Pep Guardiola will not have completed his brief at Bayern Munich until the Champions League is returned to Bavaria... and Jose Mourinho isn't shy in reminding him

  • Guardiola will not be considered a success at Bayern until he wins the Champions League
  • The Bavarian side dominate the Bundesliga and will win another title
  • But last season's semi-final thrashing by Real Madrid weighs on Guardiola's mind 
  • Jose Mourinho successfully won the trophy with two different clubs
  • They take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 16, first leg on Tuesday night 

Pep Guardiola’s managerial office in the Allianz Arena last April was a despondent place. ‘I got it wrong, man, I got it totally wrong,’ Guardiola is heard to say. ‘It’s a monumental f*** up, a total mess. The biggest f*** up of my career.’

It is the night of the 4-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final and the intensity of Guardiola’s self-castigation is an indication of what was at stake. 

In that room with Guardiola are his assistants, Domenec Torrent, Carles Planchart and Manuel Estiarte but, as Marti Perarnau puts it in his book, ‘Pep Confidential’, they are there to keep Guardiola company and give him moral support rather than to offer any serious analysis. 

Last season's semi-final thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid was a chastening moment for Pep Guardiola, who knows he will not satisfy his bosses until he delivers Bayern Munich another European Cup

Last season's semi-final thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid was a chastening moment for Pep Guardiola, who knows he will not satisfy his bosses until he delivers Bayern Munich another European Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring the third of Real Madrid's four goals away to Bayern Munich last season

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring the third of Real Madrid's four goals away to Bayern Munich last season

Gareth Bale was also instrumental in the seismic semi-final result at the Allianz Arena

Gareth Bale was also instrumental in the seismic semi-final result at the Allianz Arena

The meeting goes on until well after midnight, with more of the same from Guardiola.


Tactically he had failed, a victim of his own chronic indecision. In the immediate aftermath of first leg of the semi-final, a 1-0 defeat at the Bernabeu, Guardiola had fixed on a 3-4-3 formation for the return leg.

‘Don’t let me change my mind!’ he joked with his assistants. He did so, twice: first to a 4-2-3-1 and then, after speaking to the players, who were keen on all-out attack, to 4-2-4.

For Carlo Ancelotti, an excellent coach, whose teams play attractive football but who ultimately was schooled in Serie A, it was all too easy. 

Real Madrid simply picked Bayern off at set pieces and on the counter-attack. And Guardiola was made to look an idiot, which in a five-year managerial career is unique.

Carlo Ancelotti's game plan was executed to perfection as Bayern were picked off on the break

Carlo Ancelotti's game plan was executed to perfection as Bayern were picked off on the break

 

Ronaldo adds further misery with a low free-kick to put Real four goals ahead in the second leg last season

Ronaldo adds further misery with a low free-kick to put Real four goals ahead in the second leg last season

GUARDIOLA'S TROPHY CABINET 

BARCELONA

La Liga 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11

Copa del Rey 2008-09, 2011-12

Supercopa de Espana 2009, 2010, 2011

Champions League 2008-09, 2010-11

UEFA Super Cup 2009, 2011

FIFA Club World Cup 2009, 2011

BAYERN MUNICH

Bundesliga 2013-14

DFB-Pokal 2013-14

UEFA Super Cup 2013

FIFA Club World Cup 2013

Guardiola’s team should progress against Shakhtar, who don’t even have a home, their city currently being destroyed by civil war and their stadium literally caught in the cross-fire. But after that it begins to become interesting for Guardiola.

His reaction to last season’s defeat suggests that he knows that whatever he does at Bayern Munich, if he fails to win the Champions League he will be judged a failure. 

It may seem ridiculous, as he could easily win a hat-trick of league titles in his three years at the club and last year he won the Double. The problem with the Bundesliga is that any manager who doesn’t win the title with Bayern at present should really resign in shame.

It didn't need Saturday's 8-0 win over Hamburg, once Bayern's principal rivals, to tell us that. The figures give the game away. 

Bayern’s turnover is £365million; their nearest rival, Borussia Dortmund, currently mired in a relegation battle, earn £195m. 

