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Bayern score big with ex-Barca boss Guardiola

Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich have won the battle to secure the most wanted coach in football after convincing former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola to lead the Bavarian side next season.

Bayern score big with ex-Barca boss Guardiola
Photo: DPA

The 41-year-old Spaniard – who last week said he was ready to return to coaching after a brief sabbatical since stepping down from the Barcelona hotseat at the end of last season – signed a three year contract on Wednesday.

Guardiola, who twice guided Barcelona to the Champions League title, will replace current Munich boss Jupp Heynckes, whose contract expires in June, just after his 68th birthday.

Bayern, who have not won any silverware in the past two seasons, have pulled off a major coup as Guardiola had been linked with jobs in England with both Chelsea and Manchester City being mentioned.

Bayern, who have won a record 22 German league titles as well as four Champions League trophies, made no secret of their delight at beating off high-profile rivals for his signature.

“We are very pleased that we have succeeded in securing the signature of Pep Guardiola, who was being courted by many clubs,” enthused chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

“Pep Guardiola is one of the most successful coaches in the world and we are sure he will lend plenty of glamour, not just to Bayern, but also to German football. We look forward to working with him from July 2013.”

Heynckes had told Bayern he will not be extending his contract past June and club president Uli Hoeneß paid tribute to the veteran, who steered Bayern to last season’s Champions League final where they lost on penalties to Chelsea.

“After the decision from Jupp Heynckes, to whom we are extremely grateful for all his work, we would all be very happy if the team gives this coach the glorious farewell he deserves,” Hoeneß said. “As an adequate replacement for Jupp Heynckes, only a coach of the calibre of Pep Guardiola could come into question.”

Guardiola will be working as head coach alongside Bayern’s director of sport Matthias Sammer, who joined in July from the German FA, and Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer was quick to praise the club’s success in recruiting such luminaries.

“One has to say, hats off!” Beckenbauer, who enjoyed World Cup success both as player and coach with the then West Germany, told German Sky.

“Matthias Sammer and Guardiola – I don’t know if you can get a better team,” he said.

With Bayern facing Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League in February, the pressure is on the team to win some silverware after finishing both of the last two seasons without a single trophy.

“If he (Heynckes) brings the season to an end with one title or another, he will have managed an excellent farewell,” added Beckenbauer.

Despite all his success at Barcelona, Guardiola – whom moody Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic once dubbed “a philosopher” as an insult – will have his work cut out at Bayern, where immediate success is demanded.

Former German national coach Jürgen Klinsmann lasted ten months before he was sacked in April 2009, while current Holland boss Louis van Gaal was dismissed in April 2011 despite winning the league and cup double, plus having reached the 2010 Champions League final.

Guardiola will have to get his German up to speed fast – and bring the much-heralded success he enjoyed at Barcelona to Bavaria.

AFP/mry

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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