Pep Guardiola agrees contract with Bayern

[Blackwidow]

Bayern Munich turnover 2012: 321m Euros
Schalke turnover 2012: 202m Euros
Dortmund turnover 2012: 189m Euros

Bayern Munich wages 2012: 158m Euros
Dortmund wages 2012: 80m Euros

Almost exactly double the wages and almost double the turnover of Dortmund. I'm actually very happy that Bayern have under-performed to such a gross level the last decade or 2, otherwise I'm sure their TV deal would be far less attractive, as would their crowds and German Football in general, given it'd be a one horse race.

Bayern's poor record has been very good for German Football and has made it the spectacle it is today. Hopefully Guardiola won't be a great manager for them for years to come, given the negative impact this would have.

Bayern's wage bill is still smaller as that of the most English top clubs...

And Dortmund comes out of the nothing with mainly younger players - it is just normal that a Hummels, Götze or Reus earn less than a Lahm, Schweinsteiger or Ribery - Müller until his contract prolongation, Kroos and Badstuber do/did not earn much more or partly even less.

And they play 17 matches each year that are the biggest matches for their opponent - you can have a poor run for the whole year but a win or point in this match will save all your year.

And maybe you should put something else in your considerations - all the other teams in Germany mainly took only care of the German competitions. If they did not - and they played good in Europe - they usually had a bad year in the Bundesliga. Bayern always had to combine both - with a lesser wage structure than their European competitors and a smaller transfer budget and a smaller bench.

The finances have changed in recent years - and that shows. And it changed for the other clubs, too. The key for the other clubs like Dortmund is the German youth development.

 

[Blackwidow]

I agree, if Bayern wasn't such a madhouse they should win the bundesliga 9/10 seasons! Not that there is no quality in the bundesliga but the difference between Bayern and the rest are just much bigger than in EPL. It would be like Spain without Barca or Real... Should be a walkover for them every season.

Agreed Dortmund is a great team, so is Schalke but they are feeder clubs to Bayern and the rest of Europe. Bayern go out and pay 30£ mill for Martinez, Schalke sell Neuer to Bayern.. Dortmund will probably sell Lewandowsky to Bayern this summer for 15£ mill. That is the difference!

Apart from Neuer Bayern did not buy anybody from Schalke in the recent years - or from Dortmund (from Dortmund it is 2 players in 20 years). There was a lot more movement between Dortmund and Schalke or vice versa than between Bayern and Dortmund. And Neuer did not go because of the wage - Putin had Gazprom to beat Bayern's wage...

Dortmund won't be a feeder club if they get their finances right.

 

[finneh]

Bayern's wage bill is still smaller as that of the most English top clubs...

And Dortmund comes out of the nothing with mainly younger players - it is just normal that a Hummels, Götze or Reus earn less than a Lahm, Schweinsteiger or Ribery - Müller until his contract prolongation, Kroos and Badstuber do/did not earn much more or partly even less.

And they play 17 matches each year that are the biggest matches for their opponent - you can have a poor run for the whole year but a win or point in this match will save all your year.

And maybe you should put something else in your considerations - all the other teams in Germany mainly took only care of the German competitions. If they did not - and they played good in Europe - they usually had a bad year in the Bundesliga. Bayern always had to combine both - with a lesser wage structure than their European competitors and a smaller transfer budget and a smaller bench.

The finances have changed in recent years - and that shows. And it changed for the other clubs, too. The key for the other clubs like Dortmund is the German youth development.

The fact is though that all the quality younger players at Dortmund will quit when they are given a chance, because Dortmund hasn't got the finances to compete with the elite. Bayern are the only German team who can pay the going rate for top class players in their prime, therefore they are the only team that will have top class players in their prime.

The comparison with the Premier League if you took away City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool is about a accurate as you can get. The likes of Everton would try to make top class players and try to compete, but they wouldn't be able to keep them as their finances don't allow it. United and other clubs abroad would steal their best players and short of massive underachievement (Bayern level) United would win the league 9/10 seasons.

Apart from Neuer Bayern did not buy anybody from Schalke in the recent years - or from Dortmund (from Dortmund it is 2 players in 20 years). There was a lot more movement between Dortmund and Schalke or vice versa than between Bayern and Dortmund. And Neuer did not go because of the wage - Putin had Gazprom to beat Bayern's wage...

