Conte insists he and Mourinho have ‘mutual respect’ despite troubled history

Antonio Conte has claimed that he and Jose Mourinho will embrace before kick-off on Saturday despite their altercations in the past.

The relationship between Mourinho and Conte hit rock bottom a few years ago when the Italian was in charge of Chelsea and the Portuguese coach was at the helm at Old Trafford.

They constantly threw insults at each other during press conferences, with Conte even labelling Mourinho a “little man” after the special one commented on the current Spurs head coach’s involvement in Juve’s match-fixing scandal.

Watch some of the pair’s infamous quotes about each other in the below video:

Conte and Mourinho will square off once again on Saturday, this time in a pre-season friendly as Spurs take on Roma in Israel.

The Tottenham head coach insisted that he and Mourinho have put their past problems behind them and have mutual respect for one another.

When asked about his touchy relationship with the former Spurs boss, Conte told Football.London: “We have a mutual respect and our histories in football speak for us. Now everything is good and tomorrow for sure there will be a hug between us.”

Conte also insisted that Roma will pose a good test for his side, insisting that both teams being in similar stages of their evolution.

He said about Saturday’s clash: “I think I’m seeing a similar situation between Roma and Tottenham because both clubs want to build, to go step by step to fight against a team that in the past dominated in Italy, Juventus and also one season Inter Milan. For us City, Liverpool, Chelsea, United. It’s a good comparison because we have the same target.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Mourinho and Conte have both become a lot calmer over the last couple of years compared to the fiery personalities they had in the past. However, there is no doubt that Saturday’s clash will be more than just a friendly and that Jose will want to get one over his former employers.

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