Even though Bayern Munich are undefeated in the Bundesliga and the Champions League, enjoying a 4-point lead at the top of the table and just coming off a huge away win over their biggest rivals, Pep Guardiola is finding reasons to remain unhappy. This time? One of his players is leaking his match tactics to newspapers, specifically the Bild.
How bad is it? Guardiola was furious that his plans for the match against Dortmund showed up in the Friday edition of the newspaper, and according to reports from Germany and Spain, he called a team meeting with the staff and players, making threats that he’s not someone to f***** with, and that ‘heads will roll’ when he finds out who has been leaking his lineups and systems.
To the newspapers and media Guardiola also had a message, saying that there’s no need to contact his players about his formations and plans – they can go directly to him, and he’s willing to openly discuss his thoughts about football.
Aside from that? Things aren’t that bad. Bayern Munich are coming off a 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, which puts Die Schwarzgelben 7 points away from the champions. Sure, Bayer Leverkusen are closer with only 4 points separating the two teams, but it’s quite clear who Bayern are really “afraid” of.
Unlike the early season woes, Bayern seem a lot more in sync with their Spanish manager, and the team itself seems to be very comfortable switching tactical systems, as they showed in the win over Dortmund. Bayern played slowly, cautiously, but with plenty of focus during the first half against Dortmund, weary of their six consecutive matches without a win against their big rivals. The moment Mario Gotze came in for Mario Mandzukic, things changed, and the “new” Bayern came into play, finishing off their slightly naive opponents.