Thomas Muller: Bayern Munich Was 'A Bit Wild West' After Pep Guardiola's Exit

Bayern Munich veteran Thomas Muller has said the club felt the departure of Pep Guardiola as manager in 2016 and described the team as being "a bit Wild West" in the years immediately following his exit.

Die Roten won a European and domestic Treble in 2013 under German legend Jupp Heynckes, while Guardiola led the club to three straight Bundesliga crowns before he left for Manchester City in 2016.

Muller—who joined the Bayern academy in 2000 and has never represented another club at the professional level—told The Athletic's Raphael Honigstein (h/t Ben Nagle of MailOnline):

"For my game, structure is super important. It has to be clockwork. I see myself as a cog. I can throw my qualities and playing characteristics into the mix, and I can help the team improve that way. I will never be a player who picks up the ball outside his own box and goes past three men. 

"When we manage to have stability, when we're in control of the buildup and the game, I find it easier to have a positive impact. We weren't able to do that in the years after Pep. It was a bit Wild West, at times. 

"The control that we had stood for as FC Bayern was gone. There was sense (sic) that anything could happen. Maybe it was more entertaining that way for the spectators."

It was confirmed in December 2015 that Carlo Ancelotti would be the man to take over from Guardiola when he left the following year. However, the former lasted only one full season at the Allianz Arena and was sacked in September 2017, with Heynckes taking control in an interim capacity (his fourth spell as manager).

Niko Kovac was appointed Bayern's next permanent manager in the summer of 2018. Again, he lasted only one full season and left by mutual agreement in November 2019, with incumbent chief Hans-Dieter Flick taking over in his stead.

Club chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Kicker (h/t Get German Football News) the team is enjoying the "attacking dominant ball possession" football of old with Flick in charge:

Muller in particular has benefited from Flick's appointment at the helm, scoring seven goals and recording 11 assists in 17 appearances since the former assistant to Kovac took the senior job.

The 30-year-old was less prominent under Kovac and had just four direct goal involvements in his first 10 league appearances this season.

He set up Bayern's first two goals in a 4-1 rout of Cologne in mid-February: 

Muller sympathised with those who found Bayern's domestic supremacy boring under Guardiola but added: "I understand why some found our extreme dominance under Guardiola boring, but that sort of total control can't be reproduced as a carbon copy. You can't say: 'They've learnt all that stuff from Pep. They simply have to keep playing that way.' That's not the issue. You have to work at it every single day."

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey lauded Muller for refusing to be drawn into comparisons between managers, though it seems evident the tenures of Ancelotti and Kovac were considered less stable:

Flick, 55, has helped Bayern reclaim a dominant position in the Bundesliga, where they currently lead RB Leipzig by a single point. They have also won each of their six UEFA Champions League group games.

Guardiola took Die Roten to the semi-finals of Europe's top-tier tournament in each of his three campaigns in Bavaria, but Flick will target their first run to the final since winning the title in 2013.

The German giants travel to face Chelsea in the first leg of their last-16 matchup on Tuesday, when Muller will hope to make only his fourth European start this season.

His resurgence has been one notable achievement for Flick, who might yet earn the Bayern job on permanent terms if he can put together a successful end to the 2019-20 campaign.