Chapter Text
"There is one thing you can be sure of — he wants to dominate. People associate his teams with the number of goals they score but his teams also don’t concede a lot. He always wants to be on the front foot, having the ball, possession, and he wants to dominate."
Thierry Henry on Pep Guardiola
When Pep first heard of Jurgen Klopp, he was still the recently promoted manager of Barcelona.
One of his assistants had mentioned off-handedly at the start of the season that there was a newcomer in the Bundesliga that half of Germany was excited for, a young (well, young by German standards) coach for a scrappy team. His other assistant had scoffed.
Pep did not think much about this Kloppo at the time- he had the Champions League to plan for- but he had a sense that the German was going to be important, just by the fact that his appointment was being discussed by coaches another league away.
It was only until the 2012/13 Champions League season did Pep take notice of Klopp during his sabbatical in New York City. Dortmund had come in dead last in their group last season- not a real threat, as far as the Spanish coaching staff were concerned. They were proven wrong by the team's astounding victory over Real, Barcelona's greatest rivals.
"They're good and ambitious," Tito tells him solemnly over drinks in the city, the night before the Round of 16 draw. He really shouldn't be drinking because of his illness, but it was a special occasion. "I think they have a real chance."
"The team attacks a lot," Pep replies, slightly tipsy. "That might be the key to their success- like ours."
Barcelona lost to Bayern in the semi-finals, which crushed the team like the loss to Chelsea last season but made for an interesting all-German final. Pep watched the highlights of both games in his Manhattan apartment.
It really was something to watch a tall German running up and down the sides, arms waving, celebrating each of his players' goals like it was his own. Pep was curious at how Klopp seemed to throw himself into each game, win or lose. He would be a terrifying opponent.
This was when he made his decision.
He had wanted to start coaching again after his one-year break. It would be hard to top his achievements at Barcelona and also hard to find another club with the same unity as Barca. It would all come down to what league he wanted to play in. A league with the same level of competitiveness and promise as La Liga.
Pep started taking German lessons.
"The fans think you are doing a good job so far," Hermann says after the 1-1 draw to Borussia Dortmund in September. "We will probably win this season."
Pep had no doubt about the superiority of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, the team having won the Champions League last season. Expectations were justifiably high. What was frustrating was the aggressive tactics of Dortmund's manager- his need to retain possession.
They might have peaked last year by reaching the Champions League final, but it did not mean Bayern could let their guard down.
"What do you think of Dortmund?" Became one of Pep's regular questions to himself and to his assistants. The black-and-yellows were a thorn in his side. The 4-2 away loss in the German Super Cup. The constant challenge they presented, in second place in the Bundesliga and closing up, was annoying.
"I think they can be beaten," Is Hermann's reply. "Klopp's weakness is that he does not defend enough- it is a small one, ja, but it can be exploited."
Bayern of course, secured the title with seven matches to spare. Pep expected no less of this squad, even if it did not include a central figure like Messi. He felt satisfied, for this proved to the rest of Europe that Pep Guardiola was a winner.
This did not stop Dortmund from thrashing them at home, making it two losses against Klopp. It was an embarrassing record for Pep, who had aimed to get the better of the German on home soil.
When they shook hands afterwards, Klopp's was warm and sweaty- he had even patted the back of Pep's hand. They did not look each other in the eye.
That night the commentators remarked on how the Dortmund-Bayern rivalry was shaping up, speaking on the contrasting tactics of the two head coaches. Der Klassiker, they called it, after El Clasico.
He shuts the TV off.
Once again, Pep experienced Klopp's tactility at the German Cup Final, where he had hoped to secure a double in his debut season.
A small part of him also hoped to get his revenge for that humiliation last time at Allianz.
Thank god Mueller had scored, Pep was confident in the player's ability to hold up against the pressure Dortmund was applying on them.
At the end, Klopp had thrown an arm around Pep's shoulders awkwardly, patting his face as though they were already good friends. He thinks they were far from it.
"Congratulations," The other manager had said sincerely, almost shouting to be heard over the screams of the crowd. "It was a great match."
Pep gritted his teeth and tried to look amiable. "Well done."
The press was less than impressed with him and Bayern, wondering how they could have lost to Real Madrid so badly. Pep's first season was less of a triumph, as it was a careful journey of adapting to the team's counter-attacking style.
They didn't matter. Pep would let his record speak for itself.
His second season at Bayern got off to a rough start. Losing to Dortmund in the German Super Cup was an early setback. He had a strong team with Neuer, Alonso, and new addition Lewandoski, but it was not enough to keep Klopp's eleven from winning.
Pep did not regret signing Lewandoski from Dortmund, no matter what it was said about poaching players from Signal Iduna Park, the player had come to Munich willingly.
"Well done," Klopp says to him in German, his sandy hair in his face, glasses a little smudged. He was smiling brightly, revealing yellow teeth. "Your team was fantastic."
Pep nods tightly, shaking his hand. "Thank you. Congratulations."
Klopp's smile, if possible, gets wider. Pep thinks that the other coach has too many teeth for his comfort.
He pulls him in for a quick hug and a few pats on the back. All around them, the crowd goes wild- Dortmund fans really were happy with what they got.
And perhaps the German Super Cup was not as prestigious as the Bundesliga trophy, which he was aiming to lift for the second time in a row. This loss would only make him and the team more desperate to beat Dortmund. Pep would have to change his tactics yet again to deal with this form of gegenpressing.
"This isn't the way we do things in Germany," A board member says to him sternly in January. "You cannot put so much focus on transfers from your old team. Your current players have to have discipline and the motivation to win titles. They will have to do."