Dortmund won't be a feeder club if they get their finances right.

Dortmund will always be a feeder club as they can't afford to pay their players more than the likes of Everton or Sunderland. Unless by "get their finances right" you mean somehow finding around 150m Euros a season from somewhere.

For example: do you think Lewandowski will be happy on £25~k a week, or looking for a "new challenge" in the Summer?

 

[Blackwidow]

The income of Dortmund has massively increased in the last two seasons - and if they stay successful it will still increase in the same way for awhile. They might not be able to pay the highest wages now - or pay for the biggest transfers - not in the same way Bayern does - but wait 2 or 3 years and that can have changed. Especially if the FFP is no bubble...

Lewandowski probably will stay in Dortmund until 2014. Bayern will not go for him in summer and will not start any transfer talks even if they already have an agreement with Lewandowski. But this agreement probably is for 2014 and does not include a big transfer fee in 2013. That is what you can read between the lines of Watzke and Rummenigge...

There is different reasons why players will leave. If Real, Barca or maybe Manchester United call some of the young players might be tempted to leave and that is not just a money thing as the same players maybe would not change for a Manchester City...

 

[Raees]

I don't think Pep's come in because he's dying to win the Bundesliga.. challenging for that is a formality, it's the champions league where he will be truly tested. Bayern are still missing some key elements to be Champions League winners, they've blown some relatively easy chances to win it.. playing not particularly great teams in the final, competition will be alot tougher this season and next year will be worse as I feel Barca will be stronger and other big teams like ourselves will do the same.

 

[Balu]

Bayern Munich turnover 2012: 321m Euros
Schalke turnover 2012: 202m Euros
Dortmund turnover 2012: 189m Euros

Bayern Munich wages 2012: 158m Euros
Dortmund wages 2012: 80m Euros

Almost exactly double the wages and almost double the turnover of Dortmund. I'm actually very happy that Bayern have under-performed to such a gross level the last decade or 2, otherwise I'm sure their TV deal would be far less attractive, as would their crowds and German Football in general, given it'd be a one horse race.

Bayern's poor record has been very good for German Football and has made it the spectacle it is today. Hopefully Guardiola won't be a great manager for them for years to come, given the negative impact this would have.

You do realise that you're comparing total wages for the whole business at Bayern including everyone from chairman to janitor? Apples and oranges. Oh and if you compare the numbers for Wolfsburg back in 2009 when they won the title you'll find even more proof that you're simply wrong. If you look at it historically, you'll find that Dortmund had a higher wage bill between 96 and 2003 for example and Bayern had a rival every decade that was financially at least at the same level, for example Hamburg in the eighties.

The first year when Dortmund won the title in 2010/11 was crazy. The difference in wages was beyond everything ever seen in germany and it was an outstanding achievement to win the title with so many young players on low wages. But it's not like Bayern can buy every young player out there to avoid another club building a young team. We're talking about 25 players at Bayern, hardly enough to rule the country and deny everyone else having great players as well. When you've got 3 or 4 teams in the league clearly ahead of everyone else, it's much more likely that small teams are kept small, that all of their great players are picked up early on. One club can't buy as many players as 3 or 4 can. It's true that Bayern is the only german team that developed great financially after the collapse of the Bundesliga in 2002. That's why they had the most successful domestic decade in the club's history. Still the Bundesliga wasn't interesting for top foreign players, the german youth was shit until 2010 when the new generation came through, so Bayern had to pay way over the top to attract quality players and most players were a big risk and by far not good enough to dominate the league. The way Bayern developed financially in a dying league and kept being a top10 team in europe for the most part of the last decade is simply outstanding, especially if you look at the financial problems other former giants in not competitive leagues had. Comparing Bayern with a team in the premier league during the last decade is idiotic because the attractiveness of the league and the quality of the youth plays a huge part in what's possible or not. It's not only about how much you're paying in wages and spending for transfers. Also, there's a huge difference in what you have to pay to get to the top and how much it costs to stay at the top. That's why Dortmund's wage bill is exploding now and will soon surpass the 100million mark, if they continue to play at the same level - oh and I think you're wrong about Dortmund's future as well, but that's a topic for another thread.

