Such restraint is rich indeed considering it was Mourinho who propagated the animosity to begin with self-appointing himself as Pep's bete noire during their three feisty seasons at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively as they challenged for La Liga and European honours. Before the mind games turned toxic you felt Jose very much enjoyed being the wasp in Pep's carpet slipper, repeatedly claiming that Barcelona enjoyed immunity from officials and offering a relentless rap-sheet of grievances that ranged from the petty to the insane.
Pep, for his part, resiliently turned the other cheek until a particularly testy build up to an all-Spanish Champions League semi-final in 2011 prompted the usually unflappable coach to bite back in style.
It was clear to all who were present that those words had been swirling furiously through Guardiola's mind for quite some time and though they amounted to a debunking of the mind games phenomenon - and a 3-1 aggregate win adds weight to the notion that words off the pitch have little impact to what happens on it - there was equally no doubting that Mourinho's constant jabs and jibes had landed. He was now renting out headspace that had previously been reserved for reshaping modern football as we know it.
Guardiola may have returned from that famous press conference to a standing ovation from his players who had watched every minute from their hotel rooms but deep down he would have known his adversary had got exactly what he wanted that evening. The one-way barrage had descended into an open war of words and the relationship between these two very different personas was now deteriorated beyond repair.
Which is a shame really because once they were friends. Well, colleagues at least. During their four years together at Barcelona captain Pep and assistant coach Jose would happily embrace like amigos in victory.
Nice jacket Jose. Now we know why you favour a suit.
With ambition burning in their eyes at the Nou Camp both deferred to the head honcho and their mutual mentor at the time, a certain Louis van Gaal, which makes this fascinating and drawn-out squabble almost biblical in scope. The fading Dutchman is Adam, Pep and Jose the bickering Cain and Abel. Might this season then bring the end of days?
The likelihood is not, or almost certainly not yet. Though we can probably expect a little dig from Jose just to keep his eye in each has too big a job on their hands overhauling failing squads and rebuilding fallen giants to be distracted with past issues or local disputes.
The uneasy calm won't last for long however and, should hostilities resume, remember to stand well back. This time there will be no Spanish countryside to separate them.
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