Carlo Ancelotti to replace Pep Guardiola at Bayern
AFP
AFP, BERLIN: Pep Guardiola will leave Bayern Munich as head coach at the end of the season and be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed on Sunday.
We appreciate everything Guardiola gave to our club and hope to celebrate a lot of success this season, especially as we know now he is leaving, Rummenigge said in a club statement.
Carlo Ancelotti has had a lot of success as coach and has won the Champions League three times.
He is a calm, balanced professional who can deal with stars and lets you play a flexible style of football we have found what we were looking for.
With Ancelotti, we have a new, successful trainer for Bayern. We are looking forward to working together.
The 56-year-old Ancelotti will bring a wealth of experience to Bayern having won the Champions League twice with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007, then with Real Madrid in 2014.
Its a great honour for me that I will be trainer of such a great club as FC Bayern next season, said Ancelotti, who has signed a three-year contract until 2019, in a club statement.
Having joined Bayern in 2013 to much fanfare, Guardiola has so far won five titles with the Bavarian giants, giving him a career total of 19 as coach following his 14 titles in four years from 2008-2012 at Barcelona.
Guardiola flew home to Spain on Sunday and has given no indication of his future plans, but has been heavily linked to Manchester City.
A Thomas Mueller penalty on Saturday sealed Bayerns 1-0 win at Hanover 96 which left the German league leaders eight points clear in the table and on course to become the first club to win a fourth straight Bundesliga.
Guardiolas side are currently on course to repeat their 2013 treble of Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup and will face last seasons finalists Juventus in the last 16 of Europes premier club competition.
Guardiolas tenure at Bayern is likely to be judged on his Champions League form as he bids to reach the final in Milan on May 28 having exited at the semi-final stage the last two seasons.
Having won the Champions League in 2009 and 2011 with Barcelona he has so far failed to bring Europes top domestic prize back to Munich.
Another report adds: Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has made the startling admission that he hopes Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola will one day succeed him at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola has been strongly linked with City, as well as Manchester United and Chelsea, and Pellegrini feels that the Catalans arrival at the Etihad would be a sign of the clubs progress.
Pep Guardiola will work here (in England). I dont know if it is next season here (at City) or at another club, Pellegrini said in comments published prior to Bayerns announcement by several British newspapers on Sunday.
Some day hell come here. And I hope he will have the option to work at Manchester City.
I say that because I love this club and I hope, in the future, he can work here also. I am sure he will be very important for the club.
City owner Sheikh Mansour has long coveted Guardiola and has employed Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, both of whom worked with the Catalan during his richly successful tenure as Barcelona coach.
Pellegrini has 18 months to run on his current contract, but he acknowledges that that will count for nothing if City opt to move in another direction.