I'm not denying that Bayern messed up a few seasons in the last 5 years, they should have won the title in 2009 and 2011. But in no way is it easy to win the title with Bayern every year, to win it 9 out of 10 times is just crazy and basically impossible. I still don't get why you take so much time to belittle everything about german football - Bayern should do better, Dortmund will have to sell all their players, the smaller clubs aren't great, etc. etc. etc. - when you're looking at the league's past and the development over the last years in such a superficial way. If you're really interested in the league, take the time to read about it, get some real informations and think about your opinion, instead of throwing around all your bias. It's really annoying.

 

[finneh]

You do realise that you're comparing total wages for the whole business at Bayern including everyone from chairman to janitor? Apples and oranges. Oh and if you compare the numbers for Wolfsburg back in 2009 when they won the title you'll find even more proof that you're simply wrong. If you look at it historically, you'll find that Dortmund had a higher wage bill between 96 and 2003 for example and Bayern had a rival every decade that was financially at least at the same level, for example Hamburg in the eighties.

The first year when Dortmund won the title in 2010/11 was crazy. The difference in wages was beyond everything ever seen in germany and it was an outstanding achievement to win the title with so many young players on low wages. But it's not like Bayern can buy every young player out there to avoid another club building a young team. We're talking about 25 players at Bayern, hardly enough to rule the country and deny everyone else having great players as well. When you've got 3 or 4 teams in the league clearly ahead of everyone else, it's much more likely that small teams are kept small, that all of their great players are picked up early on. One club can't buy as many players as 3 or 4 can. It's true that Bayern is the only german team that developed great financially after the collapse of the Bundesliga in 2002. That's why they had the most successful domestic decade in the club's history. Still the Bundesliga wasn't interesting for top foreign players, the german youth was shit until 2010 when the new generation came through, so Bayern had to pay way over the top to attract quality players and most players were a big risk and by far not good enough to dominate the league. The way Bayern developed financially in a dying league and kept being a top10 team in europe for the most part of the last decade is simply outstanding, especially if you look at the financial problems other former giants in not competitive leagues had. Comparing Bayern with a team in the premier league during the last decade is idiotic because the attractiveness of the league and the quality of the youth plays a huge part in what's possible or not. It's not only about how much you're paying in wages and spending for transfers. Also, there's a huge difference in what you have to pay to get to the top and how much it costs to stay at the top. That's why Dortmund's wage bill is exploding now and will soon surpass the 100million mark, if they continue to play at the same level - oh and I think you're wrong about Dortmund's future as well, but that's a topic for another thread.

I'm not denying that Bayern messed up a few seasons in the last 5 years, they should have won the title in 2009 and 2011. But in no way is it easy to win the title with Bayern every year, to win it 9 out of 10 times is just crazy and basically impossible. I still don't get why you take so much time to belittle everything about german football - Bayern should do better, Dortmund will have to sell all their players, the smaller clubs aren't great, etc. etc. etc. - when you're looking at the league's past and the development over the last years in such a superficial way. If you're really interested in the league, take the time to read about it, get some real informations and think about your opinion, instead of throwing around all your bias. It's really annoying.

The bizarre thing is I'm not belittling German Football at all. I'm saying that Bayern Munich underachieving to an almost uncomprehending level has lead to the German league being far more competitive than it otherwise would have been. If Bayern Munich would have gotten par for the course they would have significantly more titles than 9/20. Every single season Bayern are odds on favourites to win the title and more often than not they fail to do so. If they had someone like Fergie at the helm, rather than 19 different regimes in the last 20 years, I dare say they'd have won near double the titles, and German Football should thank God for that.

I think your belief that "the German League wasn't interesting" is slightly bizarre. The German league is (and always will be) as attractive as the pay cheque the players receive, which unfortunately means that Bayern are the only attractive club.

I sincerely hope that Bayern continue to get mismanaged to a degree that allows several other teams have to opportunity to win the league. As I said before Beyern's gross failure has allowed German Football to get better sponsorship deals, better TV deals, continued great support and be a generally far better spectacle.

If Bayern performed par for the course the German league would look like the Portuguese League (Porto winning 8/10 last titles) and would therefore be slowly dying. Which is why I'll say it again: for German Football's sake, lets hope Guardiola fails; or if he is successful lets hope he moves on in the short term.

In terms of Dortmund I can't see how a club with such a capped Match Day income and a naturally limited TV income are ever going to compete with the likes of Bayern.

