An announcement that has the football world in awe was as predictable as English football fans disagreeing with my recent article about the Bundesliga being stronger than the Premier League. Pep Guardiola will take over as manager of Bayern Munich next season. But why is everyone so surprised? You simply needed some common sense, you needed to stay on top of what was happening in the football world, and you just needed to flip a coin to figure out this was going to happen.
Pep Guardiola spent four season managing Barcelona. You don’t need to be a star expert to figure out that there was no way he would ever manage at Real Madrid after that. That takes care of Spain.
While we heard rumors of AC Milan making a strong run at Guardiola, let’s be honest, the Italian league is currently the fourth best league in Europe. Not good enough for the standards of a man who just won 14 titles, including two Champions League titles, in four years with Barcelona. That takes care of Italy.
Pep Guardiola spent four season managing Barcelona. You don’t need to be a star expert to figure out that there was no way he would ever manage at Real Madrid after that. That takes care of Spain.
While we heard rumors of AC Milan making a strong run at Guardiola, let’s be honest, the Italian league is currently the fourth best league in Europe. Not good enough for the standards of a man who just won 14 titles, including two Champions League titles, in four years with Barcelona. That takes care of Italy.
Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United or the EPL in general is where most football experts claimed Guardiola was going next season. But again, common sense and knowledge of what was going on in the football world could eliminate all three contestants. Manchester City and Chelsea have all the money in the world, but one thing they don’t have is great youth development. Guardiola loves working with young players, which is why those two clubs could have been eliminated. This leaves us with a coin flip between Bayern Munich and Manchester United. But, when Sir Alex announced last week that he would like to continue to manage for two to three years, Guardiola’s contract with Bayern Munich was all but signed.
Do we really need to talk about why he wasn’t going to PSG/ France, or can we move on?
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Holger Badstuber, David Alaba, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller aren’t just starters for a club that has played in the Champions League final two out of the last three season. They are all players that have gone through the Bayern Munich youth teams as well. As much money as Chelsea and Manchester City were willing to throw at Guardiola, I don’t think he will starve on what he will make at Bayern Munich. I rate Guardiola has a class guy - good youth development and a great run organization are clearly more important to him than money.
Do we really need to talk about why he wasn’t going to PSG/ France, or can we move on?
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Holger Badstuber, David Alaba, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller aren’t just starters for a club that has played in the Champions League final two out of the last three season. They are all players that have gone through the Bayern Munich youth teams as well. As much money as Chelsea and Manchester City were willing to throw at Guardiola, I don’t think he will starve on what he will make at Bayern Munich. I rate Guardiola has a class guy - good youth development and a great run organization are clearly more important to him than money.
And if all if this doesn’t convince you that this signing was a long time coming, just add these pieces together. Last June reports surfaced in German papers (much more trustworthy than the reports in England saying Guardiola will manager at City) that former Bayern Munich Sporting Director Christian Nerlinger had met with Guardiola’s brother. Hint #1. In late June, Bayern sacked Nerlinger and hired Matthias Sammer: a man who recently spent years working at the DFB, specifically in charge of working with the youth teams. Hint #2. In August, Bayern did what no other German team had done before - they spent $53 million on a player. The player, Javi Martinez, was said to be coveted by Pep Guardiola when he was still managing Barcelona. Hint #3. In December reports surfaced in German papers that Uli Hoeneß, the clubs President, went to New York for some business meetings. If you follow the happenings of football at all, you knew Guardiola was spending his year off from football in New York. I doubt Hoeneß went to New York to visit the Empire State Building. Hint #4. Last week when Lionel Messi won his third consecutive FIFA Ballon d’Or, Guardiola faced the media for the first time in months and said he will coach again next season. Hint #5. Since Spain, Italy, and France were out of the running, City and Chelsea made no sense, and Sir Alex mentioned he would manage another two years, how did people not report Pep Guardiola to Bayern Munich as a done deal then. Oh, and their current manager, 67-year-old Jupp Heynckes was set to have his contract expire at the end of the season...
If you enjoyed this article, check out "Bundesliga: The Best League in the World".
If you enjoyed this article, check out "Bundesliga: The Best League in the World".
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