According to a lot of rumors floating around this past week, Pep Guardiola was going to become the next Brazil manager, and forget about all the club options he has from Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, AC Milan and Bayern Munich.
Well, those rumors suggested that it was Guardiola who offered himself to the Brazilian FA. Maybe he’s not really ready to go back to the grueling life of a big-time club manager. Being a national team manager seems easier, more relaxing. It doesn’t matter, because Brazil don’t want him. Not because he’s not a good coach; it’s because he isn’t Brazilian.
How did they put it? Pretty simple: We’ve won all of our world cups with Brazilian managers and we want to keep it that way. According to some sources, Luiz Felipe Scolari, who won the world cup with the side in 2002, is the leading man for the job.
So what about Guardiola? Don’t worry about him. Besides playing golf in New York and advocating Catalan independence and separation from Spain (which doesn’t look like it’s happening anytime soon), he’s sending out feelers everywhere. You never know with Manchester City, and it feels that a league title might not be enough for Roberto Mancini to keep his job after a dismal Champions League campaign.
There’s always the talk of inheriting the role of Manchester United manager from Sir Alex Ferguson, but it’s impossible to know when he really is stepping down. I’m not sure Guardiola wants to wait that long. Chelsea and their trigger-happy boss is another solid option, as Rafa Benitez has been greeted with a much less than warm welcome. You never know at Stamford Bridge what it is exactly that causes a manager to get fired. One bad month was enough to send Roberto Di Matteo packing.
According to AC Milan head honcho, Silvio Berlusconi, Manchester City are the leaders in the race to sign Guardiola. Who would not want someone like Guardiola? There are some English clubs after Guardiola, especially Manchester City who have directors that we know very well. We will try to sign him, but it’s going to be difficult.
Take the word of a former Prime Minister and current womanizer for it? Not so sure. There’s also Bayern Munich as an intriguing option, and probably the healthiest bed you’d want to put your head in: A stable, thinking, rational board with a bit more on their sights than thinking about today’s results. Still, it’s hard to see Guardiola making that kind of move.
How about Spain? Tito Vilanova is looking like he hasn’t eaten in weeks, but that man simply keeps on winning, and soon we will know if Atletico are any reason to worry over. That door is closed, for now, in the face of Guardiola. And how about Real Madrid? Mourinho’s chair is shaking. No. He wouldn’t do that to Barcelona fans, would he? The pigs will be flying in the Nou Camp then.