It’s widely believed that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will leave the club at the end of the season. Those who think this will happen are actually quite strong in their beliefs. So it’s only fitting that Conte’s potential final match at the club would be against his biggest arch-nemesis of the season- Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
With Chelsea besting Southampton 2-0 today in the FA Cup semifinal, and United eliminating Tottenham 2-1 yesterday in their semi, it’s Blues vs Red Devils, Conte vs Mourinho May 19 in the FA Cup final.
Conte and Mourinho began 2018 with an ugly, prolonged back and forth verbal spat. It was a row in which both men seemingly had to get the last word in. Both men have larger than life egos, and a level of competitiveness that’s off the charts. Further ramping up the stakes is the fact that neither side has won a trophy this season, and that this match will provide the final opportunity to do so.
With Mourinho having managed Chelsea, on two occasions, the match has even more added allure. In fact, comparisons of records and winning percentages to Mourinho even came up in Conte’s press conference on Friday.
The FA Cup final will also be “the rubber match” in the United-Chelsea series this season. Both sides won at home in league play this season. Chelsea beat United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on November 5 while United bested Chelsea 2-1 on February 25.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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