Many would have thought Pep Guardiola will stay in his exotic upper west side Manhattan apartment continuing his sabbatical leave, at least to enjoy the fireworks of Independence day, experiencing a bit more of the American culture. However this will be inhibited, as 72 hours prior, the genuine desire to get back to management with a new challenge, like he's rightfully said, at the Allianz Arena sets in. Hopping on that approximately 72 minute flight from home town Barcelona to Bavaria, The 14 Trophy winning former Barcelona coach takes the mantle at the German and traditionally European powerhouse FC Bayern
Creating a bit of a stir earlier in the year, this decision came shortly after pep had expressed his desire to work in England which for the most part would have had all attention on the then vacant Chelsea job or even being a realistic threat to Roberto Mancini (regardless of his current job termination status). But taking a very close look at Pep from a professional and personal perspective, its quite obvious that he's all about tradition and pedigree which in England he could only ideally get had Sir Alex Ferguson shown signs of calling it a day at the time when the decision was made. Though this could be argued as reports made mention of how Sir Alex tried to have succession talks with Pep while enjoying summertime New York during the US Open In Flushing Meadows cheering on Andy Murray last year.
So England being out of it, and the lack of interest to go to Italy, its safe to say it was a match made in heaven to take Bayern, especially as Jupp Heynckes had long divulged information on his retirement. Coinciding with this, Bayern is a team that without a doubt, Pep will have easy access to resources, both human and financial and also a coach of his calibre would mainly want a significant control over footballing affairs, reducing the possibility of tension between him and the director of football, Matthias Sammer.
From a fanatic perspective, firstly, I think what people are interested in, is seeing if he's going to incorporate the Barcelona possession-based type of game play aka "Tiki-Taka" into a squad that traditionally rely on the wits of wing play and mass attack from midfield. Secondly the potential recruits and how fast they can click with the statutory established players like Philip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller, just to name a few. Already with the acquisition of midfield maestro Mario Goetze to buoy their formidability generally, this has been an emphatic message sent out the rest of the Bundesliga and Europe as a whole that this squad means business, even though they are just rolling off the treble momentum.
Having said all these positive things about Pep, the inevitable difficulty of settling into a new working and living environment can't be written off. For the last 5 months or so, after going public with his intention to join Bayern, Pep woke up every morning to extensive German classes, perfecting his use of the language (for the record, it is one of the most difficult languages to learn) and I'm pretty sure went to bed every night thinking about fellow country rivals Borussia Dortmund, and how he can "completely" knock them off their perch based on their unforgettable success between 2010 and 2012. Yes Jupp Heynckes won the league and in grand style too with a 25 point margin ahead of Dortmund, but considering Guardiola's innate unquenchable thirst for success, in his own best possible way he'll feel there's still room for improvement of some sort. Meaning there will be an eradication of all types of complacency, viewing the 2013/14 season as one that will be a different ball game entirely and acknowledge that it won't be a walk in the park as Dortmund will do all they can to bounce back to title winning ways. The likes of Schalke and Leverkusen will always be usual suspects as well in trying to disturb the peace.
With the tradition, pedigree, and resources (both human and financial) of Bayern Munich, alongside the commercial interest this appointment creates for both the club and German football as a whole, I see no reason why this young successful Spanish gentleman can't claim at least one trophy within his first 24 months of appointment, be it the league, DFB Pokal not to even mention the champions league. This is highly possible both on paper and in reality. With his man-management skills and football techniques, suffice to say the board, players, fans, coaching and non coaching staff will all be uniformly thrilled with their pick.
Oh before I forget, hope we are all looking forward to Pep and Jose Mourinho renewing their love affair in this year's upcoming UEFA Super Cup when Bayern and Chelsea meet.
