If Pep Guardiola was to return to the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, it would be a “win” for both the club and the league, in Lothar Matthaus’ opinion.
Bayern currently find themselves without a permanent coach following the departure of Niko Kovac, and while Hansi Flick has made a promising start as an interim, there is no guarantee he will remain in the post for the long term.
With FCB looking at other solutions, one name that has cropped up as a possibility is Guardiola’s, with reports suggesting that he is not entirely settled at Manchester City, where he has spent the last three years.
The Catalan left Bavaria for the Premier League club and Matthaus believes it would be a huge boon if he were to return.
“If Bayern want to play possession football, there is no better solution than Guardiola,” the club icon told Bild. “It would be a win for Bayern Munich and for the Bundesliga.”
Guardiola has achieved unprecedented success in the dugout since he stepped up to take charge of Barcelona in 2008, with trophies following him everywhere he has gone.
He was, however, unable to win the Champions League with the German side, who were the reigning European Cup winners when he joined the club in the summer of 2013. Nevertheless, he picked up two Bundesliga titles and twice won the DFB Pokal in a three-year stint.
Since moving to England, he has also been stymied thus far in his attempts to recreate the Champions League success he enjoyed at Barca in both 2009 and 2011. He is, however, a two-time Premier League winner, with the Citizens setting a new record for points won in a season when they lifted the 2017-18 title, which they defended under close scrutiny from Liverpool 12 months on.
This season is proving more testing for the Etihad club, with the Reds’ 3-1 victory at Anfield last Sunday carrying them nine points clear of Guardiola’s men and giving them a formidable platform from which to win their first Premier League title.
City, though, retain the reputation as the league’s great entertainers, having scored 35 goals in 12 league outings – a characteristic that will no doubt have caught the eye of Bayern.