The 58-year-old Dutchman and 47-year-old Portuguese share a friendship dating back to when Mourinho was Van Gaal's assistant at Barcelona in the late 1990s, and Van Gaal still regards his young protege as a soulmate.
Whatever the outcome on Saturday, their friendship will remain intact, even though Mourinho would love nothing more than to put one over on his old Dutch master.
Van Gaal, speaking to reporters in the build-up to the final, said: "Jose is my friend. He was a scout and interpreter at Barcelona and I made him my assistant.
"In some things we are soulmates. We send each other text messages often. I'm looking forward to seeing him in Madrid. I'd like us to give a joint press conference to show everyone how well we get along. Of course I know he wants to beat me on Saturday, but I want to beat him just as much."
"Bayern have a great team with a lot of quality. They have a great tradition in the Champions League and a great coach," Mourinho said.
"I learned a lot from Bobby Robson and a great deal from Louis Van Gaal as well. Nothing was left to chance, everything was programmed in great detail."
