Chapter 348: Manchester City Shocks Football by Inviting Guardiola to Coach
"Defending Champions in Trouble, Held to Draw by Relegation-Struggling Team!" "Manchester City Hits Rock Bottom, Chelsea Might Climb to Top!"
After the game, media outlets were buzzing with reports about the unexpected result. For many, Manchester City being held to a draw by a relegation-threatened team on their own turf was a massive upset. If not for Lin Quan's phenomenal performance, scoring two crucial goals alone, Manchester City might have faced defeat.
Before this matchday, Chelsea was only two points behind City. Now, with City drawing, a victory against Liverpool away could bring Chelsea level on points with Manchester City. At Anfield, the game ended 1-2 with the home team initially leading, but the visitors, Chelsea, rallied with two goals to secure a comeback victory.
With this, Chelsea has caught up to Manchester City on the leaderboard, only trailing in goal difference and temporarily taking second place. The contrasting current forms of the two teams are stark—Chelsea with two consecutive victories and Manchester City in a slump, facing consecutive losses in both the League Cup and league matches.
The news of Pellegrini's resignation had broken, leaving Manchester City without a head coach, widely discussed in football circles. This created an awkward timing as most renowned managers were already committed elsewhere. Apart from Claudio Ranieri, who was recently dismissed and not considered a good fit for top clubs, there were no outstanding available managers.
Consequently, Manchester City had to temporarily assign the assistant coach, Brian, as the acting head coach. Meanwhile, they started to discreetly contact other notable managers to see if they could bring them to Manchester during the winter break. At the top of City's list was Lin Quan's foster father, Guardiola.
On November 21st, just before the 12th round of the Premier League: Inside a mansion outside Munich, Guardiola met a familiar face. "Mr. Chairman, what brings you here?" Seeing Manchester City's chairman Fahim at his mansion, Guardiola was a bit surprised. Due to Lin Quan, Guardiola had interactions with all levels of Manchester City's club. When Mansour originally came to Munich to recruit him and his son, Fahim was there too.
"Hehe, urgent matters, I had to come personally!" Fahim, relieved that Guardiola didn't refuse to meet, took a deep breath. He had researched the Bundesliga situation beforehand; Guardiola's days at Bayern were not going smoothly.
Though Bayern's performance in the league was as dominant as ever, leading the Bundesliga without a loss by the 12th round and well ahead of the second-placed team, the internal dynamics were not as favorable. The gradual decline of Dortmund and the failure of other teams to rise meant that there was virtually no threat to Bayern in the Bundesliga.
Despite the season being less than halfway through, Bayern could nearly claim their championship early, achieving a three-peat. However, Guardiola's control over the team had significantly decreased, deteriorating day by day. This was partly because his reforms had upset many players.
Guardiola wasn't adept at maintaining good relationships within the team, often comparing players unfavorably with Lin Quan and Messi, which many resented. Furthermore, Guardiola liked to transform players' roles, such as converting defensive midfielders to center-backs, like Mascherano at Barcelona and Martinez at Bayern. These transformations, if unsuccessful, could ruin players, like Martinez, who had been plagued with injuries, possibly due to these changes.
Moreover, the national team's disastrous World Cup outing led to calls for a restructuring in German football. This environment made the previously welcoming attitude towards foreign coaches like Guardiola a thing of the past, whether from fans or club officials.
All these factors compounded to create Guardiola's precarious situation. Fahim had come personally because he felt that persuading Guardiola to join Manchester City was highly likely. Guardiola's capabilities and tactical style were a perfect fit for City. His personal relationship with Lin Quan and the high regard from the club's owner gave him an advantageous position over other potential candidates.
So, persuading Guardiola to join City during the winter seemed like the best outcome for both parties. "Please come in!" Guardiola shrugged, having guessed the purpose of the visit. The news of Manchester City's managerial shakeup had reached Germany a week ago, and Guardiola, who had been covertly following Lin Quan's situation, knew about it before many others.
"There's no time to beat around the bush," Fahim said as they entered. "We would like to invite Mr. Guardiola to coach at Manchester City this winter!"
Fahim was indeed direct, wasting no time in making his intentions clear. With only a month left until the winter break, time was running out to find a suitable manager before the Champions League knockout stages began.