Bayern last lifted the European Cup in 2013, beating Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley

Bayern last lifted the European Cup in 2013, beating Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley

That occasion provided the perfect send off for Jupp Heynckes, whom Guardiola succeeded that summer

That occasion provided the perfect send off for Jupp Heynckes, whom Guardiola succeeded that summer

Manager Ottmar Hitzfeld lifts the famous trophy after Bayern's triumph over Valencia in the 2001 final

Manager Ottmar Hitzfeld lifts the famous trophy after Bayern's triumph over Valencia in the 2001 final

BAYERN'S EUROPEAN TRIUMPHS 

1974 Beat Atletico Madrid 4-0 in a replay after 1-1 draw

Manager: Udo Lattek

1975 Beat Leeds United 2-0

Manager: Dettmar Cramer

1976 Beat Saint-Etienne 1-0

Manager: Dettmar Cramer

2001 Beat Valencia 5-4 on penalties after 1-1 draw

Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld

2013 Beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1

Manager: Jupp Heynckes

When it comes to the sponsors lining up to fund the clubs, the difference is even starker. Who wants to be associated with second-best and second-biggest? 

So Bayern earn £195 million a year in commercial income to Dortmund’s £92m. And Dortmund of course dwarf the rest of the Bundesliga. It is the corollary of Champions League: what makes Europe’s competition so strong, has emasculated domestic leagues beyond recognition.

Jose Mourinho isn't always right but he was on Monday when he goaded Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern, saying their task was simpler in Europe because they could be so dominant at home – unlike in England. ‘In Germany, for Bayern, it’s a promenade,’ said Mourinho.

It is why even winning a treble of two domestic cups and the league title won’t save Laurent Blanc at PSG at the end of the season. Winning the Champions League and securing global recognition is what it’s all about now whether you work for Johnny-come-lately Qatari owners or for Karl-Heinz Rummenigge at the world’s most-traditional football club.

Pep Guardiola arrives at the Arena Lviv ahead of a training session before Bayern's tie with Shakhtar

Pep Guardiola arrives at the Arena Lviv ahead of a training session before Bayern's tie with Shakhtar

The Bayern coach is singularly focused on delivering another European Cup to the Allianz Arena

The Bayern coach is singularly focused on delivering another European Cup to the Allianz Arena

Bayern and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer arrives at the Arena Lviv ahead of the last 16, first leg tie

Bayern and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer arrives at the Arena Lviv ahead of the last 16, first leg tie

Arjen Robben will be a major weapon if Bayern are to achieve their Champions League aspirations this year

Arjen Robben will be a major weapon if Bayern are to achieve their Champions League aspirations this year

The last 16 tie with Shakhtar Donetsk is being stages 750 miles west in Lviv after the Donbass Arena was shelled by pro-Russian separatists who currently control the city

The last 16 tie with Shakhtar Donetsk is being stages 750 miles west in Lviv after the Donbass Arena was shelled by pro-Russian separatists who currently control the city

Of course there are upsides to the problem. It provides us with the greatest football competition in terms of quality, superior to the World Cup in that regard and with more genuine contenders. And it has become the measure of true greatness among coaches.

That’s why Mourinho’s words were aimed as much at his Spanish nemesis Guardiola as at Blanc and PSG.

Mourinho is, of course, one of only five coaches to have won the Champions League with more than one team. Ironically, Guardiola’s predecessor at Bayern, Jupp Heynckes, is one of the others. Guardiola has won the trophy twice – impressive at 44 - but he is not yet on that list.

It was almost as if Mourinho wished to remind him that it is Heynckes’ achievement of the treble which he requires if he wishes to demonstrate his credentials now. 

And given the level of Guardiola’s self castigation in the aftermath of that Real Madrid defeat last year, you suspect that the Bayern coach believes it too.

Jose Mourinho - who has won the trophy at two clubs - aimed a barb indirectly at nemesis Pep Guardiola

Jose Mourinho - who has won the trophy at two clubs - aimed a barb indirectly at nemesis Pep Guardiola

Arjen Robben (centre) celebrates one of Bayern's eight goals in their thumping of Hamburg on Saturday

Arjen Robben (centre) celebrates one of Bayern's eight goals in their thumping of Hamburg on Saturday

Bayern's superiority over the rest of the Bundesliga is plain for all to see

Bayern's superiority over the rest of the Bundesliga is plain for all to see

The Bayern players celebrate with the fans after their emphatic victory over traditional rivals Hamburg

The Bayern players celebrate with the fans after their emphatic victory over traditional rivals Hamburg