Alonso on Pep v Jose…

Ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby, Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher spoke with former team-mate Xabi Alonso on what it’s like to play under Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

Having played against Mourinho’s Chelsea several times with Liverpool, Alonso then had three years under the Portuguese manager at Real from 2010, before moving to Bayern Munich in 2014 for two years with Guardiola.

Carragher, who played with Alonso at Anfield between 2004 and 2009, presses the Spanish midfielder on all things Pep and Jose, from the similarities to the tactics, via a painful Clasico defeat in 2010…

Alonso on what qualities Jose and Pep share…

I think they share many things, and overall they are both leaders. They have that charisma, that special thing, when they get in a room everyone knows the boss is there, we have to listen to him.

They have different visions in terms of football, but in terms of leadership, they share many things, and they are into the details, into the game, and that’s why they’ve been at the top for the last few years.

They have different personalities, and different approaches to the game, but in terms of how their ambitions, their detail, how long they spend analysing, they spent a lot of time doing this and are hard workers.

It’s not just about your knowledge, you need to work a lot, and be self-demanding. To be demanding with your players you must be self-demanding, and they are.

On Jose and Pep’s first team meetings…

I remember the first meeting with Mourinho, when he came from Inter. We came from the World Cup that we won in South Africa, and we met in Los Angeles. Within five minutes you knew why he was there and why he’s so good.

With Guardiola it was the same. For me, the special thing is how they were able to deliver the message they want to the players, and how they were able to connect with you and express that idea. For me, I got their ideas very quickly.

With Pep, I signed very quickly from Madrid, and without training me and him had a meeting. We spoke for one hour, an hour-and-a-half, we spoke about football, and I …

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