Andy Hunter: Rafa and Jose - poles apart, a mutual dislike but born winners

One of the boys and a boy alone; so vast is the contrast in the personalities of Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez it is remarkable they find antipathy to share towards each other, never mind managerial records that could have been printed from the same page.

From fanatical young footballers who never made the grade to obsessive young tacticians with qualifications in physical education who lifted the Uefa Cup and Champions League in successive seasons, won two championships in a league supposedly annexed by two heavyweights, fought boardroom battles and were pitted together for their 100th Premiership game, there is much to unite the parallel universes of the Liverpool and Chelsea managers. Yet their style, their methods and their common goals will always keep them apart.

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Take the handling of their imposing English centre-halves in their respective Champions League quarter-finals against PSV Eindhoven and Valencia, victories that produced tonight's 14th confrontation between the Spaniard and the Portuguese since their arrival in England in 2004.

Firstly, Mourinho and John Terry. The England captain was conducting a breathless interview live on television shortly after Chelsea's dramatic victory at the Mestalla when Mourinho suddenly appeared in shot with a delirious scream, embraced his lynchpin, and ran off laughing down the corridor. It was an amusing episode that would not be replicated at Anfield if George Gillett and Tom Hicks presented Benitez with an open cheque-book and keys to a stadium named in his honour.

Mourinho courts popularity with his charges even more than the media, and their bond was evident when his captain led appeals for conciliation between Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea manager during the bleakest moments of their stand-off.

The squad he moulded into champions for the first time in 50 years ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United, as Benitez did in overcoming Barcelona and Real Madrid to present Valencia with their first La Liga crown in 32 years in 2002, were in raptures when Mourinho once reported for pre-season training sporting a brutal haircut he dubbed the "Going to War" look. As with the decision to restock his wardrobe with Armani following ridicule of his dress sense upon arrival from Porto, it was taken by the Chelsea players as a sign the manager was one of them.

Benitez has been accused of treating his players more like meat than mates, and his aloofness contributed to the alienation felt by Steven Gerrard when contractual problems almost took him to Chelsea in 2005. "I am not sure he is that interested in players as people," said Gerrard in his autobiography. "We are cogs in a machine for Benitez."

Jamie Carragher had reason to concur with that view in the second leg against PSV when, instead of equalling Ian Callaghan's record of 89 European appearances for Liverpool at Anfield, he was left on the bench. But Carragher will have grudgingly accepted Benitez's methods because he knows they are invariably correct.

Rotation has played a crucial role in delivering a trophy to Liverpool in the final game of their two previous seasons under Benitez, the Champions League in 2005 and last season's FA Cup, and for a private man who avoids confrontation as readily as his Chelsea counterpart embraces it, he takes immense satisfaction from shaping a squad completely to his will. Especially when success arrives at the expense of Mourinho.

Head to head: Who should claim the bragging rights?

Overall record: 6 Chelsea wins; 4 Liverpool wins, 3 draws.

Cup competitions: 1 Chelsea win; 3 Liverpool wins; 3 draws

Premiership: 5 Chelsea wins; 1 Liverpool win; 0 draws