Josep Guardiola and FC Bayern - The Perfect Fit?

By David Lee Wheatley

15^th February 2013

Pep signs on at Bayern

Barcelona legend Josep Guardiola, former captain and head coach of the Catalan giants, agreed to become the new coach of German league leaders Bayern Munich in January (for the start of next season) to much fanfare.

But, what are the motives behind Bayern’s signing of one the most highly successful coaches in recent football history?

Besides the fact that Guardiola led FC Barcelona to 14 trophies in four seasons at the helm, what else encouraged the Bavaria-based club to pursue the signature of ‘Pep’?

His trophy-laden time as coach at Camp Nou was a spectacular example of what can be achieved by a clever coach in charge of a harmonious group of players, many of whom were promoted through the ranks of the club right through all of the youth levels up to the first-team squad.

This is an extremely important factor in the decision by Bayern to take Guardiola to the Allianz Arena. The German giants have often been able to bring through a number of very good young players from their own academy, but the leaders of the club want this to happen more often and with the same high level of quality that Barcelona were capable of producing.

Bayern often sign players from other, sometimes smaller, clubs in Germany to weaken the opposition and strengthen their own hand in one fell swoop. With the financial fair play rules and an apparent thirst from the club and its fans for more home-grown talent, the club hierarchy decided on Guardiola to lead the revolution.

It was a slight surprise in some quarters that Guardiola chose Bayern over other, more lucrative, offers. But, perhaps Pep felt a kinship towards Bavaria, as the people there are as proud of their roots as the natives of the Catalonian region that houses the fine city of Barcelona. He will also revel in the challenge of producing a team to rival his former club for all of the top honours in the game.

After leaving FC Barcelona, Guardiola’s move with his family to live in New York City during a sabbatical from the game illustrated the former Spanish international midfielder’s insatiable appetite for new experiences, of which his move to Munich is one. He will look to take that irrepressible enthusiasm into this new chapter of his career in Germany.

If Bayern’s partnership with Pep achieves half as much as Barcelona did during his tenure, then Bayern’s vociferous fans are in for a real treat!