him, and of being jealous of Touré and of wanting revenge against him. He also criticised him for being too rigid, which made it difficult for the two of them to reconcile following arguments. Tensions between the two culminated following Touré's departure from the club in 2018, when the midfielder accused Guardiola of having problems with African players in an interview with France Football; Guardiola denied any allegations of racism however, and Touré later stated in a 2021 interview with The Athletic that he regretted his comments and had made a mistake, and retracted this statement, even sending a letter of apology to Guardiola, but had not yet received a response. | [185][186][187][188][189] | |
| Luca Toni | Louis van Gaal | 2009–2017 | During Van Gaal's spell as Bayern Munich manager, his relationship with striker Luca Toni deteriorated when he pulled the Italian's ear in front of the squad because he objected to his slouched body position at the lunch table. He later left the striker out of the first team, relegating him to the amateur team in order to regain his fitness when Toni left the Allianz Arena at half-time upon being substituted against Schalke. Toni was fined by the club and refused to apologise to the manager, and began looking for a new club. | [124][190] |
| Mark van Bommel | During Van Gaal's spell as Bayern Munich manager, he relieved Van Bommel of the captaincy, and also informed the defensive midfielder that he would face competition for a starting role from younger players, as he wanted to bring more youth into the side. This led to a conflict between the two of them, which resulted in Van Bommel's departure to AC Milan in 2011. | [124] | ||
 Mounir El Hamdaoui | Frank de Boer | 2010–2011 | During the 2010–11 season, Ajax manager Frank de Boer substituted El Hamdaoui at half-time in the semi-final of KNVB Cup against RKC Waalwijk, as he was displeased with his performance, despite scoring a goal. The two subsequently fell out of following a dispute, and El Hamdaoui was demoted to the reserve team. | [191][192] |
| Iker Casillas | José Mourinho | 2010–2013 | Their relationship declined when Mourinho dropped Casillas as the Real Madrid's starting goalkeeper for Diego López during the 2012–13 season, following the former's hand injury; as a result they no longer spoke to one another. Mourinho was also critical of Casillas's limitations with the ball at his feet, and accused him of being a snitch, which resulted in divisions among the club's fans, players, and staff. Casillas believed that Mourinho disapporoved of him going to speak with Carles Puyol, the captain of the club's rivals, Barcelona, in order to ease tensions between the players in the Spanish national team. Real Madrid later accused Mourinho of showing a lack of respect towards Casillas, and the manager left the club at the end of the season. | [193][194][195][196][197][198] |
| Mario Balotelli | 2008–2010 | The two frequntly clashed during their time at Inter Milan. Balotelli revealed that Mourinho once kicked him off the team bus on the way to the airport for a match in Catania over an argument between the two of them. | [199] | |
| Marcello Lippi | 2008–2010 | Despite calls from pundits and fans for Balotelli's inclusion in Italy's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, the manager at the time, Lippi, did not call him up, believing that he was not yet ready to play for Italy and that he needed to mature. | [154] | |
 Brendan Rodgers | 2014–present | Balotelli fell out of form at Liverpool and the two often clashed; Balotelli later called Rodgers the "worst" coach of his career in terms of their personal relationship. | [200][201][202] | |
| Roberto Mancini | 2007–2013 | The two frequently clashed, in particular during their time at Manchester City; one incident in training in January 2013, concerning a bad tackle, led to the two of them to be involved in a physical altercation. Later that month, Balotelli left for AC Milan on loan. | [203][204][205] | |
