Why did Guardiola choose Bayern Munich?

After the end of each season, the 3 months of boredom that lie ahead force football fans to either contemplate on the previous season’s performances or speculate what’s in store for them next season.

Speculation almost always surrounds the signing of top quality players. The coming season, however, sees a lot of managerial changes at some of the world’s biggest clubs (Mourinho to Chelsea, Moyes to Manchester United, Pellegrini to Manchester City, Pep to Bayern). Every once in a while we try to get into the minds of the players and coaches. So in this lean period, why not study the most interesting, adventurous and ambitious signing: Pep Guardiola.

Most footballing fans all over the globe were whacking their heads last season trying to figure out which team Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola would take over. Many claimed Chelsea, others felt he would replace Sir Alex Ferguson. The pundits debated for months and months, coming to no logical conclusion.

On 16th January (4 months before Bayern Munich won the historic treble), Guardiola finally agreed to take over the reins at Bayern Munich at the beginning of the next season, a club that has always been underestimated in recent years. But what made him do so? The focus was always on teams like Madrid, Barca and English powerhouses like Manchester United and Chelsea.

Well, if you are a football fan, and if you have been following football in recent years, I’m sure you would know what Pep Guardiola is capable of. So what prompted Guardiola to decide Germany would be best suited for him? What made him believe that Germany would be his new destination, his new kingdom?

Bayern Munich have a rich history both in Germany and Europe, having won more European Cups than Barca. But then again, it’s surely not just the history that caught Pep’s attention. Surely, the current generation of players at Bayern would account for something. To understand this, we would need to dig a bit deeper into the style that Pep prefers, and closely look at his tactics deployed while he was at Barca.

Most notably, it is the possession philosophy that Pep constantly indoctrinates into his squad. After Barca, statistics showed that over the top 5 leagues in Europe, Bayern had most ball possession (62% on an average). The second most important thing would be the width that Barca played with under Guardiola. Fast, strong and skilful, Guardiola’s wide players would wreak havoc down the flanks, only to make more space available in the middle. Surely you would know what I’m hinting at – the lethal combination of Robben and Ribery, or collectively, ‘Robbery’.

But that’s the wing play. What about the centre of the park? And the perfect striker? The second striker? These roles were fulfilled by Messi and Villa or Messi and Eto’o. Guardiol has expressed interest in Liverpool genius Luis Suarez, who has expressed his desire to leave Anfield. Full of energy, determination, skill and boldness (something Guardiola has always stressed on), Suarez would fit into the False No. 9 role perfectly, but Bayern do face competition to secure his signature.

Then there is Thomas Muller, ever consistent and extremely mobile (Muller has played and performed brilliantly in several attacking positions). He would fit perfectly in Guardiola’s system which requires position-swapping at regular intervals. Then there are the highly talented Toni Kroos and midfield general Bastian Schwienstieger who need no introduction. The missing link in attack could be filled by either Mario Gomez (who has proved his worth on big occasions) or even Manzdukic who had an incredible first season at Bayern.

The attacking prowess has been stressed on, but nothing has been said about the defense – the untrimmed part of his Garden of Eden, something that has let Guardiola down on many occasions. Firstly, there’s Philip Lahm, who brings in experience. Capable of overlapping and terrorizing his own breed of defenders, he could be the Dani Alves of Bayern, just the more experienced version.

On the other side, left back Alaba has proved his quality over the last two years. His raw pace and skill could make him play anywhere on the field but Guardiola would choose him as his No. 1 left back: a perfect fit for Guardiola. His two centre backs could be anyone from Dante, Van Buyten to Boateng and Badstuber, all capable of defending against any top opposition in world football.

Correct me if I am wrong , but it almost seems as if the Bayern that Guardiola has envisioned is a greater, sharper version of the Barca that he created, simply because of the better set of defenders that he will have at his disposal, and not to mention Germany’s No. 1 goal-keeper Manuel Neuer, who probably wouldn’t have much work to do considering their well-balanced attack and defense.

It would be almost impossible to find the Achilles’ heel of a team with such all-round quality, much in contrast to Pep’s Barcelona who were over-reliant on Messi.

Another point to be noted is the Youth Academy that Guardiola would love to oversee and keep under his wing. Germany are one of the best footballing nations today simply because of their well-grilled and organized youth structure. A perfect example would be the current Borrussia Dortmund squad, who have turned heads all over the world with their exhilarating performances in the Champions League with a considerably youth side. Like Dortmund, even Bayern have produced some world class talents over the years and Pep would only want to enhance that.

All these small, finer points probably add up and make more sense than Guardiola joining any other club on the planet. The points noted above are just a few that come to my mind. So you could well imagine what would be going through a genius mind like Guardiola.