Jose Mourinho is the self-confessed Special One but a charismatic new manager is about to enter the Premier League spotlight.
Jurgen Klopp is due to fly to Merseyside to finalise a deal to replace Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool boss following the Northern Irishman’s sacking this week.
The expected appointment of the German on Friday will add another star name to the English top-flight’s cast list and Mourinho knows all too well the qualities possessed by the 48-year-old.
Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund inflicted Champions League semi-final heartbreak on Mourinho’s Real Madrid in 2013 as the Portuguese chief’s time at the Bernabeu dwindled to an end.
That victory came largely courtesy of a 4-1 thrashing at the Westfalenstadion as the man with the hipster glasses and stylish swagger masterminded a tactical triumph over two legs.
Jurgen Klopp in pictures:
The pair will be prowling the touchline again when Liverpool come to Stamford Bridge on October 31 and Mourinho will be praying it isn’t a Halloween horror show.
He can’t afford another bad result. Roman Abramovich has given him his backing, for now, but if the results don’t turn after the international break then the pressure will be cranked up again.
But it’s not just a touchline Mourinho will be sharing with the incoming Reds manager. They will also be sharing the column inches and attracting the glare of the camera lenses up and down the country.
Tactical innovation, a pair of trendy Oakley specs and the trademark beard make him the hipster’s choice for the Anfield job.
He’s tall, standing at well over six feet, making him an imposing figure and can gain a hold over a packed press conference in the same way only one other man in football can - Mourinho.
Both have a penchant for one-liners and trade in blockbuster quotes.
Mourinho and Klopp are on good terms, friends even, and there was contact between them when it emerged the German would be leaving Dortmund after seven years.
The Chelsea manager said then that he would welcome Klopp to the Premier League, describing him as a good coach, and revealing the BVB chief had told him he wasn’t after the Blues job.
He wasn’t lying either. Klopp was never close to replacing Mourinho.
Can anybody replace the Special One?
The answer is no, the Portuguese is unique, but one thing is certain - Klopp’s arrival later this week will reinvigorate English football and signal a battle of two real tabloid titans.
Here's some of the German's very best quotes since he took to the dugout...
On Arsene Wenger's orchestra
Everyone knows Mourinho can’t stand the Arsenal manager and Kloppo certainly sees a flaw or two in the Frenchman’s management too:
“He likes having the ball, playing football, passes. It’s like an orchestra. But it’s a silent song. I like heavy metal more. I always want it loud."
On Barcelona, England and 'fighting football'
On a similar note, Klopp is also somewhat unmoved by Barcelona's tiki-take stylings. Give him a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke any time:
"If, in the last four years, Barcelona were the first team I saw playing when I was four years of age — this serenity of football, they win 5-0, 6-0 — I would have played tennis.
"It is not my sport. I don’t like winning with 80 per cent [possession]. Sorry that is not enough for me. Fighting football, not serenity football, that is what I like. What we call in German 'English' — rainy day, heavy pitch, 5-5, everybody is dirty in the face and goes home and cannot play for weeks after."
On losing the 2013 Champions League final
Having reached the final of the European Cup in 2013, Klopp saw his side beaten at Wembley by Bayern, Arjen Robben's extra-time winner wrecking their hopes of continental success.
At the post-match press conference, Klopp was asked about the game:
"The only thing I can say is that it was great. London is the town of the Olympic Games, the weather was good, everything is okay. Only the result is so s***."
On his hair transplant
There had been rumours Klopp had undergone the procedure and in 2013, he confirmed to Bild that he had indeed had a hair transplant.
“Yes, it’s true. I underwent a hair transplant. And I think the results are really cool, don’t you?”
