Only Pep Guardiola's Own Rivals Can Deny Bayern Munich Champions League Title
After a handful of close calls, including a final defeat on their own turf to Chelsea in 2012, Bayern Munich finally landed their fifth European Cup/Champions League title when Jupp Heynckes steered them to treble glory in 2013.
Pep Guardiola took over as manager shortly after, expected to not only continue Bayern's domestic dominance but also to impose a style of play on the team that would make Continental success a regular occurrence. In that regard, Guardiola came unstuck in his first season despite running away with the Bundesliga almost unbeaten.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
This year, with some excellent summer transfer work done by the club and Guardiola having altered the style and system a little, Bayern look as strong and capable of challenging for the biggest honour in club football as any other side—with the final to be played in Germany once again, where Bayern are so formidable—sitting unbeaten domestically once more and having won both Champions League group games to date.
The only clubs who can reasonably stand in their way are all those with direct links to Guardiola. Whether or not he can overcome those personal battles will determine if Bayern are celebrating in Berlin come May.
The Inner Demon: Barcelona
Guardiola, of course, made his name first as a player and then as a manager with FC Barcelona.
Between 2008 and 2012 he won 14 trophies in charge of the Catalan club, including two Champions League titles. He is credited with bringing together one of the greatest collections of players of footballing history and moulding their style to a successful, irrepressible machine on the pitch.
Following his departure, Barca have floundered for a couple of seasons, changing manager through necessity or desire with frequency, and have been eliminated at the semi-final stage (2012) and quarter-final stage (2013) of the Champions League. This year, though, it all looks rather different.
The pressing, hounding, aggressive play is back under Luis Enrique, as is the all-attacking, free-scoring tenacious play of the front line.
Two areas will dictate whether Guardiola can overcome his old side, should they meet along the way: Can Barcelona keep up this impressive start to the season until the latter stages of the campaign? And, are Guardiola's changes to the Bayern system capable of living with the high-intensity searching of the ball that his old team are once more showing—just like they did when he was in charge?
Perhaps most pertinently of all...who will have more of the ball in such a tie?
"Barcelona have so far averaged 64% possession in La Liga. Bayern Munich have averaged 65% in the Bundesliga. [via @WhoScored]
— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) October 15, 2014"
The Eternal Rival: Real Madrid
Being a "Barcelona man," naturally Guardiola has had a number of run-ins with Real Madrid along the way.
Real Madrid also just happen to be the reigning European champions, having beaten rivals Atletico Madrid in the final last season, and also have a front line that is the envy of most sides around the world.
Oh, and they also knocked out—destroyed—Guardiola's own Bayern team last season, 5-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals. Bayern dominated long spells of possession but had zero penetration, while Real ran riot on the counter-attack and, quite possibly, have impacted on Guardiola to the extent that this season's entire bout of changes in system and use of space on the pitch is because of that result.
Have Bayern learned enough from that defeat to be able to cope with teams who play the same way? Are the additions of the likes of Mehdi Benatia and Juan Bernat sufficient to deal with attackers of the quality of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez?
One-upmanship won't be the key to Bayern Munich beating Real Madrid if they come up against the champions again this season, but only learning those crucial, cruel lessons handed out last term.
The Personal Grudge: Jose Mourinho
Outside of Spain's big two, only one other side initially look strong enough, clever enough and good enough in all areas to be capable of being tagged one of the favourites: Chelsea, led by Guardiola's nemesis from his time at Barcelona, Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho was, of course, at Real Madrid at the time, where he won the league ahead of Barca and Guardiola in 2012.
Half-jokingly labelled the anti-Guardiola for his spiky personality and willingly, obviously negative tactics to get key results when it suits him, the enmity and rivalry between the two has grown rapidly and shows no signs of abating. Mourinho criticised a journalist for suggesting that he struggles to beat Guardiola (his record was 3W 5D 7L at the time, so the questioner was essentially correct), while Guardiola suggested Mourinho's Chelsea, not Real Madrid, would be the tougher test ahead of last season's semi-final draw.
As it turned out, neither reached the final in the end.
"Jose Mourinho: "Wake me up when Pep Guardiola wins trophies in four different nations”
— Football Quotes (@mfootballquotes) October 14, 2014"
More recently, there was a battle of words over grass length at a UEFA coaches summit.
Chelsea's squad is impressive, but the first XI is nothing short of immense. Key additions this summer make them a formidable side to go up against, and Mourinho, of course, is the consummate winner. He knows what it takes to get results and titles.
Should Bayern and Chelsea do battle this season, it is difficult to predict where the key areas might be, except that Bayern will have the ball and, like against Real last season, will have to be wary of the counter-attacking threat posed by the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Eden Hazard. The unity and strength of Chelsea's numbers make them tough to break down, but they are also improved in attack.
"Cesc on Mourinho & Guardiola: “They are two winners, two motivators. I caught the last year of Pep and was very different from the first."
— Màrshad! (@BeardedMagician) October 8, 2014"
Guardiola's early changes to Bayern's play this season already leave them clear in their own league and their own Champions League group, but the major tests lie yet ahead.
Should he come up against any of his three most personal adversaries, it will be entirely down to how he perceives victory can be won—and lost—which will dictate whether Bayern can add a sixth European Cup to their honours roll.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
