For Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich, it's all about being a European soccer powerhouse
It was hard not to rub your eyes in disbelief. Though in spite of how extraordinary the litany of goals was (six in total but five inside an outrageous 26-minute spell during the first half), it all seemed boringly inevitable.
Bayern Munich, the German heavyweights and winners of the 2013 tournament, had dangled precariously on the precipice. Their Champions League quarter-final first-leg against Porto proved a humiliation. A 3-1 defeat had many consequences.
Firstly, the celebrated soccer revolutionary and current Bayern coach Pep Guardiola bemoaned the loss of so many key players to injury and hinted that the burden of responsibility for the defeat should fall on the shoulders of the team's medical staff. In protest, Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, the club's legendary doctor, resigned. In a statement, he said “the bond of trust” had been broken and his staff quickly followed him out the door.
Guardiola had clashed with Muller-Wohlfahrt shortly before - during a recent domestic Cup game against Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern defender Mehdi Benatia was forced off early with an injury and Guardiola cut a hysterical figure on the touchline. He swung around and sought out the veteran medic in the dugout before sarcastically applauding him, moving closer to push through his point. The 72-year-old, disgusted, stood up and walked away. In a club jam-packed with egos, it's a dog-eat-dog world.
But still, Guardiola had to deal with the fallout from his behaviour. Bayern, a breeding ground for big personalities, is also a club steeped in tradition and Muller-Wohlfahrt, as chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge later stated, is part of the family – Guardiola, on the other hand, is a lodger, a Catalan with his own communal connections at Barcelona, and soon to be somewhere else. As a result, the coach was forced to discuss his future, with many speculating the tensions at Bayern would ensure his departure at the end of the campaign. And all this before a do-or-die return game against Porto. Hardly the best path to preparation.
And yet, in the end, it mattered little. Bayern were immense, cutting the Portuguese outfit to ribbons with a show of high-tempo, aggressive and relentless soccer that went against the patience and composure so closely attached to the gospels Guardiola has preached for so long. And it was a performance more akin to the intriguing persona he's crafted since relocating to Germany. Here was a team delivering a frenzied, pent-up show with little time for breath. When Jerome Boateng scored Bayern's second goal, he raced to celebrate along the touchline. Guardiola called him close and barked out instructions, accompanying them with some more furious finger-pointing.
It was difficult to believe Guardiola was taking the time to enjoy such a fine display by his charges. Early in the second half, with his side winning 5-0, he could be seen passionately yelling at his midfield, gesticulating wildly. Yes, a noble quality to be wary of complacency but even in the throes of a magnificent win, it appeared Guardiola was uncomfortable, probably all-too-aware that he was brought to the club to succeed in Europe and that everything outside of that is largely irrelevant.
He won four competitions last year – his debut season with Bayern – though the campaign is remembered more for the 4-0 thumping they received at home by Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinal. In the aftermath, there was widespread criticism of the coach's ways, in spite of the wealth of trophies attained. Therein lies the pressure.
Guardiola is a victim of his own legend. Having radically changed the soccer landscape with his unique system and remarkable success in Spain, many expected something as romantic in Munich. But with so many invested parties at the club, it was never going to be. Guardiola, a control freak, has found the democracy and the politicking tough. Whenever a defeat comes along, it becomes a story. Rummenigge has an opinion. Honourary president Franz Beckenbauer has an opinion. Ex-players have many opinions. Guardiola, after all, is unbreakable, unbeatable, right?
Under the lights, the eyes are drawn to the most minor of scratches on an otherwise flawless diamond. Guardiola's reputation ensures any potential problem is micro-analyzed. And he seems to be grossly aware of that, to the point of a stubborn resistance to even the mildest notion of success. He hasn't found it at Bayern yet and until he has, he'll continue to cut that angry, on-edge, figure.
In the aftermath of Tuesday's win, Guardiola said the Porto game was “life or death”. He spoke of how the 6-1 victory could still have been better, how a team should never relax in a Champions League assignment. Again, it seemed he couldn't bring himself to let his guard down. In contrast, as much as the players conjured a superb display, they allowed themselves enjoy it. At the full-time whistle, the squad headed for their ultra support. The players kneeled down in front of the hardcore fans, arms draped around each other. Thomas Mueller, a product of the Bayern youth academy and a local hero, asked for a megaphone and began to conduct a sing-song between a team and its followers.
In what's been another frenetic campaign for Bayern under Pep, the players certainly would've enjoyed the brief moment of relief.
