Carlo Ancelotti at Bayern Munich will bring necessary calm and continuity
As we now know, Bayern Munich have been let down very gently by Pep Guardiola. The Catalan began hinting at his postseason exit back in September during dinner meetings with executive chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The club remained optimistic that Guardiola's mind could yet be swayed by an offer of an extension but with every passing week, that hope diminished to the point where seeking out an alternative became not just prudent, but a must. By the time the manager confirmed to Rummenigge at the club's Christmas party on Dec. 6 that he was indeed leaving at the end of May, Carlo Ancelotti was already lined up as his successor.
The much-discussed showdown meeting with Guardiola after the Hannover game was, as we now know too, just an elaborate smoke screen designed to win the Bavarians' time to agree to terms with the Italian. Guardiola never sat down with the board this weekend; he jetted off to Spain on Sunday. There was nothing more to say, no decision left to take.
In Munich, there's a sense of relief among officials and supporters that this unnerving, drawn-out separation has now become a certainty, even if they would have preferred to keep Guardiola. But the way the manager's decision has arrived in stages has also greatly helped Bayern take the necessary measures to soften the blow.
Ancelotti was the best, biggest name available and they managed to secure his services. The 56-year-old doesn't come with the same level of hype -- he's not as sexy, in a footballing sense -- as his predecessor, but his CV marks him out as a very safe pair of hands. He wins trophies, including the Champions League, and always leaves on good terms with the players and his superiors. "A quiet, balanced authority" was how Rummenigge described him. Guardiola has been privately praised as a genius at the club HQ, Säbener Strass, but he has not been quiet and balanced. As happens often in football, the identity of a managerial successor tells a lot about how his predecessor has been viewed.
Ancelotti's appointment fits perfectly into a wider cyclical pattern at Bayern, an alternation of change and stability. Felix Magath was hired as an innovator in 2004 but veteran Ottmar Hitzfeld picked up the pieces as the former's relationship with both squad and board broke down in 2007. Hitzfeld won the championship but was superseded by Jürgen Klinsmann, a younger coach promising a new direction. His revolution only lasted 10 months, however, and the seasoned operator Jupp Heynckes was brought out of retirement to steady the ship. Next up, Louis van Gaal offered great tactical expertise but the Dutchman was too extreme in his ways and lacked the human touch.
Heynckes came in for a third time -- the 70-year-old had coached Bayern in the late 80s/early 90s -- and managed to install a much better team ethos. His treble win after a first season without any titles surprised the board. They had already signed the much-coveted Guardiola as a successor five months earlier, craving more innovation on the pitch.
In Munich, they believe Ancelotti will not try to reinvent the team's style nor probe obsessively for newer, better solutions the way Guardiola has been doing, often during matches. And that's just how they like it.
Ancelotti will keep things simple and everybody reasonably happy. The squad might not get the same level of highly detailed instructions on how they should approach each game, but they'll have more freedom to find their own solutions. Bayern believe that the team is experienced and good enough to succeed under a more hands-off regime. Again, the choice of Ancelotti reflects Bayern's view of Guardiola in that respect. His work has been so good that all they need is somebody to keep them at the same level.
In truth, it's not as if Bayern had much choice either. Ancelotti wasn't just the best but also the only viable candidate. The name José Mourinho was mentioned at one stage but he didn't fit the bill. The three best German coaches, Joachim Löw (Germany), Thomas Tuchel (Borussia Dortmund) and Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool), weren't on the market. For relative newcomers such as Markus Weinzierl (Augsburg) or Roger Schmidt (Leverkusen), the Bayern job would have come too early. There was also no appetite at Säbener Strass to opt for the left-field option of bringing in a former player.
Those days are over; only a blue-chip manager will do now and with his experience across the top leagues and Champions League-winning ways, Ancelotti is precisely that. In a not-so-distant past, the club would have been scared to appoint a boss who doesn't speak German. Memories of Giovanni Trapattoni's two stints in the 1990s weren't entirely happy ones in that respect. But for the new, international Bayern, that's no longer a grave concern. Ancelotti will find it easy to talk in English and Spanish to the players. German lessons have started, in any case.
There may be better technical managers of the players out there, coaches who bring more intensity and planning to their training. But nobody manages big clubs better than Ancelotti. The controlled break up between Guardiola and Bayern has ultimately worked out well in terms of timing. The Italian's appeal to other European giants was only bound to increase further in light of the managerial merry-go-round this winter. Others will be busy weighing their next moves and negotiating with candidates but for Bayern, it will be a calm and peaceful Christmas. Ancelotti has already delivered on a significant part of his remit, half a year before his first day on the job.
SOURCE; ESPN
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