Pep Guardiola

Barcaman

Administrator
Staff member
He should change his name from Josep to Josef. He likes his beer, wurst and lederhosen there and thinks Lahm is most intelligent footballer he coached.
 

frog-fcb

Senior Member
It so happened that Bayern were completely dominated by Dortmund for 2-3 years before Pep moved there... It was AFTER he signed for them that their domination started

Yea but dont forget dortmund won league twice so bayern decides they will buy there star player and if that wasnt enough then decide the next season to sign there out of contract star striker
 

frog-fcb

Senior Member
Was goetze not signed before peps reign started. My point is dortmund won the league twice before heynes regained it and bayern had decided to start dismantleing there main rivals to eradicate any competition
 

i_bleed_blaugrana

Senior Member
Was goetze not signed before peps reign started. My point is dortmund won the league twice before heynes regained it and bayern had decided to start dismantleing there main rivals to eradicate any competition

And this, for me, is the biggest reason why Bayern have struggled in Europe under Pep. That and injuries. As soon as Pep started, he lost Martinez and Thiago, with the former being crucial to Heynckes team and the latter crucial to Pep's, right off the bat. Last season he lost practically the core team but still got them to the Semis in CL and a recordly fast 3rd Bundesliga.

A competitive, high quality league breeds the quality necessary to be competitive in Europe. With us, before it was only Real but as a result of the quality if the el clasico clubs, the rest of the league has become more competitive because other teams have to raise their quality to stay competitive. This doesn't always work out though, and I think the PL is a prime example of this. It's competitive but it lacks quality due to its lack of identity. It's a money league that's all about selling high and buying higher and it's incredibly hard to develop young talent through the academies in this environment, which is a shame because there are excellent academies (West Ham, Southhampton etc.) with state of the art facilities yet the players don't get a chance to shine much because the club has to compete with the oil clubs. There are other factors of course, but that's the general narrative.

Bundesliga has for a long time been competitive and quality but they started to lag behind PL and La Liga in terms of commercial revenue and star appeal and I think Bayern's recent approach has been a response to this trend, but it's come at a cost and the lack of parity in the league currently is that cost. Essentially what I'm arguing is that Bayern's and apparently Bundesliga's recent CL woes are self-imposed. By robbing their competition of their best players, granted they are stronger, but they play easier games. In Europe, you have to be able to deal with adversity and if you are playing competitive teams in your league, your more likely to experience adversity and how to overcome it. That's why La Liga has been so strong in Europe recently. Even though there is a clear distinction of quality between Real and Barça and the rest of the league, the rest of the league regularly challenges them each year. That's what seperates La Liga from Bundesliga and the quality of play and promotion of youth players that help shape each clubs and the league as a collective's identity is what seperates it from the PL. Take a look at the tables in CL now: almost all of the PL's (barring City...kinda lol) representation and Bundesliga's (barring Bayern) representation are struggling to qualify to the knockout rounds. Meanwhile, almost all of La Liga's representations (barring Sevilla) are crusing to qualification. This has been the case for a number of seasons now as well.

I can't underline how unlucky Bayern have been with injuries however and I think it is something important to consider when judging Bayern's and subsequently Pep's CL performances. But he mentioned complacency as a challenge he found difficult to overcome here at Barça and I'd imagine it's an even bigger problem for him in Bavaria. They expect to just waltz around with 75% of the ball, casual kick about and score 4 goals in the CL bc they do it in Bundesliga and then a Porto happens and they have to scramble and truly show their quality or face an embarrassing exit.

That's a nightmare to deal with from a coaching perspective because it's purely psychological and with the distance he puts between him and the players, it makes it even harder to combat. Sprinkle a medical crisis and lingering murmurs of discontent due to the "foreign" approach and any coach is going to get a bit antsy.

Now that Jurgen is at Liverpool, it's no surprise they are going to push for him to extend. But knowing Pep, it'll only be for another year :pep:
 

Barcaman

Administrator
Staff member
I'd be inclined to agree but then the whole purpose of the post is basically: "poor Pep for picking Bayern".

Just imagine for a second he took a mid-table team instead of the best team in Europe at that time. It's like; let's feel sorry for a movie star because they have no privacy.

So sorry for not feeling sorry for him.
 

DonAK

President of FC Barcelona
Don't really care what Pep does which is why do I don't dislike him for whatever he does or choose to do. Grateful to him for doing what he did for Barca and wish him well. As long as we beat his team(s) whenever we meet, I really couldn't care any less.

Although I would for sure like to see our main rivals in Bayern and RM not winning the CLs.
 

ManusXavi

New member
I wonder what is so different at Bayern that makes the job so much less taxing than it was back home at Barça? I mean the pressure should be just as persistent and galling in Bavaria, right?
I honestly believe Pep leaving was just as much down to him realising that his team was in decline and in bitter need of reinvigorating. Something that he at the time wasn't interested in being in charge of - perhaps he was afraid he'd taint his legacy or ruin his relationship with his home town club, should thing turn sour? Was he exhausted? No doubt? Is it that much more relaxing at any other title challenger out there? Doubtful.

Unless this is too off-topic. . .
I disagree with that. We would have beaten Chelsea 7 or 8 times out of 10 in that Champions League tie and would have been equal or better than Bayern in the final.
 
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FCBarca

Mike the Knife
Good bet it'll be the Premiership...City & United both have compelling reasons to choose from although I still think City ticks more of the boxes I'd imagine for Pep

Bayern however, who will go there?
 
F

Flavia

Guest
Good bet it'll be the Premiership...City & United both have compelling reasons to choose from although I still think City ticks more of the boxes I'd imagine for Pep

Bayern however, who will go there?

Ancelotti, maybe?
 

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