| Carlos Tevez | 2010–2012 | Tevez had initially contemplated leaving Manchester City in 2010, before reversing his decision, which did not please Mancini, but the forward insisted that he had a good relationship with his manager at the time. Tensions rose between them during the 2011–12 season when Tevez was upset about being left on the bench during a match early on in the season. Their relationship hit the breaking point when Mancini accused Tevez of refusing to come on in a Champions League group match against Bayern Munich in September 2011. Tevez denied this (he later stated that it was due to a misunderstanding, which was lost in translation; he had been warming-up for over half an hour, but had not been brought on, with Manchester City trailing 2–0, so he refused to warm-up further, despite still being willing to come on), but was fined and suspended by the club for two weeks; this propmted him to return to his homecountry Argentina, and he did not play for his club for six months, and was seen playing golf instead. He later stated that he almost retired due to the row and the fact that he was excluded from the Argentina national football team during this period. The two later reconciled and Tevez, returned to the team in February 2012, helping Manchester City come from behind to claim the 2011–12 Premier League title. | [103][104][206][207][208][209][210] | |
| Alex de Souza |  Aykut Kocaman | 2010–2013 | During Alex's final season with Fenerbahçe, his manager Kocaman began to use him less frequently due to his age and poor work-rate, despite his positive form. Alex criticised his manager on Twitter, questioning his decisions and accusing him of being jealous; consequently, many of the club's fans called for the manager's dismissal. In a 2–0 loss to Kasımpaşa on 29 September 2012, Alex was substituted and did not go sit with his manager on the bench, but in the stands; the following month, he was demoted to training with the reserve team, which led to him terminating his contract with the club. | [211] |
 Artur Boruc | Franciszek Smuda | 2010–present | In 2010 Boruc fell out with Poland national football team manager Smuda due to disciplinary reasons; tensions between them rose further when the goalkeeper called the manager "Dyzma" in an interview.[212] Consequently, Boruc was dropped from the squad and did not take part at UEFA Euro 2012, which was held on home soil. | [213][214] |
| Adem Ljajić | Delio Rossi | 2012–present | Manager Delio Rossi Rossi was fired by Fiorentina for slapping Ljajić after the Serbian forward complained about his first-half substitution during a 2–2 draw with Novara. | [215] |
 Adrian Mutu | Victor Pițurcă | 2013–present | Mutu international career | [216] |
 Landon Donovan | Jürgen Klinsmann | 2014–present | Donovan international career | [217] |
| Arda Turan | Fatih Terim | 2016–2019 | During his time as manager of the Turkey national football team, Terim dropped Turan after he physically attacked a journalist for allegedly criticising him on a team plane. | [218][219] |
| Hakim Ziyech | Hervé Renard | 2017 | In January 2017, Renard surprisingly left Ziyech out of Morocco's preliminary and final squads for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Ziyech then rejected a last-minute call-up as replacement for the injured Younès Belhanda. Ziyech stated that he would accept any further call-ups as long as Renard was still the team's manager. In June, he once again rejected call-ups for some friendlies and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Renard later apologised for the incident. Ziyech returned to the national side on 1 September, scoring in a 6–0 win over Mali in a qualifying match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. | [220][221][222][223] |
| Felipe Melo | Cuca | 2017–present | Melo argued with Cuca, as well as other members of the Palmeiras staff, during a training session in-front of members of the press. | [224] |
| Karim Benzema | Didier Deschamps | 2016–2021 | Benzema was not called up to the France national football team by Deschamps between 2015 and 2021, who was the manager at the time, following his alleged involvement a blackmailing scandal involving fellow French team player Mathieu Valbuena (see Karim Benzema§Controversies and legal issues). Benzema accused Deschamps of folding due to pressure from France's racist element. | [225] |
| Paul Pogba | José Mourinho | 2018–present | Following a 2–2 draw with Southampton in December 2018, Mourinho criticised Pogba's performance in the dressing room in front of his teammates, allegedly labelling him a "virus"; Pogba then accused Mourinho of hindering Manchester United's play with his tactics. | [226][227][228][229] |
| Diego Alves | Dorival Júnior | 2018–2022 | Alves got into a heated argument with his Flamengo manager Dorival as he was not pleased that he had been dropped by the coach. In response, the club communicated that they would not tolerate indiscipline. | [230][231] |
