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As I watched the match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich today I began to appreciate even more the genius of our manager Jose. By the opinions of many non Chelsea fans Pep Guardiola is supposedly the best manager out there and when those who believe this talk the first thing they parrot is his so called "winning records" as far as trophies won.
I just laughed at the idiocy of such statements that showed persons who were simply biased, ignorant or both. Today though any independent observer would be able to see just how limited a manager Pep is. The guy really has only one way he knows to set his teams to play and as I always said the man benefited richly from inheriting teams that were so individually blessed that they would have won many of those trophies he is credited with whether he was there or not.
Today I a saw a guy who hadn`t a clue how to set his team to play when his usual plan 1 was not working and we saw this very clearly when he was with Barca as well. This obvious deficit has been glossed over because the sheer talent of the sides he has managed have more often than not got him the wins but today the guy got badly exposed.
Remember this Bayern side that Pep inherited had won the treble with Jupp Heynckes. This side has the spine of the world cup german team. This is not a cream puff team. Jupp Heynckes had got an inferior version of this Bayern side (sans Lewandowski and Tiago) to whip Real and Barca in consecutive champions league campaigns. Today Pep knew he was missing his fastest counter attacking wingers; the Robery connection of Ribery and Robben and what did he do? Continue business as usual as though he was playing Stuttgart or Porto. The absolute disregard to any decent defensive discipline was comical to watch. He actually started this match playing a 3-5-2 with a high line against a Barca team with the best trident strike force from all of South America..the dreaded MSN; Messi, Suarez and Neymar ; the best from Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Only a fool with a death wish would set up his side that way.
Manuel Neuer and plain luck is all that saved Bayern from being down 4-5 zero in the first half.
after surviving the early blitz You would think the guy would get a clue but other than finally switching to a back 4 he continued the same ridiculous high line in the second half with lahm and Rafinhia trying to outdo Jordi Alba and Dani Alves as far as spending most of their time in the opponents half of the pitch. You know what they say about poking the bear..i don`t know if it is that Pep is too proud to understand that defense is part of this game or that he hasn`t a clue how to even coach it but the number of times I saw his center backs at the middle of the field of playing full back while their full backs were on their adventure runs into Barca territory was just comical. They got away with it for 77-78 minutes but as the saying goes..many days for the thief but it only takes one day for the owner. The genius of Messi finally made Pep pay for his foolhardy idiocy and in quick succession as Bayern continued to pour forward despite having no effective wing play and continuing to try passing their way to the Barca final third rather than actually trying the old route one aerial ball of course they got caught again and Barca finished them of. To essentially finish the tie in just the first leg Neymar then applied the coup de grace in injury time no less. This tie is up, done and dusted even before the trip to the Allianz.
For those who want to leap to Peps defense and say the match was a glorious spectacle..sure it was for neutrals like me and Barca fans but I can assure you the Bayern fans are not seeing anything funny about this. Remember this Barca side is locked in a close battle for the La Liga title while Bayern is in a one team league where their only credible challenge for the last 5 yrs imploded this year. They have had their league win sealed from day one and pretty much had all their starters rested over the weekend and yet they got owned and exposed like a junior practice team.
Furthermore the warning signs had been there all along..Bayern were found out by Porto in the first leg of their tie but did Pep get a clue from that? oh no..the offensive outburst that followed in Berlin conveniently made him forget that they only escaped that tie because Porto like them haven`t the foggiest clue about what competent team defense looks like. This is what happens when a team (even a team as talented as Bayern Munich) is managed by a guy who insists on playing only one way . Rest assured this would never have happened (and never did) under the watch of a coach like jupp Heynckes who is a disciple of every phase of the game and understands the place and need for tactical adjustments to suit the opponent..a trait that Jose is second to none at.
Those who feel Pep is all that need to look critically at his body of work at Bayern. He took over an all conquering squad that had won it all and had beaten barca in glorious fashion and outlasted Real the year before. He was given the resources to upgrade the squad by harpooning poor Dortmund for Goetze and Lewandoksi and he even added Tiago to the mix plus Xabi Alonso this last summer. What has he achieved with all that talent?
Well he won the Bundesliga both 2 yrs he has been there but we all know the Bundesliga is a one team league..Bayern would win Bundesliga without a manager..they are that much better and deeper than anyone else in that league and Jurgen klopp knew this when he declared the Bundesliga had become like the Scottish league..a one team league. Last year Bayern won the DFB Pokal but anyone who watched that match (I did) knows that Bayern won courtesy of the refs as Dortmund scored a good goal late in the match which had been 0-0 till then and the ref suddenly became blind and claimed the ball had not crossed the line when it was apparent to everyone else in the stadium. Bayern thus escaped and in extra time their superior depth finally wore down Dortmund. This year though Bayern were not so lucky..as bad as Dortmund have been they were still able to outlast Bayern and kick them out of the DFB pookal and so for this year all Pep has to show for having by far the most talented team in Germany and easily the 3rd best team in Europe is a Bundesliga title they had won already before the season began.
Their Champions league record with Pep is clearly suspect..on two occasions now whitewashed by the spanish giants that Jupp Heynckes had defeated with less talent and resources.
Let us compare this with Jose and any independent observer sees why Jose is by far the better manager. Whatever would have transpired if we faced Barca this year I know that we would not be beaten by them the way PSG and now Bayern have. I am certain that we would have given then a set of games they would never forget (the way we did the last time we met). I know that even if they were to eliminate us it would take two nail biting games..not a situation like happened in both the PSG and Bayern ties where the tie was done and dusted after the first game of the tie. Why am I so certain of this? The evidence of this BPL season speaks for itself..unlike Pep, jose is a game tactician who can get his teams to play in different ways and has no qualms doing what is required to win. He is not a slave to any one philosophy of footie and most of all he is a disciple of that often maligned discipline called "Defence"…you know that disicipline that wise sportsmen have often said wins championships.
I don`t know about you but rather than another boring "classico" in the Champions league final (which barca will doubtless win) I for one am rooting for Juve to take out Real at the Bernebeu and then so set up the ultimate battle between masters of attack and masters of defence in the final at Berlin. Unlike Pep who is so naïve, Massimiliano Allegri is a master tactician who can and will deploy Cateneccio when the occasion demands it while having Tevez, Llronte, Vidal, Pogba et al ready to pounce on the counter..that is the final I want to see but for anyone with eyes and a sound independent footie mind lets end this nonsense of comparing Jose and pep.
One is a genius ..the other isn`t even close..if you want to compare Jose with Carlo Ancelotti or Jupp Heynckes we can have a conversation but Pep? I am sorry his much touted trophies are the result of the super teams he was blessed to manage. Let us see him win a local league not to mention Champions league with a team like Porto..i double dare him to come to the BPL because i know should he dare it, it will be his waterloo no matter the team he manages. His inability to adapt will be his undoing should he ever venture into the rough and tumble BPL. Every time he has been required to manage a side that was not an overwhelming favorite he has been found to be actually rather mediocre.
Chelsea faithful let us count our blessings. When Jose completes building the team of his choice look out Europe because we will see the return of the juggernaut he built at Inter Milan and something superior to the first Chelsea team he built for us; A side that is a picture of efficiency, quality and ability in all three phases on the pitch; defence midfield and attack..i for one cannot wait to see that day come. KTBFFH!!