Guardiola has a three-year contract with Bayern Munich, with a termination fee of 10 million euros. If Manchester City were to invite him to coach, naturally, he wouldn't be expected to pay this fee himself.
"Of course, if the contract needs to be terminated, we will cover any losses incurred from the breach," Fahim thought to himself. To Manchester City, renowned for its financial muscle, 10 million euros is a trivial amount. More importantly, they would be acquiring one of the most talented and prestigious managers in football. For City, this is a rare opportunity, perhaps only second to when they signed Lin Quan from the transfer market.
After Fahim promised to handle the contract issues, Guardiola began to review the contract he had brought. Despite being prepared, Guardiola was still taken aback by the terms offered. Manchester City was indeed bold; they offered a contract for four years with an annual salary of 18 million euros. Undoubtedly, this salary is the highest in the coaching world, unmatched by any other.
Compared to his salary at Bayern, Manchester City's offer was double. Signing this contract would make him the highest-paid manager, just as Lin Quan is the highest-paid player in football. The lavish spending habits of Middle Eastern magnates are well-known, and today Guardiola truly understood their scale.
Guardiola was pleased with the salary, but he was more concerned about the level of control he would have within the club. There are two types of head coaches in the Premier League: the common type that focuses just on coaching and another type that also handles club management duties, known as a football manager.
This latter authority was once common in the Premier League, but with increasing professionalization and commercialization, it has become less so. Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, perhaps only Arsène Wenger could be considered in this more empowered role.
Guardiola didn't aspire to handle club operations but insisted on having the ultimate authority over transfers. This would allow him to manage resources effectively and acquire players that fit his system, rather than the club indiscriminately buying players that might not suit his needs, which could hinder the team.
He was not interested in the club's operational authority beyond a point, but he wanted the decision-making power to accept or reject participation in commercial matches. If commercial interests were prioritized over the team's preparation, it would be counterproductive.
Guardiola's aim was simple: to develop the most effective tactics, transform the team into his ideal version, and lead them to multiple honors. He valued the experience of this process and the joy of winning honors more than internal club politics or power struggles.
"I'm sorry, I don't have the authority to grant that," Fahim apologized after hearing Guardiola's requests, explaining that he would need to discuss it with the club's owner to make a decision.
Guardiola nodded in understanding. Although Fahim was the chairman, the club wasn't his personal property, so significant decisions had to be approved by the owner, Mansour. Guardiola's demands might be unacceptable to many elite clubs.
However, at Bayern, after repeated frustrations related to transfers, Guardiola was adamant about having this power. He didn't want to see desired players sold for profit or unwanted players purchased and imposed on him, creating conflicts within the dressing room.
Understanding Guardiola's stance, Fahim realized that granting extensive managerial powers might compromise the club's governance. Without returning to the UK, Fahim flew directly to Abu Dhabi to meet with Mansour, the owner of Manchester City. When Mansour learned of Guardiola's willingness to accept the invitation to Manchester, he was thrilled.
"Just give it to him. As long as he is willing to commit to Manchester City, why not make him the manager?" Mansour was very optimistic about Guardiola's potential impact at Manchester City and was quite accommodating of his requests. He foresaw a future where Guardiola, alongside Lin Quan, would elevate Manchester City to surpass even Manchester United and Real Madrid in terms of influence and commercial value. The investment was well worth it for such outcomes.
Armed with Mansour's authorization, Fahim promptly contacted Guardiola again to start resolving the contract issues with Bayern Munich.
Recently, the Manchester City chairman has been flying around the world, sparking rumors that the club is scouring the globe for top managerial talent to bring to the Etihad Stadium. Media outlets, seizing on the situation, speculated wildly about potential candidates like Marcello Lippi, Guus Hiddink, Luiz Felipe Scolari, and Jürgen Klinsmann, all of whom were not currently managing top clubs and were likely candidates for City.
Headlines like "Manchester City's Managerial Shake-up: Who Will Take the Reins?" and "World Cup-Winning Coach Linked with Manchester City, Poised for Premier League Return?" dominated the news. Meanwhile, some coaches hinted to journalists that City had contacted them, aiming to leverage this for better positions.
However, when a photo of Fahim meeting privately with Bayern Munich coach Guardiola in Munich was released by a journalist, the entire football world was shaken!