| Hakim Ziyech |  Vahid Halilhodžić | 2022–present | In September 2021, Ziyech was omitted by manager Halilhodžić from the Morocco national football team squad due to his perceived "poor attitude," after the winger refused to play in the team's summer friendlies due to injury, which his manager accused him of feigning. Ziyech was later left out of Morocco's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations squad. As a result of their feud, in February 2022, Ziyech announced his retirement from international football. In March, he rejected a call-up for a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against DR Congo. Halilhodžić was later sacked in August, and Ziyech consequently came out of retirement to return to play for the Moroccan national side. | [232][233][234][235] |
| Jadon Sancho | Erik ten Hag | 2022–present | Sancho was banished from the Manchester United first-team squad and barred from the training facilities after he made a social media post accusing the club's manager Ten Hag of lying about his training performances. | [236] |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | In a controversial intervew with journalist Piers Morgan in November 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo stated that he felt "betrayed" by his club Manchester United, and that he had "no respect" for his manager Ten Hag. Conflict between the two reportedly arose when Ronaldo left the squad during the 2022–23 pre–season due to his daughter's illness, which was allegedly described by the manager as "not acceptable." In October, Ten Hag then left the Portuguese striker on the bench following a 6–3 away defeat to cross–city rivals Manchester City out of "respect" for his career. Later that month, Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute in a 2–0 home win against Tottenham, and left the pitch before full-time, resulting in his suspension from the club. The following month, after returning from his suspension, Ten Hag declared that Ronaldo was ill and did not include him in the squad for Manchester United's 4–2 win over Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup, or in Manchester United's 2–1 away win over Fulham. Following Ronaldo's interview, his contract with Manchester United was terminated; he subsequently joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr the following month. | [237][238][239][240][241] | ||
| André Onana | Rigobert Song | 2022–2023 | Following a dispute with Cameroon manager Song over the team's tactics, Onana was dropped and later temporarily suspended and sent home from the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to disciplinary. Onana subsequently retired from internatinal football. | [242][243] |
| Giovanni Reyna | Gregg Berhalter | 2022–2023 | Reyna World Cup incident | [244] |
Between managers[edit]
| 1st party | Team(s) | 2nd party | Team(s) | Timespan | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helenio Herrera | Inter Milan, Roma | Nereo Rocco | AC Milan, Torino, Fiorentina | 1961–1974 | Both managers were pioneers of the defensive–minded catenaccio tactical system, and coached cross-city rival clubs (Inter Milan and AC Milan), competing for the Serie A title during the 1960s; both clubs also won multiple European Cups throughout the same decade, being the first two Italian clubs to win the title. | [245] |
| Matt Busby | Manchester United | Don Revie | Leeds United | 1964–1971 | See Leeds United F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry: Busby's exciting attacking style was often contrasted with Revie's more physical and pragmatic approach. Busby was initially the more established and successful manager, having win the 1963–64 Football League title with Manchester United. After winning promotion with Leeds United in 1964, Revie's Leeds faced Busby's Manchester United in the 1964–65 FA Cup semi-final, which ignited their rivalry. The goalless first-leg was played with great intensity, and Leeds subsequently won the replay by a single goal; however, they would go on to lose the final to Liverpool, also missing out on the league title to Manchester United, who would later go on to claim the 1967–68 European Cup. Revie's Leeds won the league title during the 1968–69 season, however, and following Busby's retirement, also won the title during the 1973–74 season (during which Manchester United were relegated), and also reached the 1975 European Cup Final. | [246] |
| Bill Shankly | Liverpool | 1964–1974 | Revie's Leeds United and Shankly's Liverpool shared an intense rivalry during the 1960s and 1970s. The rivalry began Liverpool defeated Leeds 2–1 in the 1965 FA Cup Final. The following season, Liverpool won the league title ahead of Leeds. Leeds then beat out Liverpool to the league title during the 1968–69 and 1973–74 seasons. | [247] | ||
| Brian Clough | Derby County | 1968–1974 | The Damned Utd | [248] | ||
