Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GET READY FOR A PEPPED-UP BUNDESLIGA FINALE
Hargreaves on Guardiola’s inspirational impact on German football
THE Bundesliga is set for a thrilling finale this season – thanks to Pep Guardiola.
And Owen Hargreaves reckons the German top flight, which returns to action this weekend, is now more entertaining than the Premier League, with young stars like England’s Jadon Sancho allowed to shine.
Guardiola led Bayern Munich to a hat-trick of titles during his three years in Bavaria before joining Manchester City in 2016.
Former Bayern star Hargreaves believes a new generation of coaches have been inspired by the Catalan’s football philosophy – and are spurring their teams on to challenge Munich’s traditional dominance.
Never the most highprofile league, the Bundesliga will provide great entertainment for fans starved of top live action. “There are some wonderful young players,” said former Manchester United and England star Hargreaves.
“The likes of Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland, Kai Havertz at Leverkusen and they’re really committed to playing them. Pep inspired a generation of coaches. Everybody wants to get the ball down and play.
“The top four all play great football and all the way further down, everybody is trying to play in an attacking way and it makes for an exciting league.”
After a rocky start which cost coach Niko Kovac his job in November, Bayern are back on top of the table in pursuit of their eighth consecutive title.
But Jurgen Klopp’s old club Borussia Dortmund are only four points behind with nine games to go, while RB Leipzig – Spurs’ European conquerors – and Borussia Monchengladbach are just behind.
David Wagner’s Schalke are sixth and fighting for a Champions League spot.
“It is definitely more exciting than the Premier League this season,” said BT Sport pundit Hargreaves.
“Bayern are favourites, but Dortmund have a realistic chance. So do Leipzig. I heard Julian Nagelsmann say this week it is going to be treated almost like a tournament, a European Championship for six weeks.
“There is an opportunity for Dortmund, Leipzig or Gladbach to pounce on Bayern’s mistakes.”
Even behind closed doors, the fiercest game of the first weekend back will be the Ruhr derby between Dortmund and Schalke.
“That is a huge game there is pure passion and a lot of hatred,” Hargreaves said. The four-time Bundesliga champion warned soft-tissue injuries will be “the biggest issue” after 66 days without competitive action.
“You’ll probably see the games played at not quite as high intensity to start with,” he said.
But Hargreaves, who spent seven years in the Bundesliga before his Premier League career was curtailed by injuries, backs the return of the first big European league.
“In Germany they’re pretty meticulous, methodical and have covered every base,” he added. “There is risk in a lot of levels. At some point we have to get back into society.
“There will be bumps on the way, but they have to get back because if they don’t, by July or August, 15 or 16 teams in the first and second division would be bankrupt.”