In January this year, Louis van Gaal flew to London to give a speech at a dinner organised by the Football Writers' Association to honour Jose Mourinho.
"I am always ‘the arrogant Louis van Gaal’, but now I am humble because now he is better than me,” said the Dutchman of his former protege during a warm and heartfelt talk.
From a man who once claimed he had ‘nothing more to learn’ in coaching it was quite the compliment and a reflection of the tight-knitted relationship between the two close friends who first met when Van Gaal took over as Barcelona coach from Bobby Robson in 1997.
On Sunday, Mourinho will be out to prove Van Gaal correct and show that he has firmly eclipsed his former boss when Chelsea take on Manchester United at Old Trafford.
It is a true case of the master against the apprentice and the way Mourinho talks of Van Gaal - ‘a big friend and a great man’ - underlines the role the Dutchman played in Mourinho’s rise to the top of his craft.
Upper hand | Van Gaal and Mourinho meet during a pre-season friendly in 2010 (Getty Images)
When Van Gaal arrived at Camp Nou, Mourinho was about to lose his job having worked under Robson as a translator - the term by which he is now mocked by Barcelona supporters - while also helping with planning training sessions, analysing opponents and talking players through tactical instructions.
He reacted furiously to the prospect of being surplus to requirements, raging at then Barcelona president Josep Lluis Nunez that he deserved to be kept on because of the role he had played in the club’s Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup triumphs.
"Mourinho was very angry," recalled Van Gaal. "He was very irritated and shouted. That was impressive for me, because he had emotions and he was right.
"I asked him to be the coach, the trainer, because he knew the team and he could help me. He said 'yes' and stayed three years with me.
"He analysed all the games for me and did it very well. He took the individual training sessions and I also let him coach the games of the Copa Catalunya. He won it."
The relationship prospered and so did the squad, as the Van Gaal-Mourinho dream team led the Catalans to successful La Liga titles and another Copa del Rey victory.
In 2000, Mourinho became a manager in his own right as he took over Benfica and he has never looked back.
Mourinho’s CV boasts seven league titles in four countries, nine domestic trophies, a Uefa Cup and two Champions League titles with two different clubs, a feat only achieved by four other managers.
That last European triumph came with Inter in 2010 in Mourinho’s only previous competitive fixture against a team managed by Van Gaal, as the Italians defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid.
Van Gaal will be determined to level the score this weekend and is one of the few managers who can boast a comparable CV to the Portuguese.
He has won seven league titles in three countries, plus seven domestic trophies, a Uefa Cup, two Super Cups, an Intercontinental Cup and the Champions League.
The 63-year-old showed he is still in still in touch as he impressively took the Netherlands to third place in the World Cup this summer before taking over at Old Trafford on a three-year contract.
For all the commonalities between Mourinho and Van Gaal, their philosophies on how the game should be played do deviate.
"He [Mourinho] trains to win. I train to play beautiful football and win. My way is more difficult," said Van Gaal before the 2010 Champions League final.
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