Spotlight on Bayern Munich manager as he targets European glory without Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta
Wednesday 6 May 2015 15:46, UK
Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert Guillem Balague previews Barcelona’s mouth-watering Champions League semi-final former manager Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich...
It’s the father versus his creation, Barcelona versus Bayern Munich, a team once managed by Pep Guardiola against his current side.
There will be a big ovation for Pep at the Camp Nou and Barca will say 'thank for very much' for everything he achieved there. However, that ovation will quickly change to ‘we are going to beat you’.
Those were the words of Lionel Messi who, in a rare press conference on Tuesday, acknowledged Guardiola had given Barca a lot, that he had personally improved a lot under him but remained focused on beating his former manager.
In the build-up, Pep has said he has not spent even 10 seconds thinking about emotional thoughts, but I think he has - he’s an emotional man.
It’s going to be a difficult game for him; it’s the first time he comes back to Barcelona in a competitive game.
People will ask the question whether he can get to a Champions League final without the likes of Messi, Xavi or Iniesta. He will be judged on this semi-final in Barcelona.
Many people will use this game to judge Pep. People will ask the question whether he can get to a Champions League final without the likes of Messi, Xavi or Iniesta.
Despite having changed football at Barca, and to some extent across Europe, some will judge him on what happens in this semi-final and this semi-final alone, and I think that is unfair.
Pep has to deal with matters on the pitch as well as off them, with his Bayern side missing key trio Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and David Alaba ahead of the trip to Catalonia.
Alaba has been a key member of Bayern’s line-up and Robben and Ribery add depth, creativity and pace that is needed up front. Bayern will not have that, and they will look to their full-backs to supply that.
But this is a team Pep Guardiola has tried to make tactically versatile so they should have solutions to their problems. Even with two or three absentees, you look at Bayern’s team and it still looks strong.
Having said that, they are facing the best Barcelona we have seen this season and, perhaps, the best since Pep left back in 2012. It all makes for a pulsating contest!
Watch Barcelona v Bayern Munich live on Wednesday. Coverage starts at 7pm, Sky Sports 1 & 5 HD
