Manchester derby in China called off over pitch concerns

THE hotly anticipated reunion between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola has been delayed, after today's International Champions Cup game between Manchester United and City was cancelled.

United boss Mourinho and new City manager Guardiola, who were fierce rivals while coaching Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, were due to face off for the first time in almost three years when the Manchester clubs met in a friendly fixture at Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium.

But heavy rain in the Chinese capital rendered the pitch unplayable, with United revealing on Twitter that "tournament organisers and participating clubs have decided to cancel" the encounter.

The development topped off a pre-season trip for United that ended chaotically, with organisation as bad as the weather meaning Mourinho just wants to get his players home in one piece.

Following a friendly against Borussia Dortmund during a short and relatively straightforward stay in Shanghai, United came to Beijing for what should have been a mouth-watering friendly.

Instead, preparations were beset with problems from United's end, given the flight issues en route to the Chinese capital and organisational problems upon arrival.

A week of heavy rain then led to the game's cancellation.

"I think Beijing is also unlucky because the pitch is very bad," Mourinho said, before the decision was taken this morning to call the game off.

"The pitch and the conditions of my players are more important than results in pre-season."

Mourinho's frustration at the unfolding situation was visible as he stood pitchside surrounded by hundreds of journalists, a number of whom were wearing United shirts and looking for autographs.

United, like City, trained at the Olympic Sports Centre to preserve the nearby Bird's Nest pitch, but the increased numbers of accredited media saw him forced outside as the sweltering press conference room was deemed unsuitable.