| Alan Mullery | Brighton & Hove Albion | Terry Venables | Crystal Palace | 1976–1980 | Mullery's Brighton & Hove Albion and Venables's Crystal Palace faced off on five occasions across all competitions during the 1976–77 season, twice in the league and three times in the FA Cup, with Brighton failing to win any of their matches against their rivals, losing twice and drawing three times. In the third FA Cup tie between the two sides, at Stamford Bridge, Mullery ignited the rivalry when he threw approximately £5 of change onto the floor in front of the Crystal Palace fans, exclaiming "You’re not worth that, Palace." He was subsequently escorted away by the police. Mullery claimed that he said this in response to having boiling hot coffee thrown over him by a Crystal Palace supporter as he was walking through the tunnel. | [249] |
| Hugo Sánchez | Atlante, Pumas, Mexico | Ricardo La Volpe | Atlas, Toluca, Mexico | 1979–present | When Sánchez scored a bicycle kick against La Volpe in 1979, who was Atlante's goalkeeper at the time, La Volpe jibed that the former would never score another goal in that manner in 100 years. Sánchez was later coached by La Volpe at Atlante during the final years of his career; the two did not get along and Sánchez ultimately departed for Austrian club Linz. The rivalry reached its peak during the qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when La Volpe beat out Sánchez to the head coach role of the Mexico national football team; Sánchez was critical of La Volpe during this time. Sánchez later coached Mexico himself. | [250] |
| César Luis Menotti | Argentina | Carlos Bilardo | Argentina | 1983–present | Bilardo was Menotti's successor with the Argentina national football team; both managers had contrasting styles, with Bilardo's being more pragmatic, while Menotti's was based on possession. Moreover, both coaches won FIFA World Cup titles for their country; consequently their styles and achievements have often been compared in the media. Furthermore, Menotti was critical of the style of Bilardo's mentor, Luis Zubeldía, which ignited a rivalry between the two managers. Although the two reconciled for a time, and agreed to keep their opinions about one another secret, the two managers began making jabs about one another. | [251] |
| Mircea Lucescu | Dinamo Bucuresti | Anghel Iordanescu | Steaua Bucuresti | 1986–2016 | Eternal Derby | [252] |
| Giovanni Trapattoni | Juventus, Inter Milan | Nils Liedholm | AC Milan, Roma | 1977–1989 | Both managers were competing for the league title and had contrasting tactical philosophies | [253] |
| Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich | Johan Cruyff | Ajax, Barcelona | 1985–1996 | Rivalry both as players and as managers, with Trapattoni's more defensive-minded zona mista coaching system contrasting with Cruyff's more offensive-minded tactical philosophy inspired by Dutch total football | [7][8][9][10] | |
| Inter Milan | Arrigo Sacchi | AC Milan | 1986–1991 | Coached cross-city rival Serie A teams (Inter Milan and AC Milan) competing for the league title, and both had contrasting tactical philosophies | [254] | |
| Fabio Capello | AC Milan | 1991–present | Capello was Sacchi's successor at AC Milan; both managers had successful spells at the club across all competitions, but had contrasting tactical philosophies and clashed verbally | [128] | ||
| AC Milan, Roma, Juventus, Real Madrid | Carlo Ancelotti | Parma, Juventus, AC Milan | 1992–present | Their feud originated when Ancelotti played under Capello at Milan in 1992 and was used increasingly sparingly, in contrast to his time under Sacchi, which eventually led to his retirement. Ancelotti later criticised Capello as a coach in his autobiography due to his perceived inability to discuss issues with his players. They later coached rival Serie A teams competing for the league title during the 1990s and 2000s. | [255][256][257][258][259][260] | |
| Louis van Gaal | Ajax, Barcelona | Johan Cruyff | Ajax, Barcelona | 1989–2016 | The two managers became estranged following a misunderstanding at a Christmas dinner in 1989. | [261][262] |
| Ajax, Barcelona, Manchester United | Ronald Koeman | Ajax, Barcelona, Southampton | 2004–2016 | The pair previously worked together at Barcelona, where Van Gaal was coach and Koeman his assistant. In 2004, they worked together again at Ajax: Koeman was manager and Van Gaal was director of football. However, a feud between the two arose when Van Gaal began to interfere with Koeman's duties as the club's manager. | [263] | |
| Bruce Arena | LA Galaxy | Sigi Schmid | Seattle Sounders FC | 1996–2016 | Arena and Schmid were two of the most influential coaches in the history of the MLSm, and also had contrasting personal coaching styles. | [264] |
