Almost every decade, in every sport, there is always one coach that comes along who isn’t just successful but actually changes the way the game is played.
In football, it’s been quite a while, but finally we’ve got one. Josep Guardiola is not just adding a chapter to the book of modern football, but threatening to write a whole new book.
At Barcelona they tell a story about Frank Rijkaard’s final season at Camp Nou when it was becoming clear something had to give. A practice match was arranged against Barça B next door and it ended with the reserves, managed by Pep Guardiola and playing in Spain’s third division, running the first team ragged. For Rijkaard, anxiously pulling on a cigarette, it was an embarrassment. At one point a member of his backroom staff approached Guardiola on the touchline. ‘Please’, went the message,’ time to ease off a little’.
The announcement of Pep Guardiola’s decision to come back to the beloved sport with appointment as Bayern coach for the next season has sent shockwaves through the international sports media landscape, making headlines and prompting lengthy reports and analysis in Germany and all over the world.
The most sought-after coach in world football, the man who won 14 at Barcelona chose Bayern and the Bundesliga ahead of England.Guardiola will replace coach Jupp Heynckes, who will retire in the summer. A few extra MILLION euros were turned down in favour of a football philosophy more appealing.
Don’t be fooled. It’s a fabulous move, despite the mass discussion and confusion it seems to have generated. His decision to go to Germany seems incomprehensible to many. Yet what’s worth explaining is that it’s almost a perfect match. No league has undergone a more radical transformation than the Bundesliga. Everything about the league, from the way it is run and the way matches are played, is a magnificent blueprint. While private ownership dominates football in England, Italy and even here, every German club must be at least 51 per cent member owned.
Kar-HeinzeRummenigge, the club chairman, went on to explain Guardiola’s decision: “I think he was impressed with our overall concept. If it was purely down to money, Bayern would have had no chance,” he said. Bayern is a club that is able to offer Guardiola funds to invest in the transfer market, job security and almost guaranteed Champions League football –everything a manager dreams of. Even considering on the field, it is easy to believe Pep’s decision to coach Bayern by how they fare on the pitch –as Barcelona have topped the possession and pass completion rankings in the major five European leagues, Bayern Munich have been second. Yes, Bayern may not be a replica of any sort to that of Barca, but at least the raw materials available to Guardiola are relative familiar.
It’s impossible at this stage to speak with any certainty of how Bayern will set up next season but what is certain are correlations between the two clubs. Possession is king, yes, but it also demands each player understand where to be and when, and where to pass the ball –and here’s the real genius behind Guardiola’s theory: He teaches the players a solution to every situation. You don’t need a billion-dollar budget, or Messi to apply the basics of it.
What the rest of the football world has to say about the move:
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he tried to persuad Pep Guardiola to take a job in the Premier League. “It is not a backward step,” he said. “In Germany, maybe along with Spain, they are a country with the best young players.”
“If you look at the results of Germany in the u-17s, U-18s and U-19s, in the last three seasons, they beat everybody. It is the football of tomorrow. Tomorrow football will be played in Germany, certainly.”
Rio Ferdinand: “The news yesterday of Pep going to Bayern Munich was a shock… until you step back and think why… stability, organised, competitive in Champions League.”
Owen Hargreaves: “There aren’t many clubs within European football that have the stability and structure that Bayern Munich has in place. People look at the glamour of the Premier League and its global appeal but I think he probably saw the structure in place at the club, the success of the club and quality of the players. And the facilities and the stadiums are better than anywhere in the world, I would guess.”
Tito Vilanova: “’I didn’t know where he was going, I didn’t know anything. I suppose he couldn’t say. I’m very happy that he’s returning to football and to one of Europe’s great clubs,’ he said.What’s clear is that he couldn’t go wrong because they were all top teams. And Bayern are a historic club, with four Champions League titles and some fantastic facilities.’
Barca Sporting Director, Zubizarreta: “Bayern are a club that can offer you a solid and stable project, they also have good players. He’s found what he was looking for and I’m happy. I’m sure that he will bring something new and will oblige all of us to move forward.”
Club captain CarlesPuyol said on his club’s website: ‘They (Bayern) are a very good team and he is a great coach. He’s going to one of the greats in Europe and we wish him the best.’
Midfielder Javier Mascheranoals added: ‘It was expected that Guardiola would coach a great club and Bayern are one of them. They have great German players and style of play and philosophy similar to which you find here.’
Manchester United chief Ferguson said: “I am surprised because I didn’t see it coming.All the time the speculation was about clubs in England.”
Yet Fergie can see why Guardiola decided to sign a three-year deal with the Munich outfit.
He added: “If you assess it as a coach, Bayern Munich is hard to turn down because they are one of the best run clubs in Europe.”
“They have a fantastic city, a fantastic stadium, good players and good history.The place is loaded with players who made the club’s history.You have Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, UliHoeness, Gerd Muller and, I think, Sepp Maier. And I’m not sure what role Franz Beckenbauer has now either.They have always been that way.With all these aspects, it is very easy to choose Bayern Munich.”
JuppHeynckes: “[I’m being succeeded] by a younger coach who has been very successful. I think it’s good. My successor is a smart man. He has analyzed the top European teams and has recognized that Bayern will be the team with whom he can have the most success,”
“As a coach I would not go to England either if I didn’t know how things would look like in four months’ time or if I don’t know how the owner will react.”
“I think it’s a fascinating situation now for club and the coach,” former Bayern Munich player and coach Klinsmann said. “For Pep it’s a wonderful opportunity. It’s a huge challenge for him to work with Bayern Munich. It was about time that he comes back into the game because he’s a very, very exceptional young coach out there. I just wish him all the very best there.”
Roberto Mancini: “Bayern Munich is one of the top clubs in the world for its history, like Barca.If he decides this it is because it is the best solution for him.”
Andres Villas-Boas: “I’m so surprised that I asked my media advisor from Tottenham. if it was true. Obviously it’s a big, big club, one of the biggest clubs in the world, in a league where we didn’t maybe expect Guardiola to be in.
“Obviously, there’s a great respect from all managers towards JuppHeynckes and what he has achieved in his career. Guardiola is obviously going to become one of the greatest managers in football. He’s won I think 14 trophies and he’s had such an amazing career.
“I think in Bayern he will find the right set-up to continue, not only to promote his message of football, which is immense, the way he believes in this game and the way he has changed the nature of the game people appreciate it and I think the example that he is.
“As a person, as a leader, through his professional career and through his coaching career too.”
