German legend Lothar Matthaus has criticised in-bound Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s management style but admitted that he would be a huge loss to Bayern Munich, and hailed him as one of the best coaches on the planet.
Matthaus was speaking to Sky Sports and said that some facets of Guardiola’s style did not agree with him – citing some of the player’s ever-changing positions:
“I don’t like his system, it changes during the game. He uses players in different positions, even if they could play better with their normal position,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want to play as left forward if I normally play right-back. For example David Alaba had to play as central midfielder, despite the fact that he played his best games as left-back. But you have to accept that. Guardiola was always successful, but in Munich he didn’t win the Champions League.
“He should have signed another contract in Munich. He can work with a top team and the trust from the Bayern officials. But after his contract expired, he had every right to sign somewhere else.”
Pep Guardiola will take over at the Ethiad stadium next season
Despite Matthaus being ruthful over Guardiola’s decision not to sign a new deal with the Budesliga champions, he understood the reasons why he wanted to leave:
“Perhaps he wanted a new challenge,” Matthaus explained.
“Of course I can understand Pep – his salary must be insane. And he wants to experience something new – despite the fact that he already had the best team in Europe.
“Bayern fulfilled every wish, no matter what Guardiola wanted: the players, the coaches and even the doctors.
“He caused much disturbance off the field. But he is one of the best coaches on the planet. With the amount of money in circulation, I can understand Pep.”
The German legend did admit that he was one of Guardiola’s critics, but said that he would be a massive loss for the German league:
“I am one of his critics, but I would have loved to see him in Munich for a longer time. He was always interesting and entertaining for the journalists. He improved the team in many areas, but on the other hand he caused confusion, what many people didn’t understand,” added Matthaus.