| Marcello Lippi | Juventus | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | 1994–2004 | Both managers competed for success in the UEFA Champions League during the 90s and early 2000s and were perceived as rivals in the media, with their styles often being compared. | [265] |
| Kevin Keegan | Newcastle | 1995–1996 | See 1995–96 Premier League: In April 1996, Keegan's Newcastle side won 1–0 at Leeds to bring them within three points of Premier League leaders Manchester United, with two matches left to play. Before the game, Ferguson had stated that Leeds and Nottingham Forest, two of Newcastle opponents in their last three league matches of the season, might not put in as much effort against Newcastle as they did against Manchester United. Following the match, Keegan responded in an interview: "You can tell him now, if you’re watching it, we’re still fighting for this title and he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something. And I’ll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it." However, Newcastle drew their remaining matches and Manchester United won the league title. | [266][267][268] | ||
| Rafael Benítez | Liverpool, Chelsea | 2004–2013 | Both managers managed rival clubs and competed for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles. In January 2009 the rivalry became more tense on a personal level when Benítez made accusatory statements regardng Ferguson's conduct with referees, stating: "I want to talk about facts. He is the only manager in the league that cannot be punished for these things. All managers need to know is that only Mr Ferguson can talk about the fixtures, can talk about referees - and nothing happens." In response, Ferguson called him an "angry man," commenting that his allegations were "absolutely ridiculous." The two managers exchanged jabs throughout the remainder of the season, and in May Benítez ultimately refused an invitation to congratulate Ferguson on winning the 2008–09 Premier League title, with Liverpool finishing in second place in the league; he congratulated Manchester United on their victory instead. The feud was re-ignited when Benítez joined Chelsea in 2012, with Ferguson claiming he was "lucky" to get the job. The managers continued to exchange jabs, and in March 2013, Benítez accused Ferguson of refusing to shake his hand ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final match-up. | [269] | ||
| Arsène Wenger | Arsenal | 1996–2013 | Ferguson and Wenger | [270] | ||
| José Mourinho | Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur | 2004–2018 | Arsenal F.C.–Chelsea F.C. rivalry, Arsenal F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry, North London Derby | [271] | ||
| Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid | 2004–2013 | Both managers competed for success in the Premier League and in the UEFA Champions League | [272] | |
| Rafael Benítez | Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Newcastle United | Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United | 2004–2018 | Both managers competed for success in the Premier League and in the UEFA Champions League and Benítez was also compared to Mourinho for his spells at clubs Mourinho had previously also coached (Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Real Madrid). The feud between the mangers peaked in 2015, when Benítez's wife Maria de Montserrat said "we tidy up his messes," prompting Mourinho to criticise Benítez's work at his former clubs. | [273] | |
| Carlo Ancelotti | AC Milan, Chelsea | Inter Milan | 2008–2010 | See 2008–09 Serie A: Ancelotti and Mourinho coached cross–city rival Italian clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan during the 2008–09 season, with both clubs competing for the league title; throughout the season, both managers took jabs at one another, with Ancelotti being critical of Inter's results in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, while Mourinho mocked Milan for being so far behind Inter in the scudetto race. Ancelotti also criticised Mourinho for his attitude in his autobiography, despite also praising his ability as a manager. Mourinho later commented that Ancelotti was not a "friend" of his. The two also faced each other in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League round-of-16, with Mourinho's Inter beating out Ancelotti's Chelsea (Mourinho's former club) en route to winning the title. The two managers reportedly ended their feud in 2010 after a meeting in Geneva, with Ancelotti later describing Mourinho as his "friend." | [274][275][276][277][278][279][280] | |
