It is no surprise that Bayern Munich looked to Carlo Ancelotti as their replacement for Pep Guardiola. The Italian is one of the most decorated men in football history and he has proven himself in Europe’s major leagues.
The 57-year-old himself claimed that he will not diverge from the departed Guardiola’s style too much, saying that “I’m not here to start a revolution”. Despite this, there will certainly be changes under Bayern’s new manager, but what kind of changes? Are Die Roten taking a step forward, or a step backwards?
The beginning of this season will be a tough time for Ancelotti, Bayern have traditionally been quite poor following major tournaments due to a significant portion of their squad being involved with the German national team and often missing preseason. The former Real Madrid manager is currently dealing with this as he is forced to dip into the reserve team to make up the numbers for preseason games. On top of this, new signings Mats Hummels and Renato Sanches have missed a significant portion of the build up to 2016-17, and Sanches will miss the opening match with an injury picked up in the Euro 2016 final. With so little time to work with the core squad players and new signings, Ancelotti could be facing a rocky first few weeks in the Bundesliga. Yet the Italian has always been a calm figure in stressful times, so expect him to overcome this and start creating a fluid attacking team once all the key names are integrated with his system.
On the topic of his tactics, what kind of football will Bayern bring to their fans this season? Ancelotti stunned the very same crowd two years ago in a Champions League semi-final, where Real Madrid pummeled Bayern in a five goal aggregate victory. One thing that many could not help but realise was that Ancelotti’s breathtaking attacking style was incredibly similar to the fast-paced counter-attacking football of Jupp Heynkes.
Ever since Bayern’s treble winning season, many expected Guardiola to bring another European trophy in his three years at the club, but he could not produce the goods. The Spaniard’s methodical passing game was brilliant at breaking down defences, but it could not help them progress past the Champions League semi-finals. Ancelotti is very much a continuation of Heynkes attacking style, which is a great omen for their continental hopes. The signing of Sanches is a clear statement as the ageing Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben are set to be replaced with new, young wingers. Ancelotti has proven his proficiency with a 4-3-3 style focusing on wingers and with Sanches and Kingsley Coman on board, it would be wise to assume that the Bavarians will return to the winger-based attacking style that Heynkes personified.
Disregarding his system, however, one thing that Ancelotti will bring to Die Roten that has sorely been needed over the past few years is a calm atmosphere. The former Chelsea manager is renowned for his relaxed demeanor and as a result, is excellent at dealing with egos and the media. Where Guardiola would leap around the technical area and wave his hands, Ancelotti may barely raise a bushy eyebrow. Perhaps the prospect of this is boring to some fans, but this attitude is exactly what Bayern need. Guardiola’s gung-ho approach to football was their downfall more than once. The Spaniard personally requested the signing of Mario Gotze, yet failed to cultivate his talent and only ever brought unwanted media attention to Bayern – the 24-year-old has since returned to Dortmund with his Munich venture a failure. The former Barcelona manager was also publicly unhappy with the processes at Bayern, as he berated the medical team on camera and allegedly got into numerous arguments as he blamed them for Bayern’s injury situations.
With Ancelotti, Bayern Munich have a much more calculating and calm mastermind of the game, someone who can deal with management and players in a way that suits everyone. Expect a atmosphere at Bayern – yes the pressure for a treble will always be imminent, but Ancelotti is a professional when it comes to protecting his players and his club from the media.
At the end of the day, Bayern Munich will always be Bayern Munich and some things never change, but Carlo Ancelotti is the man to make some much needed tweaks to one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
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