Oh, and the wage bill I stated is like for like: courtesy of Swissramble:

 

[Balu]

Ah, well then you're excused but Swissramble got it wrong. I thought he mentioned it somewhere in his blog entry that he uses those numbers because he can't find the right ones and they are better than don't comparing both clubs at all, but I'm too lazy to read it again. Bayern's wage bill for players only was around 120million in 2010/11. Maybe I look it up later, the numbers are well hidden within all the balance sheets. Still, you're basing everything solely on the pay check, which isn't true for several reasons. You're drawing the wrong conclusions why the league is attractive now and wasn't 3-10 years ago, why the quality now is way higher than before. You determine the achievements of football clubs on their wage bills and the success they have with it, which is wrong as well.

 

[finneh]

Ah, well then you're excused but Swissramble got it wrong. I thought he mentioned it somewhere in his blog entry that he uses those numbers because he can't find the right ones and they are better than don't comparing both clubs at all, but I'm too lazy to read it again. Bayern's wage bill for players only was around 120million in 2010/11. Maybe I look it up later, the numbers are well hidden within all the balance sheets. Still, you're basing everything solely on the pay check, which isn't true for several reasons. You're drawing the wrong conclusions why the league is attractive now and wasn't 3-10 years ago, why the quality now is way higher than before. You determine the achievements of football clubs on their wage bills and the success they have with it, which is wrong as well.

If that is the case then apologies for the incorrect information. However even if €120m is correct it is still a substantial (50% more) advantage. My opinion is that the German League is relatively attractive because it is competitive. The reason it's TV revenue has surpassed La Liga (a "better" league) is because of this competitiveness.

However my point still stands - the German league should not be competitive, given the financial disparity between the best and the rest.

Just as an illustration lets look at the top 10 transfer fees paid by German clubs in the last decade:

Martinez - €40m
Gomez - €30
Ribery - €25
Robben - €24
Neuer - €22
Makaay - €20
Gustavo - €17m
Rues (Dortmund) - €17m
Diego (Wolfburg) - €15.5m
Klose - €15m

In the last 3 years Bayern, who were the strongest team before, have also spent quadruple their nearest rival net. It really is a huge testament to the likes of Dortmund that they have managed to keep up despite the obscene outspend in transfer fee's and wages, season upon season.

Unfortunately as many have proven - money is King in Football and Bayern have boatloads more than anyone else in their League. Hopefully Bayern's 20 point lead this season (almost 1 point per game better than Dortmund) is an anomaly, for German Football's sake.

 

[Balu]

If that is the case then apologies for the incorrect information. However even if €120m is correct it is still a substantial (50% more) advantage. My opinion is that the German League is relatively attractive because it is competitive. The reason it's TV revenue has surpassed La Liga (a "better" league) is because of this competitiveness.

However my point still stands - the German league should not be competitive, given the financial disparity between the best and the rest.

Just as an illustration lets look at the top 10 transfer fees paid by German clubs in the last decade:

Martinez - €40m
Gomez - €30
Ribery - €25
Robben - €24
Neuer - €22
Makaay - €20
Gustavo - €17m
Rues (Dortmund) - €17m
Diego (Wolfburg) - €15.5m
Klose - €15m

In the last 3 years Bayern, who were the strongest team before, have also spent quadruple their nearest rival net. It really is a huge testament to the likes of Dortmund that they have managed to keep up despite the obscene outspend in transfer fee's and wages, season upon season.

Unfortunately as many have proven - money is King in Football and Bayern have boatloads more than anyone else in their League. Hopefully Bayern's 20 point lead this season (almost 1 point per game better than Dortmund) is an anomaly, for German Football's sake.

Of course it is. Dortmund's team is really great and they will play a better season next year while Bayern won't play another record breaking season again. The league table now doesn't reflect the true strength of the teams.

 

[finneh]

Of course it is. Dortmund's team is really great and they will play a better season next year while Bayern won't play another record breaking season again. The league table now doesn't reflect the true strength of the teams.

The scary thing is looking at the financials of the German League the table this season is exactly how you'd expect it to look.

Also if Dortmund lose one or two of Lewandowski, Bender, Gündoğan, Hummels or Gotze they will have a very, very difficult time replacing them (without splashing money they can't afford). All ifs and buts of course but we've all seen what can easily happen to a much bigger "selling" club with lots of talent in Arsenal.