| Claudio Ranieri | Juventus, Roma | Inter Milan | 2008–2010 | See 2008–09 Serie A, 2009–10 Serie A, 2009–10 Coppa Italia: During Mourinho's time at Inter Milan, he mocked manager Ranieri, who coached the team's main domestic rivals, Roma, for his coaching methods and lack of success in comparison to his own. | [281] | |
| Massimiliano Allegri | Cagliari, AC Milan, Juventus | Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Roma | 2009–present | During his first season in Italy, Mourinho was reportedly bothered that Allegri won a coach of the year award with Cagliari even, though Mourinho had won the 2008–09 Serie A title with Inter Milan. During his time with AC Milan and Juventus, Allegri also criticised Mourinho as "pathetic" and "lacking respect" when Mourinho made provocative hand gestures aimed at the fans of Allegri’s clubs. | [282] | |
| Manuel Pellegrini | Málaga, Manchester City, West Ham United, Real Betis | Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma | 2010–present | Pellegrini was Mourinho's predecessor at Real Madrid and was sacked after failing to win the 2009–10 La Liga title, finishing second behind rivals Barcelona; he was subsequently appointed as head coach of Málaga. When Mourinho was asked what he would do if he were fired Perez, he retorted: "If Madrid get rid of me I won't be going to coach Malaga, I'll be at a top level side in Italy or England." Mourinho defeated Pellegrini's Málaga on sevearl occasions, and also managed to win the 2011–12 La Liga title. In England, the two managers faced off again; in 2014, Pellegrini refused to shake his rival's hand after his new club, Manchester City, suffered a 2–1 defeat to Mourinhbo's Chelsea; however, he ultimately won the 2013–14 Premier League title. | [283][284] | |
| Antonio Conte | Chelsea | Manchester United | 2016–2018 | The rivalry began when Conte's Chelsea defeated Mourinho's Manchester United side 4–0 at Stamford Bridge in October 2016; Conte encourage the home fans to raise the volume of their support for their team in the final minutes by waving his arms, which angered Mourinho. | [285] | |
| Pep Guardiola | Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern Munich | Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur | 2010–present | El Clásico, 2013 UEFA Super Cup, Manchester derby | [286] | |
| Bayern Munich, Manchester City | Jürgen Klopp | Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool | 2013–present | Der Klassiker, Liverpool F.C.–Manchester City F.C. rivalry | [287] | |
| Thomas Tuchel | Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea | Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool | 2009– present | Chelsea F.C.–Liverpool F.C. rivalry | [288] | |
| Antonio Conte | Juventus | Walter Mazzarri | Napoli | 2011–2013 | Both managers competed for the 2012–13 Serie A title, the 2011–12 Coppa Italia, and the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana, and used similar formations (3–5–2). | [289] |
| Massimiliano Allegri | AC Milan, Juventus | 2011–2019 | Both managers competed for the 2011–12 Serie A title, with Conte's Juventus ultimately beating out Allegri's defending champions AC Milan; Allegri later also replaced Conte at Juventus in 2014. Both managers had successful spells with the club and their achievements and contrasting styles were often compared. | [290][291][292] | ||
| Maurizio Sarri | Napoli, Juventus | Juventus | 2017–2020 | Both managers competed for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 Serie A titles, with Allegri's Juventus beating out Sarri's Napoli on both occasions; both managers also use contrasting tactical approaches, with Sarri adopting a more offensive–minded system, while Allegri's style was instead more conservative. Sarri later also replaced Allegri at Juventus in 2019, going on to win the 2019–20 Serie A title himself. | [293][294][295] | |
 Graham Arnold | Central Coast Mariners | Ange Postecoglou | Brisbane Roar | 2010–2013 | Friendly rivalry; both managers had contrasting styles and were two of the best coaches in the A-League and competed for the league title. They were also candidates for position as head coach with the Australia men's national soccer team; the post initially went to Postecoglou in 2013, but Arnold later coached the side in 2018. | [296][297] |
| Sydney FC | Kevin Muscat | Melbourne Victory | 2013–2018 | The Big Blue (A-League) | [298] | |
| Steve Corica | Tony Popovic | 2021– present | [299] |
International[edit]
This list uses the geographic confederation classifications issues by International Association Football Federation (FIFA): CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia and Australia), UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean), OFC (Oceania) and CONMEBOL (South America).
