A book on Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola was released on Wednesday, and there are certain excerpts in the book that Manchester United fans will be proud to read. The former Barcelona manager has revealed in the book that he could see himself managing in the Premier League someday with Manchester United, owing to the atmosphere of Old Trafford. In the book, he says, “I like this atmosphere. I could see myself coaching here one day.”
The book is written by journalist Marti Perarnau who revealed that Guardiola travelled to Old Trafford with his personal assistant to watch Manchester United in action and was impressed with the surroundings.
“It was 4 May 2011, and the pair sat together in the stands of Old Trafford watching Sir Alex Ferguson’s team beat Schalke 4-1. Once again Pep had turned to his friend and said: ‘I like this atmosphere. I could see myself coaching here one day.’ Guardiola has always felt a deep admiration, almost veneration, for the legendary teams and players of Europe.”
Guardiola has had a massively successful career so far after dominating the game with FC Barcelona in 2009 when they won an unprecedented 6 trophies using the ‘Tiki-taka’ style where the starved the opposition of the ball. He left Barcelona in 2012 after a 5-year spell and winning 14 trophies that includes 2 UEFA Champions League titles.
After leaving Barcelona, Guardiola stayed away from management for a year. He returned to management with Bayern Munich last season and has won 4 trophies with the club since then (Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup).
In the year when he decided to take the sabbatical, few clubs wanted to acquire his services. Perarnau also reveals in the book,
“During his sabbatical year in New York, the job offers poured in. His ex-colleague, Txiki Begiristain, the director of football at Manchester City, was very insistent. He also met up in Paris with Roman Abramovich, who was prepared to do anything to lure Pep to Chelsea … Within a few months Pep, had chosen Bayern.”
Considering the Louis Van Gaal is 63 years old, the United faithful will hope that Guardiola will eventually manage the club in the next decade or so.