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Bayern Munich are a powerhouse, with or without Pep Guardiola
No one is bigger than the club. Any club. Or so goes the saying. That's pretty true at major clubs like Bayern Munich, though. No one person can be bigger than over 100 years, upwards of 50 trophies, 70,000 fans or the gallons of beer they have poured on each other in celebration over the years. But you'd be excused for being tempted to say that Pep Guardiola was bigger than Bayern Munich over the last three years.
Guardiola has such a presence that it permeates the entire club. Everything they did, from how they played to how the grass was cut went through their exacting manager. They were a team of Thomas Muller, Philipp Lahm, Manuel Neuer and another dozen stars, but Guardiola got more publicity than all the players combined.
And now Guardiola is gone.
The Spaniard is Manchester City's manager now, trying to take his modern brand of possession/total/maniacal football to another team in another country. No longer will he be patrolling the sideline at the Allianz Arena, yelling at players for taking the wrong angles in the press, waging war on the modern fullback, demanding possession as a form of defending or mocking anyone who thinks that the formation Bayern Munich plays matters.
Obviously losing a great manager hurts and represents a major change. But even though Bayern Munich replaced Guardiola with another brilliant boss, Carlo Ancelotti, Guardiola's commitment to a certain style of play that bordered on obsession makes even this transition a seismic shift.
It was clear early in the preseason that Ancelotti would be bringing a more conventional style to Bayern Munich. Gone was the unidentifiable shape that Guardiola had Bayern in, one that looked more like an amoeba, and in was a setup that a traditional numerical formation might actually identify. They also didn't seem very concerned with possession, even losing the battle on the ball in the German Supercup. With that, it was easy to declare Guardiola's Bayern dead.
And yet Bayern Munich are still huge favorites to win the Bundesliga. Again. And they're a popular pick to win the Champions League. Again.
The thing is, Guardiola may have been a huge presence and defined how Bayern Munich operated for three years, but the Bavarians were also treble winners the year before he got there. They have Muller, Lahm, Neuer, Arturo Vidal, Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba and Douglas Costa even with him gone. They're signing the likes of Mats Hummels and Renato Sanches, not missing a beat without Guardiola.
Bayern Munich is so much bigger than Guardiola. Not that we ever doubted it, but it was easy to get lost in the Guardiola sphere during the last three years.
Ancelotti comes to Bayern from Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League without anything that resembled a functioning midfield. But he made it work. That's what Ancelotti does -- he fits together ill-fitting pieces, mismatched personalities and anything else to win trophies.
Except he's taking over a team that doesn't really have any problems. His midfield isn't just made up of world class players -- Xabi Alonso might be their worst midfielder, which is ridiculous to consider -- but ones who fit together brilliantly. He'll plant Lewandowski and Muller in front of goal and won't even need a healthy Holger Badstuber, not that he wouldn't mind the centerback to give him another capable option. Finding a position and watching Joshua Kimmich continue to grow into a star or getting Javi Martinez back, then figuring out whether he's a defender or midfielder, are afterthoughts. Plus, this is a team that gets along famously.
Guardiola, while gone, did leave an incredible team behind him. One that Ancelotti has sung the praises of since Day 1.
So what are Bayern Munich without Guardiola?
A less idealistic, stubborn, iconic, but equally dangerous and talented version of Bayern Munich with Guardiola. Only their manager has won the Champions League three times with two clubs, something that you can bet the Bavarians are salivating over after three straight semifinal exits.
Ah yes, Bayern Munich, a club that can dominate their country for three years running under one manager, be one of Europe's top four each season and still see room for improvement. That's what Bayern Munich are, with or without Guardiola.
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