In recent days, Josep Guardiola has a spell almost repeated like a mantra, when the reporter wanted to know again, what now is with his contract. “Boys, on Sunday you know it,” he said then always. Guardiola kept his word. Since today is clear: He walks in the summer, after three years at Bayern
What comes next for the Star coach, no one knows to date exactly – except probably Guardiola himself But what remains of him..?
On July 4, 2013 he gave his first press conference as head coach of Bayern Munich. Dressed casually he was on that summer day in Riva, at the northern end of Lake Garda, in blue jeans, colorful sneakers, white shirt and dark sunglasses. He was clean-shaven, tanned, had no dark circles. The break in New York had done him good. “I want to stay here for a long, long time,” he said. The then 42-year-old then formulated a question that was not a question, but his motto: “How can I help the players to feel happy on the pitch”
Now, almost two and a half years later, his association has announced the departure in the summer and already announced Guardiola’s successor. It is the Italian Carlo Ancelotti. From Guardiola, there has been no word on his decision, he is with his family already left home in the Christmas holidays. Guardiola last saw when he could use a few days off well, he looked tired, you could see almost as the gray hairs were more in his beard.
Guardiola has invested a lot of power, he has changed the FC Bayern and the Bundesliga. He has taught his club a playing philosophy that possession-oriented, but at the same time is more unpredictable than ever. He has the rigid thinking broken in tactical systems, because its actors were never only full-back or winger, but as universally as possible: As captain Philipp Lahm, he freed from the dogma of the full-back-existence and the representative of the flexible player roles that Guardiola wishes.
He has the short passing game and refined the strengths of the players even further promoted, which can be well seen on Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski, who have become even more flexible. In a sense, he has many of his players on the pitch made happier.
And he’s overwhelmed with his club the league in a hitherto unknown degree. All this did Guardiola with a publicly raised nonchalance that therefore came very easily – as opposed to getting something intently acting Jupp Heynckes or egomaniac Luis van Gaal. The fact that Guardiola was a driven, you saw only on the sidelines when he wildly with his hands waving like a runaway conductor, and sometimes touched the referee, as if they belonged to his team.
Measured he is only the Champions League title
Guardiola will also leave trenches, and fans who have thoroughly evaluated him ambivalent, partly because he was often aloof in spite of his emotional outbursts and retained the majority of his thoughts to himself. The German language was also a protective cover for him: Whoever does not understand anything and has a few vocabulary available at the same time does not have many of his views divulge. It was a superficiality that Guardiola left only in the few moments when he moved to his native language.
The doctors dispute will be remembered, in the course of which the Bayern doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt said goodbye to his club. And that during the official part of this year’s annual general meeting of Bavaria in late November was not a single word to her coach, spoke volumes. Even then, the authorities have initiated the first steps towards emancipation. The fact that the Bavarians already with his successor Ancelotti agreed on a three-year contract, evidence of long-term planning, which includes that Guardiola should have probably given them a basket before weeks or months.
Guardiola is now just after that season, in which he for the first time a squad has available that dominates its system of ball control, the short passing game, the constant change of position and raid-like attacks almost perfect, which has internalized its philosophy and also – if the key players are not injured – the Champions League can win. But he found himself in Munich as project manager, he did not want to make the mistake, as to sign in Barcelona for a fourth year and regret it then.
Whether Guardiola’s three-year project is evaluated as an absolute success, does not elect in the league but in the Champions League. The Bavarians were there before his departure three times in four years in the finals, since then no more. Because Guardiola is measured, and in spite of emancipation from Triple-coach Jupp Heynckes whose shadow will haunt him until he himself holds the King Cup in his hands.
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