There won’t be an eighth try as the German club announced Sunday that the Italian will replace current Bayern coach Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.
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Guardiola, 44, has been strongly linked with City, as well as Manchester United and Chelsea, and Pellegrini feels that the Catalan’s arrival at the Etihad would be a sign of the club’s progress.
Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had promised Bayern fans a “Christmas surprise” after Saturday’s final game of 2015, but it turned into the worst-kept secret in German football. I am convinced that Pep and our team will now work even more intensively towards achieving our major sporting goals – especially as it is now confirmed that Pep is to leave.
The German record champions’ new coach from 1 July 2016 will be Carlo Ancelotti.
He said of his appointment: “I am very honored that from next season I will coach a great club in FC Bayern”.
Bayern beat Dortmund 2-0 in the DFB-Pokal final thanks to extra-time goals from Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller, giving Guardiola a league and Cup double in his first season in charge.
His side also lifted the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup that term, but they were knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-finals by Real Madrid.
The 56-year-old will now be charged with building on the foundations laid for him by Jupp Heynckes and Guardiola and maintaining Bayern’s reputation as the most formidable force in the Bundesliga.
After the highs of a four-trophy haul in the 2013-2014 season, which included the Champions League and Spanish Cup, Ancelotti was relieved of his duties just 12 months after delivering the “decima” – a tenth European crown for Real.
Guardiola, an intelligent midfielder for Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona in his playing days, is a meticulous coach who plans in minute detail. He has moved players from their preferred position to see them excel elsewhere.
A 60.98 per cent record at Juventus was as good as it got for Ancelotti in Serie A, while his time at Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain generated identical success rates at 63.16 per cent.
Braun reportedly denied responsibility for Ribery’s injury and instead blamed Guardiola for rushing players back.
Guardiola fell out in similar circumstances last April with Braun’s predecessor, Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt, who quit after 38 years at the club.
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Chasing an unprecedented fourth successive Bundesliga title, Bayern has an eight-point lead at the halfway point.
