Bayern Munich Manager Pep Guardiola Asked to Help Coach Japan Rugby Team

Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola's record in club football is quite excellent, and now the Spaniard has been asked to lend a hand with the Japanese national rugby union team.

Japan's coach, Australian Eddie Jones, says that the Guardiola philosophy of creating space would help his rugby team. After meeting Guardiola in Munich, Germany, he insisted that "You always want to learn from the best."

The Daily Mirror's James Whaling quoted him as saying:

"

I watched Bayern train and had a really good meeting with the head coach and I really think we can improve greatly with adjustments in the way we train. He is the best soccer coach in the world and you always want to learn from the best.

Rugby and soccer are very similar in that you always want to move the ball into space and Bayern Munich and his previous team Barcelona played the most fantastic passing game you have ever seen. The principles are exactly the same.

"

Guardiola is renowned for his tiki-taka style of play—he led Barcelona to three La Liga titles and two Champions League triumphs in four seasons with it before moving to Germany and winning the Bundesliga by a huge margin in his first campaign.

Japan's rugby team, by contrast, are rank outsiders going into next year's World Cup.

[Daily Mirror]