Crazy if United don’t go for Pep
CAN they let Pep Guardiola turn up across town without a fight? Can Manchester United really afford to let Manchester City land him unopposed?
It seems madness that United are going to let their bitterest rivals recruit the world’s most in-demand coach, and that man is Guardiola.
I know Jose Mourinho is on the market but it won’t happen. United could have got him in 2013 when Sir Alex Ferguson retired but, instead, they chose David Moyes.
Mourinho, clearly, made eyes at Old Trafford then but I think a Manchester United board that has Sir Bobby Charlton on it would look at the additional baggage he brings, along with the way his teams play, and look elsewhere.
But what about Guardiola? Everything about him suggests he would be the perfect fit for such a job yet United have distanced themselves from all stories linking them with him. Now it appears inevitable his next destination, after Bayern Munich, will be the Etihad Stadium.
Don’t think this is me saying Louis van Gaal should be sacked. I’m not. Whether you are a fan of Van Gaal or not, he has delivered the minimum requirement so far — a return to the Champions League in his first year — and he is in a position to challenge for the title this season.
I compare this situation to what happens when a top player comes on the market. If Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Robert Lewandowski were for sale, United would want to sign them. So now the best manager around is available, why not push for him?
City are not wasting any time. In Manuel Pellegrini they have a manager who is proven in the Barclays Premier League and has been successful yet, still, City know that Guardiola would be an upgrade.
They have decided — as Bayern did three years ago when Jupp Heynckes was guiding them to the treble — that no matter how Pellegrini does this season, they have to get Guardiola. Pellegrini is likely to win the title again but a feeling remains that City should be performing better.
In the last couple of years, City have overtaken United on all levels and it has nothing to do with money. United have spent plenty but City have won more trophies, their squad is better, their recruitment has been smarter and their academy has put United’s in the shadow.
Should City then get Guardiola, how do United compete?
If things continue as they have been at United, the clamour for change will grow and Ryan Giggs will come into the frame to succeed Van Gaal. If he ever gets the chance to manage United, I feel he will do well. Of all the contenders to be the next United manager, nobody knows the club better.
Yet that would be the only advantage Giggs has over Guardiola. With his experience, his pedigree and his magnetism can you imagine any player choosing to go to Old Trafford when Guardiola is only five miles up the road?
It wouldn’t happen. They have been linked with Ronaldo, Neymar and Gareth Bale in recent weeks but those free spirits would not want to play for United with the current style of play. A manager such as Guardiola would unlock the door to the high end of the market.
There is so much more to Guardiola, however, than reputation. His time at Munich will be remembered as much for the style of play as for his results and we know how much this means to United, given the complaints that have been aimed at Van Gaal this season.
Guardiola, clearly, is ready for a new challenge. I’ve watched some Bayern games this season and seen him try different formations, such as 4-4-2 or three at the back rather than his trademark 4-3-3, with different players in different positions, like Philipp Lahm in midfield, to improve his knowledge.
THE Bundesliga doesn’t appear to challenge him any more. Bayern can coast through games and the main target this year will be to win the Champions League, which is why he was recruited in the first place. If he doesn’t achieve that, perhaps some will see that as a blemish on his c.v.
It shouldn’t be. The Champions League is a cup competition and, no matter how good a team you are, you will always need some luck along the way. Bayern, along with Barcelona, are far clear of their rivals but it takes only one bad decision somewhere to end a European campaign.
Guardiola knows that better than anyone. His Barcelona team won six trophies in 2009 but, had it not been for a last-gasp Andres Iniesta goal at Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final, that achievement would have been impossible. If Bayern don’t get to the final this year, it should not be a stain on their manager.
The prospect of Guardiola coming to England excites me enormously. I’ve seen him at work at Bayern’s training ground twice in recent years and the intensity with which he goes about his job is striking. He demands everything from his players.
I’ve spoken to Xabi Alonso about him regularly, too. Xabi once told me the message Guardiola gives to his players before a game is ‘like nothing else’ he has experienced.
Over the past 12 months he has been talking to Xabi about England and his one worry about coming here is ‘the English week’.
His one anxiety about working in this country, given the demands of our calendar, would be whether he has enough time on the training ground to get his message across.
He gets frustrated when Bayern have three games in seven days, and that happens all the time here.
Pep’s achievements speak volumes. More than anything, he gets clubs playing a brand of football they have never seen before. Surely Manchester United have to see whether he would be interested in doing the same for them.