Pep Guardiola will be Bayern Munich’s new manager -- it’s confirmed. And like ripples in a pool, the shockwaves of the news will have resonated much further than Bavaria. Now that the butterfly has flapped its wings, here are a selection of parties across Europe that will be feeling earthquakes.
Pep Guardiola to Bayern Munich: The winners and losers
Pep Guardiola’s appointment as Bayern Munich manager will have knock-on effects far outside of Germany. Here are the other parties who will be affected by the deal.
The Losers
With Guardiola gone and a huge number of other top-tier managers alienated or put off by Roman Abramovich, Chelsea is quickly running out of options for who is going to lead its new look side. It may now be stuck with Rafael Benitez -- short of a return for Mourinho, which is almost unthinkable, it’s very difficult to see what other options it have available.
Not so much of a huge loss, but much like Chelsea, its options are growing thinner, albeit for very different reasons. United's appointment after Sir Alex Ferguson, which could be as soon as this summer, is probably the biggest of all time, and it needs a name who can live up to it. There weren't too many of those around to begin with, and now there's one fewer.
As with its two Premier League rivals, City now looks stuck with Roberto Mancini for the foreseeable future, unless its next appointment is a brave one. The Ferguson factor may make them struggle to get Jose Mourinho if United makes its move, and while the appointment is not of the same significance, and it hasn't used up or alienated as many managers as Chelsea has, it is still at a crossroads, with its direction now yet more uncertain.
The Winners
Most obviously of all. It gets a world-class manager who can give it the long-term vision it's been lacking. Almost everything else is in place, and Bayern is easily the best-positioned club in Europe to seize Barcelona's crown right now.
If rumours are to be believed, then Guardiola could have had his pick of jobs, but Bayern is perfect for him. As with Barcelona, most of his spine, playing style, and youngsters to develop are already laid out for him, and in theory Bayern should be able to overpower its nearest rivals. Perhaps the biggest thing we can learn about Pep from this is whether he’s an ideological crusader for the possession game, or whether he takes a laissez-faire approach. Aesthetically, Bayern and Barca have little in common, but the scenario when Guardiola took over both roles is near identical.
Rafael Benitez
With Chelsea running very low on options for its new manager -- short of an extraordinary and highly unlikely return for Jose Mourinho -- Rafael Benitez has just been given a huge boost. If he finishes this campaign well, then he’ll be in an absolutely perfect position to get himself a new contract for next season, potentially extending his Chelsea reign by months.
Football
Yes, it’s a cliché, but the sport could be the real winner in this deal. If Bayern is positioned to make a huge challenge to Barcelona’s European dominance, we could see some absolutely titanic struggles between the two in the coming years as Guardiola bids to overthrow his former paymasters. Everything that can be said about Barcelona has already been said -- Europe needs a new king.
Jose Mourinho
The biggest winner of all, Jose now returns to the spotlight as the most in-demand man in football that can actually be shifted. If he’s planning a move, he now holds every card on the table, and probably has a few more stuffed up his sleeves just in case.
