The Official 15/16 UEFA Champion's League and International Club News Thread

[Senator Clay Davis]

Apparently Pep has told Bayern he won't be back, and they've already line up Ancelotti to replace him next year. Doesn't sound like there will be much of a bidding war for Pep either, sounds like Man City pretty much have it locked up.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Locke

Hes a wizard!

if you're an italian goalie you have 0.000001% chance of starting for the national team. Don't their goalies last forever!?

That 16 year Milan kid will probably be the next one and he'll be there 20 years.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

if you're an italian goalie you have 0.000001% chance of starting for the national team. Don't their goalies last forever!?

That 16 year Milan kid will probably be the next one and he'll be there 20 years.

They must, I cant remember who the hell it was before Buffon.

And that 16 year old kid likely wont even get a sniff for another 4-5 years.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Apparently Pep has told Bayern he won't be back, and they've already line up Ancelotti to replace him next year. Doesn't sound like there will be much of a bidding war for Pep either, sounds like Man City pretty much have it locked up.

According to Marca - which is Reals mouthpiece. Highly doubt they know what Pep is up to.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Apparently Pep has told Bayern he won't be back, and they've already line up Ancelotti to replace him next year. Doesn't sound like there will be much of a bidding war for Pep either, sounds like Man City pretty much have it locked up.

Originally Posted by devo22

According to Marca - which is Reals mouthpiece. Highly doubt they know what Pep is up to.

It does seem unlikely that Pep is going to stick around Bayern, at least for long.

I think the fact that he hasnt won the CL with a team that ridiculously stacked is a huge knock on his entire tenure.

At the moment I'd suggest that hes going to sign a 1-year extension, go for broke to win the CL this season and/or next and then leave. I just dont think he'd want to leave a team that has a solid chance at the Champion's League without winning it.

At the same time though, I'm a little pissed that Bayern have let it drag out this long. I'd love for them to tell him that hes free to leave once his contract expires and that his extension is no longer on the table but there just really arent many suitable replacements out there.

Unless Jupp feels like coming out of retirement.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by devo22

According to Marca - which is Reals mouthpiece. Highly doubt they know what Pep is up to.

It's the Independant reporting it, not Marca.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...-a6775381.html


However, what Marca is reporting that the switch at Real to Zidane as coach might be close. Not sure how I feel about that. He's my favourite player ever, I'm not too keen on his reputation at Real sliding if they don't do well.

[devo22]

Thanks. I saw German reports earlier that only quoted Marca, didn't know others reported it too.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Locke

They must, I cant remember who the hell it was before Buffon.

And that 16 year old kid likely wont even get a sniff for another 4-5 years.

Buffon will play another 4-5 years. He might play in Euro 2020!

and Buffon debutted for Italy at 19, in the snow in Moscow, can't believe it was that long ago.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by nik-

It's the Independant reporting it, not Marca.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...-a6775381.html


However, what Marca is reporting that the switch at Real to Zidane as coach might be close. Not sure how I feel about that. He's my favourite player ever, I'm not too keen on his reputation at Real sliding if they don't do well.

Zizou's reputation won't take a hit

look at El Diego, he's a laughing stock for a variety of reasons but people still think of him as one of the top 3 or 4 best players ever

[nik-]

I'm not talking in general. I just don't want to see the Bernabeu turn on him. That crowd can be dicks, and it would be pretty hard to see.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by nik-

I'm not talking in general. I just don't want to see the Bernabeu turn on him. That crowd can be dicks, and it would be pretty hard to see.

Can be? Can be?

[nik-]

They can be. Just like an egg can be an egg

[SuperMatt18]

My favourite image of Zidane.

[nik-]

I like these

[Locke]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

My favourite image of Zidane.

I like how it looks like hes doing the "What? Me? No....come on...the guy was a dick anyways!"

[devo22]

Both Bild and Kicker report that Bayern have agreed a 3 year contract with Carlo Ancelotti.

So Guardiola to Manchester it seems. Sadly, it'll probably be City.

[Senator Clay Davis]

^Or....

Spanish football journalist Graham Hunter reveals what Pep Guardiola is planning for after leaving Bayern Munich. Hunter has spoken to people close to Guardiola and believes the Spaniard would like Manchester United to be his next employers.

Hunter said: "If the cards fall his way, his wish is to sample life at Manchester United for a variety of reasons."

Those reasons include a transfer to Old Trafford that fell through late in his playing career. Hunter added: "The move didn't happen but when he's come back to Manchester subsequently he's looked at the Old Trafford atmosphere, the legends and he has felt 'this is right for me’."

Hunter also reveals that, if all goes to plan, Guardiola would want to take Brazil to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03c9gn3

I guess it's a Babcock-ish situation where a truly top manager is available, so obviously the speculation as to where he goes will be pretty wild.

[SuperMatt18]

I think it will be United.

He wants to go to a team that has the prestige and history of the past. That is why he is at Barca and Bayern.

City has the money sure, but the don't have the prestige or history or a United or Liverpool.

It's also why he would be trying to coach Brazil in 2022, the history and the prestige.

[Locke]

What is going on? Now I'm reading the opposite about Pep? He says that he has told Rumennigge his decision and that it will be announced after the Hannover match tomorrow.

Which...if he was leaving as we've been led to believe, is old news. So what is going on?

[SuperMatt18]

Who knows. In the end Pep is just a mercenary who is only looking out for his own cover letter.

Any team he coaches doesn't really seem to need him. Both Barca and Bayern are just as good without him as they are with him.

Would love to see him actually try to build a winner somewhere, as opposed to just inheriting one.

He pretty much has coached two world cup winning teams. At Barca he had the bulk of the Spanish national team that was in a run of 3 winning straight major tournaments, and with Bayern he has the bulk of the German national team that just won the world cup.

It's not even like he has had to handle any real aggressive egos (Ibrahimovich at Barca really the only one, and they just jettisoned him out ASAP) on those rosters, most of the players were together and familar with each other already, either from the national team set up or since they were already an established part of the squad.