 

[Balu]

Dortmund won't loose anyone bar Lewandowski. Every player has a contract at least until 2015, no one has a buyout clause that can be triggered before 2014. They have a lot of money to spend, are way below the 50% of turnover wage bill. Watzke already said they will spend a lot this summer, way more than in the last years, they will strengthen the squad depth as well. They don't need to sell anyone, they probably reach the CL semi final this year. They will easily surpass the 250 million turnover mark this season. They actually need to spend money for players so that they don't loose a lot of money in taxes. For the first half of this season their turnover rose 22% to 124 million. They probably will surpass the revenue of clubs like Milan, Tottenham, Liverpool and enter the top 10 in europe. The revenue in 10/11 was 139million, pushing it to around 250 million in 2 years shows the financial rise of Dortmund and the Bundesliga. The new german tv deal will kick in next season as well, so there's room for further improvement. With the success in europe they'll probably get new sponsorship deals as well. They will act carefully, players' wages are partly based on success but with germany now having 4 CL spots they should make the champions league group stages every season and establish themselves as a top club in europe. No german team besides Bayern was in a comparable situation in more than 10 years, both financially and in terms of the players' quality.

 

[The Don]

Is this an essay writing competition?

 

[Blackwidow]

You are wrong with a Bayern team that was underachieving.

Bayern does not spend the money they do to be competitive in Germany - they do it to be able to be that in Germany and in Europe. And that was the difference in the last decade - until now as it is changing for the other teams again.

Apart from the 2 years after their CL title Bayern usually was in all competitions until at least March or April - and trying to be good in both. So you cannot only compare Bayern with the other teams in Germany that mainly took their eyes on the domestic challenges and only took Europe as a hobby - but need to look at the spending of the other top teams in Europe.

 

[Avatar]

Is this an essay writing competition?

exactly what i was thinking

 

[Cold_Boy]

I think its easy to see that Bayern and the rest of the Bundesliga cannot be comapred to the PL and United.

We have far more competition.

 

[Brwned]

I think its easy to see that Bayern and the rest of the Bundesliga cannot be comapred to the PL and United.

We have far more competition.

How so? Our "competitors" have won just as many titles as Bayern's in the last 5 years and the difference between 2nd and 4th place in the Bundesliga has been smaller than the difference in the Premier League.

In the last 5 years the Bundesliga has been the most competitive in Europe.

Bundesliga

No. of winners: 3
No. of different teams to finish in top 2: 6
No. of different teams to finish in top 4: 9
Average points difference between 2nd and 4th: 8

Premier League

No. of winners: 3
No. of different teams to finish in top 2: 3
No. of different teams to finish in top 4: 6
Average points difference between 2nd and 4th: 12

La Liga

No. of winners: 2
No. of different teams to finish in top 2: 3
No. of different teams to finish in top 4: 7
Average points difference between 2nd and 4th: 24

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Frankly, dismissing the Bundesliga only serves to show one doesn't know anything about it.

 

[Sarni]

I think its easy to see that Bayern and the rest of the Bundesliga cannot be comapred to the PL and United.

We have far more competition.

We really don't.

Who of the current lot could realistically challenge us in the last decade? Arsenal were a threat until 2005 and then for one or two seasons between 2008 and 2011, only until March/April when they inevitably collapsed though. Liverpool never came close to winning the league except for 2009. City were a threat last season and Chelsea were good between 2005 and 2010 obviously.

In Germany the likes of Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Dortmund all had successful campaigns resulting in titles and teams like Leverkusen, Schalke and Werder Bremen all came close once or twice in the last decade as well.

 

[Balu]

How so? Our "competitors" have won just as many titles as Bayern's in the last 5 years.

Somehow lots of people on the caf think, Bayern "should" win every year. If they fail to do so, it's their own fault. Everyone else is bad anyway, whether they win it/finish top3 or not, isn't important at all. They twist around everything until it fits into a certain stereotype, that needs to be proven right, whether it makes sense or not. If Dortmund struggles in the league, they focus on the CL, it's not because the league is strong. If Dortmund wins the league, Bayern fecked up, the league isn't strong.

So everything always leads to the league isn't strong and only Bayern is a good team, but they are bad as well, because they don't win it every year which they clearly would do, if they found someone like Fergie and kept him as the manager for 20 years, which of course is totally nonsense, because there isn't another manager like Ferguson around, but whatever, it's all Bayern's own fault.

 

[elmo]

You are wrong with a Bayern team that was underachieving.