Intercontinental[edit]
| Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | England | Argentina–England | 5 (2018) | [300] |
| Germany | Argentina–Germany | 7 (2022) | [301] | |
| Mexico | Argentina–Mexico | 4 (2022) | [302] | |
| Netherlands | Argentina–Netherlands | 6 (2022) | [303] | |
 Nigeria | Argentina–Nigeria | 5 (2018) | [300][304] | |
| Australia | England | Australia–England | – | [305] |
 New Zealand | Australia–New Zealand | – | [306] | |
| Uruguay | Australia—Uruguay | – | ||
| Brazil | Germany | Brazil–Germany | 2 (2022) | [307] |
| Italy | Brazil–Italy | 5 (2022) | [300] | |
| France |  Algeria | Algeria–France | – | [308][309] |
 Kazakhstan |  Tajikistan | Kazakhstan-Tajikistan | ||
 Turkmenistan | Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan | |||
 Kyrgyzstan | Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan | |||
 Uzbekistan | Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan | |||
| Morocco | Spain | Morocco-Spain | 2 (2022) | [310] |
 Saudi Arabia | Algeria | Saudi Arabia-Algeria | ||
 Egypt | Saudi Arabia-Egypt | 1 (2018) | ||
| Morocco | Saudi Arabia-Morocco | 1 (1994) | ||
 Tunisia | Saudi Arabia-Tunisia | 1 (2006) | ||
| United States |  Ghana | United States–Ghana | 3 (2014) | |
 Iran | United States–Iran | 2 (2022) | [311] | |
| Uruguay | Ghana | Uruguay–Ghana | 2 (2022) | [312] |
Asia and Australia (AFC)[edit]
Africa (CAF)[edit]
Europe (UEFA)[edit]
North & Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF)[edit]
| Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aruba |  Bonaire | Aruba vs. Bonaire | – | [392] |
 British Virgin Islands |  U.S. Virgin Islands | British Virgin Islands vs. U.S. Virgin Islands | [393] | |
 Costa Rica |  Honduras | Clásico centroamericano | – | [394] |
| Mexico | Costa Rica vs. Mexico | – | ||
| United States | Costa Rica vs. United States | – | [395][396][397][398][399] | |
 Canada | Mexico | Canada vs. Mexico | – | |
| United States | Canada–United States | – | [343] | |
| Honduras | Canada vs. Honduras | – | [400] | |
 Curaçao |  Suriname | Curaçao vs. Suriname | – | [401] |
| Honduras | Mexico | Honduras vs. Mexico | – | [402][403][404] |
 El Salvador | Honduras | El Salvador–Honduras | – | [405][406] |
 Haiti |  Jamaica | Haiti vs. Jamaica | – | [407][408] |
| Jamaica |  Trinidad and Tobago | Jamaica vs. Trinidad and Tobago | – | [409] |
| Mexico | United States | Mexico–United States | 1 | [329] |
South America (CONMEBOL)[edit]
| Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Brazil | Argentina–Brazil | 4 | [410] |
| Chile | Argentina vs. Chile | 1 | [411][412] | |
 Peru | Argentina vs. Peru | 1 | ||
| Uruguay | Argentina–Uruguay | 2 | [413] | |
| Brazil | Brazil–Uruguay | 2 | [414][415][416][417][418] | |
| Chile | Peru | Chile–Peru | – | [419][420] |
| Colombia |  Venezuela | Colombia vs. Venezuela | – | [421] |
 Ecuador | Peru | Ecuador–Peru | – |
Oceania (OFC)[edit]
| Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fiji | New Zealand | Fiji–New Zealand | – | |
 Samoa |  Tonga | Samoa vs. Tonga | – | |
 Solomon Islands |  Vanuatu | Solomon Islands vs. Vanuatu | – | [422] |