Pep Guardiola Reportedly Considering Qatar Job Offer for 2022 World Cup

A lucrative offer could see Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola take the reins of the Qatar national team as the tactician's position at the Allianz Arena comes under increased speculation.

According to German newspaper Bild (h/t The Guardian), the 44-year-old could assume the role in time for the 2022 World Cup, which Qatar will host. Guardiola recently spoke highly of the country's potential as a venue for the global competition:

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The people in Qatar have to help the country to make the event the best that is possible. The world will be watching and I hope the people here can help out to show the world that they are capable of hosting the biggest event in football.

Fifa has always tried to look for new areas to promote the sport. They went to South Africa in 2010 and in 2022 they have decided to come here. It’s a good step to come to this part of the world. It will help the rest of the world to know this part. Football at the end is a great opportunity to meet different cultures.

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It would undoubtedly be heralded as the most difficult task in Guardiola's managerial career to date should the Spaniard come to be installed as helmsman of the Maroon.

His contract with Bayern expires at the end of the 2015-16 campaign. The Guardian's report also quotes Guardiola telling the author of biography Herr Pep, Marti Perearnau, that he has a vision to “pass through England starting from Bayern and culminate in a national team.”

This would suggest a stint in the Premier League may be next on Guardiola's agenda. While some might deem the tactician mad to leave the Bundesliga champions given their current standing, it wouldn't be the first time he's left a thriving project for pastures new.

At the time of his departure from the Barcelona hot seat in 2012, Guardiola had just won the Copa del Rey and was named 2012 LFP Coach of the Year.

This news comes just after his Bayern team dropped points in the league in successive games for the first time this season, but ESPN FC quotes Guardiola insisting he was content with the team's 1-1 draw against Schalke on Tuesday:

Another manager whose contract comes to an end in 2016 is Spain's Vicente del Bosque, and some may prefer to see Guardiola take a run at leading his native nation following Spain's group-stage exit at the 2014 World Cup.

Another option for the ex-Barca playmaker could lie in America, with the official Major League Soccer website (h/t Football Espana) reporting last November that the United States is hoping to lure his talents.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

After his departure from the Camp Nou, Guardiola spent some of his sabbatical in New York and even enrolled at Columbia University as an extramural student, per Rob Hughes of The New York Times.

To date, Qatar have never qualified for the World Cup finals, but with their place assured in the 2022 competition, Guardiola may be tempted to lead the minnows.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Guardiola has past ties to Qatar, having played for Al-Ahli toward the end of his career and taken Bayern to Doha for their winter break twice.

With more than seven years to wait until the 2022 World Cup, Guardiola has time before making a decision on the alleged offer from Qatar, but it would present a challenge he might not shy away from.