Bayern does not spend the money they do to be competitive in Germany - they do it to be able to be that in Germany and in Europe. And that was the difference in the last decade - until now as it is changing for the other teams again.

Apart from the 2 years after their CL title Bayern usually was in all competitions until at least March or April - and trying to be good in both. So you cannot only compare Bayern with the other teams in Germany that mainly took their eyes on the domestic challenges and only took Europe as a hobby - but need to look at the spending of the other top teams in Europe.

Not really, Bayern have massively underachieved in the past few years in the league for a club of their stature as their squad wasn't strong enough to compete on all fronts and Dortmund took advantage of it to win the league.

That said, the Bundesliga clubs might not be as willing as the English clubs to splash the cash, but they don't have a need to as their scouting network is definitely better and their league is a lot more competitive than what most people are describing it to be.

 

[kouroux]

Gotta love Balu's dedication in defending the Bundesliga.

 

[Cold_Boy]

Well I am not saying Bayern have it easy or they should win every year.

Just saying we have it tougher because the Pl is better and tougher than Bundesliga.

However, I know the Bundesliga is the flavour of the season/last couple of seasons so lots of people will be ready to defend it against the PL.

 

[Sarni]

The difference isn't really that massive and when it comes to direct competition for the title, our competitors this season aren't really much better than theirs when it comes to picking up points. We've both been perfect up until now so we both have the title all but sealed by now but teams behind us aren't really far off each other - Dortmund and City.

In the past the difference was bigger though. A team like Stuttgart or Wolfsburg wouldn't have won Premier League or get into top 4 even at their best.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Could we be seeing the new dominant side in Europe? With Guardiola and Götze coming in next season they're only gonna improve. They also some fairly young players.

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

Pep at Bayern will be interesting.

Will he change their style of play to be more possession oriented like Barcelona? It's clearly not Bayern's strength but Pep does strike me as an idealist that believes in only one style of play. A bit like Wenger post 2005.

The combination could very well work.

Pep is a great manager and Bayern is a great team but its not a sure fire success as people make it seem.

 

[crappycraperson]

If they don win the CL this season, I think some would again refuse to credit Pep too much with any success Bayern achieve under his reign just like they did with his super Barca team.

It is an interesting one actually, his case now is not too dissimilar to Jose, another one accused of going to teams that can make his road to success easier.

 

[Joemo]

Judging by the perfect balance they showed tonight, if Pep comes in with his "philosophies" it could do more harm than good. When you think that they're adding Gotze who has the ability to play out wide or through the middle, that's one damn scary squad to face.

 

[Raees]

That can hardly be levelled at Jose, he built two teams to win the CL... Inter and Porto did not have any right to be in semi-final's, let alone win the things.. outstanding achievements. Winning the CL with real will be a lesser achievement, but it'd still be a fantastic achievement which is testament to his ability as a manager.

Pep was instrumental for Barca, but the success he achieves with Bayern will have a slight * next to it in comparison to Jose's achievements for now. I agree with Joemo, he needs to be careful of not intervening too much tactically... this Bayern side has a very good style of play.

 

[Balu]

His brother talked about Pep's obsession to learn german since November. According to him, Guardiola worked 4 hours a day with a german teacher and even when they met for coffee, his teacher came along and Pep talked german all the time. I'm really excited about his first press conference. He wants to answer all questions in german then which sounded impossible a few months back, but maybe he'll surprise us. On June 24th we know how good his german already is, but it definitely shows a lot of dedication for the new job.

 

[Sarni]

His brother talked about Pep's obsession to learn german since November. According to him, Guardiola worked 4 hours a day with a german teacher and even when they met for coffee, his teacher came along and Pep talked german all the time. I'm really excited about his first press conference. He wants to answer all questions in german then which sounded impossible a few months back, but maybe he'll surprise us. On June 24th we know how good his german already is, but it definitely shows a lot of dedication for the new job.

He's a full on professional, that's for sure. It really sheds some light on players like Tevez or Anderson who have been in England for 6+ years and can barely speak coherently. It's very important for a manager to communicate with players with full understanding between all parts involved and with Bayern being built mostly around German players it's a good move from him to learn the language.

 

[LR7]

Anderson has a thick accent but he speaks English just fine.

 

[Traub]

Is Pep going into the most difficult job in football? On the one hand, you can argue he has the best squad in Europe. However, the team basically can't top what they did last season.

