Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is more anxious about avoiding injuries on a poor pitch in Beijing than he is about winning their pre-season derby against Manchester City in the International Champions Cup (ICC).
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The two coaches, who enjoyed a competitive rivalry during their times in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona between 2010 and 2012, will now have to wait until their first Premier League meeting on 10 September at Old Trafford to resume hostilities.
Manchester City fly to Shenzhen on Tuesday after seeing Pep Guardiola’s first pre-season disrupted by the cancellation of their much-anticipated clash with Manchester United.
But with conditions so worrying, he urged his players not to treat the game like a competitive derby.
However, Mourinho says he is not under any extra pressure to win it this term, revealing he has been given three seasons to return United to their former glory.
“We are polite guys, why not?” said the City manager yesterday after training ahead of the International Champions Cup pre-season tour match.
These, he says, are “no conditions to play a good game of football” and believes it now becomes a “double friendly” in order to keep everyone fit and well.
“Of course I shake his hand”.
Guardiola said there was a possibility he could be ready for the first game of the new season against Sunderland on August 13, but he would not rush the Belgian central defender back and risk further injury. The result I want tomorrow is to go home without injuries.
The City boss has been keen to avoid discussing his previous run-ins with the Portuguese and it was no different on Sunday as he dismissed the suggestion that the two men would not shake hands.
We may get a glimpse on Monday at some more senior players but I feel that a lot of the youth players will get some time as well. “With this manager and the good players they already had, they will be a good team”.
Both managers won one La Liga title each between 2010 and 2012, but Guardiola’s Champions League success in 2011 (when Barca beat Manchester United) gave the Spaniard the edge.
The Red Devils suffered a 4-1 defeat in their ICC opener against Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai on Friday night. Why not? Why should he not shake my hand? “I don’t see the reason for the question”.
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“But 10 days of work, people are really exhausted, matches against high quality opposition that, I repeat, are in a much advanced stage of their preparation”.