He thinks he has subtly been told to win the Champions League, or else.
They are later eliminated from the Champions League by Barcelona in an emphatic loss at Camp Nou during the semi-finals. It is strange to face players he had trained and taught on the opposite side of the pitch. He had spent so much time with them, developing his own managerial style- not that he regretted leaving the team. Pep was proud that Bayern had put up a fight against the blaugrana.
In the Bundesliga, Bayern was like the big fish in a small pond. Maybe not even fish- they were sharks. Freshwater sharks. A rival was Dortmund, with Klopp's seemingly limitless passion pushing a previously mediocre team to greater heights, but this season BVB was falling short, sinking out of the top four.
Dortmund was playing better in April after Klopp announced his intention to leave at the end of the season. Pep would be sorry to see the manager go. It wouldn't change anything, as Bayern had the Bundesliga title in the bag by now, yet Dortmund was difficult because they actually thought they could beat his team of champions.
Outside of Germany, they were no longer the biggest fish. Pep had to preservere in order to get the club into a Champions League final once more.
He was beginning to think that ending a season at the top of the league table was not going to be good enough next time.
Pep has the sneaking suspicion that this might be his last season at Bayern, given that there was no attempt from the board to begin talks on renewing his contract. It was fine by him, for his agent had told him that there was already some interest from other teams.
He did love this team, as he did with the club he had managed before. Pep could not help giving his whole heart into managing his players. It was the only way to get them to put all their effort into a match. He would miss Bayern Munich.
"I will be winning the Bundesliga again this season," He says to his tireless coaching staff and players before they started training. "We will be winning the Bundesliga again this season. We have done this three times, guys! Three times in a row!"
He holds up his fingers.
"Some of you are champions. In my heart, in the fans' hearts, in Europe's heart- you are all champions," He proclaims confidently. "You know what you must do- you know what you can do. You can win! Bundesliga. Super Cup. Even the Champions League!
They look at him. A few are still sceptical, they are the veterans. But most of them believed Pep, and believed in themselves. That was all that mattered to him.
"You are Bayern Munich. The best team in Germany. This club will control the ball- we will win every single game and we will not concede goals. First, we will have to start training harder than the other teams. Hard work will bring us home the trophy."
Phillip- an exceptional player- leads the cheering after his small speech. Pep feels impossibly glad that he is in charge of a well-oiled and enthusiastic squad.
Klopp had gone off to Liverpool, where he had made quite a splash- not that Pep has been actively keeping up on news of the German's new job at the middle-of-the-league English club. He believed that the coach's raw charisma and ability to inspire players would help him get on in the competitive Premier League.
With him gone, Dortmund had lost a bit of its spirit. They still played confidently and the atmosphere was as good as ever, but without Klopp's hopping and jubilant fist-pumping something was missing.
Manchester City had made him a good offer and he prepared to signed with them in secret. It was not an action he would feel bad about doing in the shadows- the club chairman would understand.
"They want to extend your contract with them," His lawyer informs him in October, calling from Spain. "They are open to giving you a raise of fifty per cent."
"What of my plans to join Manchester City?"
"Obviously you can't tell them yet, Mr Guardiola. You have to stay till the end of this season."
"When can I tell them?"
"It depends on how well you do in the Champions League," His lawyer says. "I will hammer out a deal with City while also dealing with Munich."
Pep hangs up. He had to put this possibility of switching teams into the back of mind and focus on shaping his team. Ribery was out with a bad injury and the incompetent medical team was likely to blame for his slow recovery. He obviously had bigger fish to fry.
It was fate that decided Pep would lose in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third consecutive year.
"We will be sad to see you go," The club's sporting director says softly at a board meeting where Pep had broke news of his departure from Bayern to City next season. "You have done a lot for us."
The rest of them do not look surprised. Pep thinks it is because he had not proven his worth to them by bringing home the Champions League title in his three-year term.
He hates how they judge him by the silverware he has won and not by the excellent squad he has built. They were on course to win another Bundesliga title, despite it only being December. Pep does want to reach the Champions League final, it would be good for team morale.
"Ancelotti will be our replacement manager," His assistant coach says.
"He's a good choice," Pep answers neutrally.
There are stories that his legacy in German football would be forever tarnished by his failure to take Bayern to a Champions League final. That he will never win the treble with a German team.
He hopes that these stories would not come true.
After the loss to Atletico at home, he thinks long and hard in his bed at night. Pep was exhausted by the fast-paced legs this season as he had never been before at Barca. Whatever happened to his desire to win, to lead a team that wanted a victory more than the other?
Winning titles was important, yes, but being happy in his position was equally so. Pep does not think he has integrated into the German football system. The Bundesliga teams did not offer much of a challenge for Bayern. He was growing stagnant and he could not see winning the Champions League with this team. The media could talk about him and his legacy all they want- he was his toughest critic.
What does hurt Pep a little, though he would not ever admit it aloud, is how cold the fans are towards him.
He might not have Klopp's natural talent for connecting with others, and the fans were used to winning, but he was open about his team's need for support and his own passion for Bayern. At Camp Nou he was loved. In Munich, he was just another coach.
Pep did not make any excuses for his poor performance. His farewell ceremony seems half-hearted to him, as though the Germans had not truly related to him during his three-year spell in the country.
Pep looks forward to leaving this place at last for Manchester because it was time for a change of scenery.
"Pep Guardiola lacks empathy. Jurgen Klopp taught me everything."
Mario Gotze comparing the two managers he has played under