 

[Platato]

That is the challenge Traub. I think you're right. Winning another treble will be very hard to top. The world will certainly be watching to see how Pep shapes the Bayern squad and the outcomes which result from it. At the first hint of failure, articles aplenty will be written. Just as kneejerk as German football power shift which was brought up not too long ago.

 

[LR7]

Is Pep going into the most difficult job in football? On the one hand, you can argue he has the best squad in Europe. However, the team basically can't top what they did last season.

That is the challenge Traub. I think you're right. Winning another treble will be very hard to top. The world will certainly be watching to see how Pep shapes the Bayern squad and the outcomes which result from it. At the first hint of failure, articles aplenty will be written. Just as kneejerk as German football power shift which was brought up not too long ago.

I made this thread about it a few weeks ago: https://www.redcafe.net/threads/challenge-moyes-and-pep.370670/

Most people seem to think he's got the easiest job in football though because he's taking on the current best team in the world and is strengthening it using the best players of his direct rivals.

I see that view point but I also reckon its a tall order because its almost impossible for him to scale these heights again.

 

[NoLogo]

Is Pep going into the most difficult job in football? On the one hand, you can argue he has the best squad in Europe. However, the team basically can't top what they did last season.

It's kinda funny that he left Barca partially because he felt he couldn't top what he achieved with them in his first season and now he arrives at a team that can't possibly top what they achieved last season.

Another funny thing is that Heynckes had a little dig at Pep and Barca in his last press conference by telling the press "Uli asked me last year: do you think we could somehow play like Barcelone? Uli I can tell you today that FC Bayern won't be playing like Barcelona, FC Bayern plays more modern and more successful."

Even though it's a bit debatable if they are already more successful than Barca I still thought it was quite funny and probably was what everyone would love to say that has gotten tired of the "Barca wankfest" or however you want to call it.

 

[FCBarca]

How is it even remotely debatable for Bayern to be more successful than the Barcelona of the past 5 seasons?

 

[LR7]

How is it even remotely debatable for Bayern to be more successful than the Barcelona of the past 5 seasons?

I interpreted that comment as Bayern's style of play is currently more successful than Barça's right now? Could be wrong though.

 

[JaffyJoe]

That was a dig at Barca, they are not more successful Barca dominated for 4-5 years Bayern has to match that while winning and playing good football. Big task for Pep. He can't top this season he can only match it in all honesty. What a way for Heycknes to go out. You have to say cv wise he is one of the best managers of the last 20 years.

 

[Balu]

I still believe people are overrating Bayern's squad. We played a brilliant season with a lot of determination and were clearly way more than the sum of its parts. It's a tough job to keep the team playing at that level, because few of the great performances were because of individual brilliance which is imo easier to replicate. I highly doubt that Heynckes could have repeated this season, so I don't expect Guardiola to do it but the media will expect it. I don't think the fans expect it, by the way. What I've read in Bayern forums and heard from fans, most are incredible happy and thankful but also surprisingly humble. I'd say a 80 point season and being competitive in europe is expected from Guardiola. That's still a difficult task.

I made this thread about it a few weeks ago: https://www.redcafe.net/threads/challenge-moyes-and-pep.370670/

Most people seem to think he's got the easiest job in football though because he's taking on the current best team in the world and is strengthening it using the best players of his direct rivals.

I see that view point but I also reckon its a tall order because its almost impossible for him to scale these heights again.

A post like this (taken from your thread) is imo nonsense and disrespectful to Heynckes' incredible work this year.

A very mediocre manager could inherit that Bayern squad (+Gotze already, and possibly further additions) and would be expected to easily win the league and cruise into the later stages of the CL.

Guardiola must be laughing his head off at how lucky he is.

A brilliant manager built this team and you need a brilliant manager to keep them performing on such a high level. A mediocre manager might get away with someone like Messi carrying the team for a while, but that's not what made Bayern great this year.

I don't think it's a more difficult job than Moyes at United though, but it's far from an easy one. I think Vilanova has the most difficult job at the top teams in europe. Signing Neymar will raise the expectations and the whole club made excuses for the defeat against Bayern and tells everyone that Barca's dominance in europe isn't over. I think they have more to prove than Bayern. Madrid, Chelsea and City have new managers as well and every one of those jobs is incredibly difficult and comes with huge expectations.