When Pep when was announced as the BAYERN manager I was sceptical (I never doubted his Genius, anyone who followed Football and not Troll Football knew when he was announced as the Manager, Barca were going through a mini crisis, In his First season he won the elusive Treble while letting go of their biggest stars Ronaldinho and Deco ) I wasnt sure if he would succeed at Bayern, his style of football was similar to LVG and we didnt have anyone like Messi, Xavi or Iniesta to play in his style. To be frank I didnt like the way he managed us throughout last season, the reason being I always compared him to Jupps Bayern. Now before I go further, one needs to understand this, Jupps Bayern were like a well oiled machine, their mantra was Stability and Balance. Jupp always knew the style his team should play, based on that he always knew his best 11, unless someone from his best team got injured he rarely if ever started with someone, Rafinha hardly got a game under him. He always played with the same setup, 4 at the back, 2 fullbacks who would help in attack and 2 wingers who would track back as and when needed, he always used a double pivot, It was unimaginable tot think of Bayern without a ball winning midfielder like Javi or Gustavo, theres a reason his Bayern bought Javi for a record sum, it was like hedging, if Gustavo is injured Javi would come in. Bayern knew how his absence hurt them in the CL Final. Bayern under Jupp were a lazy team, they didnt do anything spectacular,they didnt run too much, they didnt thread beautiful passes, they basically used the space well, and played to their strengths and did the same every week. While many might say the way they dismantled Barca was epic, it wasnt exactly a work of genius, Jupps teams were defensively compact, Ribery Alaba teamed up in defence and attack, Javi and Basti broke up play in the middle of park, even Robben was forced to defend deep. It was all worked out perfectly, dont let the opposition have space. They let Barca pass but whenever they tried getting into our half, the players pressed,won the ball and then immediately started a counter. It was a simple yet effective trick and Barca were humbled. It wasnt ethereal, it was mechanical, Im sure Bayern would have won atleast one more treble with that strategy and hence i was frustrated. Pep believes in playing Football like a work of art, the way we played vs City for 70 minutes was Top class Football only a genius like Pep could imagine, the way we beat Roma was Football at its pristine best. Till last season every week we tried to decode his tactics or his teams and we failed, when he lost we squarely lay the blame on his tactics, for all of us it was all very simple, Jupp had shown us the blueprint we expected him to follow the same path, instead he chose to be the Pioneer and decide his own route. It frustrated Mandzukic, it frustrated the fans, Real gave us a sound beating. Pep accepted his tactics were flawed, the treble dream was Over and that perhaps was the best Thing. Now we, at least I have started trying to understand his tactics without using Jupp as a benchmark, He transformed Kroos from a good Midfielder to one of the best, he unearthed the next Xavi in him, Robben was given back the freedom he had under LVG, he became devastatingly good, Alaba has been transformed into perhaps the most tactically flexible Footballer, he plays anywhere from centre back to Central Midfield to left wing to left back and has the freedom to roam throughout the pitch, Lahm was transformed into a midfield lynchpin, Xabi Alonso is playing his best Football in years, Neuer is far more involved, under Jupp he was a mere spectator, now almost all our players can play multiple roles, the setup changes every week, 3-4-3 4-2-3-1, 5-2-3 , 3-7-0, you name it and he has tried it, never do the same players start, even if they do, they dont always start in the same position, the tactics change in between the game, against BVBs high pressing once Pep realised Xabi was neutralised by the 3 man CM, he started using long balls and got the win, against Roma they attacked their ageing wingers and killed the game, against City they bossed the midfield. At the start of this season even his biggest fan would have thought he would struggle till Christmas, long list of injuries, change in tactical setup, overworked players, most of them just returning from WC, 6 of them being World Champions, motivation issues, a Champions League Group with Champions of England and Runners up of Italy, it couldnt get worse and yet he has come largely unscathed. Winning and Topping the Group of DEATH, with 2 games in Hand conceding just 1 goal, that being offside, not losing a single game in Bundesliga when BVB are languishing at bottom of table, You have no option but to admire his intelligence. Not only has he improved the players, our football has become much more eye catching, even his signings have been brilliant, Benatia was always going to be a Hit, buying Xabi and Bernat for a combined 13 million Euros shows his intelligence in the Transfer Market, Juan Bernat a 21 year old who was expected to be be Alabas deputy has started in every game and has been Flawless. Even a 17 year old Gianluca Gaudino has got playing time and he was mighty impressive. Overall, maybe his maverick ways might cost us another treble but to castigate him for that would be unfair, Sir Alex Ferguson won 2 Champions League with Manchester United, hes widely considered the greatest, i personally believe whether or not he wins a Champions League his presence would be a gift for all the players and it would improve them tactically and as individual players.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:30:41 +0000
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