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Guardiola named new Bayern Munich coach

Pep Guardiola will make his return to the touchline in 2013, and he will do so as head coach of Bayern Munich.

The German heavyweights announced on Wednesday that Guardiola has signed a three-year deal with the club that will begin following the conclusion of the current Bundesliga campaign and runs through 2016. Bayern’s current head coach, Jupp Heynckes, will retire at season’s end, which makes way for Guardiola’s arrival.

“We are delighted we’ve succeeded in appointing leading coach Pep Guardiola, who has been pursued and contacted by many big-name clubs, for FC Bayern,” Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club’s website. “Pep Guardiola is one of the most successful coaches in the world, and we’re certain he will add great flair to both FC Bayern and German football. We’re looking forward to the partnership from July 2013.”

The 41-year-old Spaniard has been out of coaching since stepping down from his post with Barcelona in May 2012. He was recently linked with Premiership clubs Chelsea and Manchester City, but has opted to coach in a league that he never spent time in during his playing career.

Guardiola will join Bayern Munich looking to add to his already-impressive list of achievements as a coach. Guardiola helped the Spanish club win several competitions during his four-year stay, including the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup and La Liga.

What do you think of Guardiola signing with Bayern Munich? Do you see him replicating the type of success he had with Barcelona with Bayern in the Bundesliga? Bummed he didn’t sign with a club in the Premiership?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Apologies for that romantic outburst. Am definitely curious to see how a patch of failure, whenever it comes, alters Guardiola and the choices he makes. Like, what if he took over Everton from Moyes?

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  2. Woulda been far more interesting if he went to a club other than an extreme-rich Top 10 dynasty. Then we would see a truer level of his acumen. I do appreciate that he is switching leagues and thus playing styles. I also appreciate having the most talent-laden Champs League squads guided by elite managers, to produce the most impressive football fixtures. I am glad he will get to hone his management skill in a challenging environment. And there’ll be inherent drama during his first 12 months.

    Still, a shame that we may have to wait decades for him to finally ignore the big money (his salary and players’ wages) and make a truly inspirational leap.

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  3. Everyone is forgetting something so simple jeezus. BAYERN does not have LA MASIA! Pep was that successful b/c he has been working with that Barca team for most of their lives

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    • This is an important point. Coaching Barcelona was more of an extension of a coaching and game philosophy that is ingrained in the club from the youth levels. There isn’t a whole lot of coaching to do when players instinctively know their roles in the field.

      It’s a very different story at Bayern… They have quality players but not the same unified approach to the game. It will be interesting to see how Guardiola adapts to the new system and vice-versa.

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  4. I’d heard nothing about Pep being interested in Bayern or vice-versa, so I’m pretty surprised. That said, it should definitely be interesting to see how Guardiola does there. Germany are trying to play more progressively every day, so having a coach that led one of the most attractive sides in modern football works out well.

    I feel like he’ll make Bastian Schweinsteiger for Bayern what Xavi was for Barcelona.

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  5. As has been said, just glad that he didn’t go to Chelsea or Man City. I wish we could see a video of Abramovich’s reaction, probably threw a nice little tantrum

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  6. Expected.

    As soon as I started hearing denials from Bayern about Guardiola joining them–I knew it was only a matter of time. đŸ˜›

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    • I’m sure he will take classes when he can get around to do them. It is a polite and civil thing to do. I learned german more on my own when I lived in Germany. I picked up a little Russian while in Odessa, Ukraine for a while. His english will help on an interim basis with the team, but he will learn german too. đŸ™‚

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  7. Amazing! Great move for both. Glad he didnt go for chelsea or city although they are missing out. Also could have seen him take an unconventional position like an international team or another position with barça or Spain’s set up

    Read btwn the lines: he is staying on top of his game until furgie retires and he can take over manchester.

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      • Eh? Forbes has them as the most valuable sports franchise IN THE WORLD. And for the record, Barcelona is #8. And if you’re referring to performance, Man U has won CL (or equivalent) 3 times to Barca’s 4. Not exactly getting dominated in that category. I’m not saying I think Pep is just biding his time; but stating that Man U is a tier below Barca is blasphemous.

      • not blashphemous if true? Ajax has 5 CL`s but would be crazy to say theyrr a bigger club than either. Barca is the biggest/best team of the past 3years

    • Quiet when compared to the current norm in football rumours although I did hear about this rumour last summer I believe it was actually in Marca. I do find it amusing that the typical EPL sources were claiming that he would sign for one of those clubs. Typical World Revolves around EPL Crap—NOT.

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  8. So much for the Premier League talk from yesterday……………… I like this move. Smart by Bayern. I hate the club with a passion but they hit a home run with Pep. They have money plus some fantastic youngsters on the roster. Pep just might be what they need to reclaim Champions League glory. Bayern are pretty much running away with the Bundesliga and getting their hands on Pep might be Bayern’s ticket to seperating themselves from Dortmund and Co. for the forseeable future.

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  9. Actually this doesn’t surprise me. Typical Bayern in the way that they’ve kept it quiet and been incredibly professional about it. This is the PERFECT club for him. He can focus on getting results and with the skill on this side, they should be fun to watch.

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    • Agreed, Bayern and German soccer in general are incredibly professional and I’d place the league on par with Spain now. The best soccer experience from a match going standpoint is in Germany. Unbelievable.

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    • When I think of professionalism the first person I think of is Uli Hoeness. Well, maybe right after Sepp Blatter. It’s close between those two.

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      • Hah, nice. Some of the Munich higher ups say odd things every so often, but this deal was done with very little fuss.

    • Bayern was openly courting Pep since he left Barca. They had articles talking about their future talks with their current coach. The officials at Bayern openly praised Pep. Basically they made it obvious they wanted him there and would do what they could to get him. So I don’t know where the sock/surprise is coming from?

      Don’t forget that Bayern have been in the UCL final for the past two seasons in a row.

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