"We lost our strength over the last 7 years" - Bastian Schweinsteiger claims Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich stint damaged German national team
Bastian Schweinsteiger has claimed that Pep Guardiola's reign in charge of Bayern Munich damaged to the German national team.
Guardiola was in charge of Bayern from 2013 to 2016 and was a massive success at the Allianz Arena. The Spanish coach won three consecutive Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokal, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup. The now-Manchester City boss transformed the Bavarians into a possession-based side and one that were majorly dominant on the ball.
However, Schweinsteiger argues that this came at the expense of the German national team whose form has nosedived in recent years. The former Bayern Munich midfielder told talkSPORT:
“There has been a lot of change when Pep Guardiola came to the country everybody believed we had to play this type of football. We were kinda losing our values."
He added:
“We lost our strengths over the last 7 years. We were more focussed on nice passing.”
Die Mannschaft won the 2014 FIFA World Cup but failed to make it past the group stages in the 2018 and 2022 editions of the tournament. Joachim Low's side also crashed out of the 2020 European Championships in the Round of 16 leading to Low's departure.
Former Bayern boss Hansi Flick became his successor in 2021. However, his own future as Germany's boss is in doubt after they suffered another humiliation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They crashed out in the group stages and have lost recent friendlies against Poland (1-0) and Colombia (2-0).
Germany are renowned for their physicality and grit but the current crop seem to be nervy and seemingly lack the fighting spirit usually embraced by Die Mannschaft. However, they don't have to worry about qualifying for next year's Euros as they will host the tournament.
Pep Guardiola quit Bayern Munich after being refused seven signings
According to BILD, Pep Guardiola decided to leave Bayern Munich in 2016 due to his frustration with the Bundesliga giants regarding his top transfer targets. There were seven players the Spaniard wanted to join him at the Allianz Arena.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, and his current City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne were three targets. The trio are regarded as some of Europe's best-attacking talents.
Meanwhile, Guardiola also reportedly wanted Bayern Munich to sign Barcelona legend Luis Suarez, his former City winger Raheem Sterling, ex-Real Madrid attacker Eden Hazard and PSG midfielder Marco Verratti.
The Spanish coach missed out on winning the UEFA Champions League during his spell with the Bavarians. He may look back on his reign at the Allianz Arena with frustration due to missed opportunities in the transfer market.