Bavarian test for Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has much tactical pondering to do to repeat his success at Bayern Munich next season

“If you have perfected your skills in your own backyard, it is time for you to show it somewhere else” is often used in various contexts. Well, it has come true for Pep Guardiola. After 4 glittering seasons with Barcelona as their manager, he has finally decided to take his skills to a whole new level after he was revealed as the manager of Bayern Munich for upcoming season. But will the Catalan replicate his success he enjoyed at Barcelona? Should he go for a switch in tactics? Should he buy or sell any player?

Tactics watch:

Midfield: 

It would be quite interesting to see what tactics he will employ since the difference in game play of Barcelona and Bayern Munich is extensive. In Barcelona, with players like Xavi and Iniesta, he could use an aggressive pressing style with keeping possession. But Bayern’s midefield play in a different way. Though Javi Martinez and Luis Gustavo can be used for retaining possession and press the opposition, it operates in a more direct way with counter attacks powered by the pace and dribbling of Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery on the flanks. Guardiola may have to change his tactics as the Tiki Taka style, which was used in Barcelona, takes time to adapt.

Defense:

Regarding the defense, he need not alter much as the high defense line he used in Barcelona could be reproduced by Holger Badstuber, Dante and Jerome Boateng. Also, the full backs Philipp Lahm and David Alaba have shown their wrath in attack similar to that of Barcelona.

Attack:

This is something that really needs to be looked into. With Barcelona’s Fasle 9 approach, he effectively had two roles filled by one player (Messi), who would go deep while defending and push forward while attacking. Looking at the attacking options he has in Bayern Munich, this could be nearly impossible with Mario Gomez mostly playing as a ‘Fox in the Box’ and Mandzukic playing as a regular number 9. Moreover, to exploit the full potential of Ribery and Robben, Guardiola may have to emphasize more on the wings, unlike in Barcelona.

New signings:

Guardiola might have to make a few new signings to implement his tactics and vision on the field. Bayern’s new signing Mario Gotze from Borussia Dortmund is a perfect signing for Guardiola as Gotze is that type of player who can pass the ball around, dribble and press the opposition defense with menace, which is somewhat similar to Barcelona’s attack. What Guardiola needs to look for would be a player who can fill the False 9 position if he wants to implement that in his attack. Wayne Rooney or Luis Suarez could be a perfect fit for this job as they can pass with precision, create chances and finish them as well. In the wings rather than selling off Ribery or Robben, it would be better if their width of play is reduced so that a passing system can be employed like Barcelona.

The most important thing would be to see if he wants to replicate Barcelona’s tactics and if yes, how successful would he be with the pace and movement of Bayern which is totally different from that of Barcelona. If he wants a change in tactics, it would be a new challenge for him.